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Water Cooler Games served as the web's primary forum for "videogames with an agenda" — coverage of the uses of video games in advertising, politics, education, and other everyday activities, outside the sphere of entertainment.

The site was maintained at watercoolergames.org from 2003-2009, where it was edited by myself and Gonzalo Frasca. It is now archived here in full.

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The Grocery Game

by Ian Bogost October 25, 2003

categories: Game Design , Social Games , Women and Games

I recently found out about The Grocery Game on a parenting/education message board. The website gives subscribers access to a special grocery list, sorted by store and US location. The list is designed to maximize savings through strategic use of coupons and stockpiling.

It's admittedly not an electronic game in the traditional sense. But I found it interesting that she chose to call it a game -- there is certainly an underlying goal (save as much money as possible), as well as a simple ruleset (stockpile rules + coupon rules - "I use coupons like trading stock!") that yields an outcome. The outcome is, arguably, an emergent one: the simple rules need to combine with the player's individual shopping habits to yield the savings.

I found myself wondering if this was a scripted game, so a family of four would have to buy all the same stuff to "win." But reading the message boards, each individual seems to have their own individual approach to the list.

Also interesting is the competition the game generates. The message boards have entire threads devoted to savings for a particular week. I thought this was an interesting variation on the "leader board" concept - there's no hierarchy here, just an opportunity to share how well you did. Since most of the Grocery Gamers are women (presumably they're predominately 35 - 55), I wonder if this doesn't offer an interesting design lesson regarding women and competition. Often we hear that women don't like competition in games, but I think most of us know that women are often bitterly competitive. They also frequent message boards. It's interesting to see how the Grocery Game players turn the leaderboard into a community forum. It's not just about winning, it's also about telling people what you did and how you did it.

There's also some interesting lessons to learn about winning in The Grocery Game. Cash savings are obviously winnings in a literal sense, and to a lesser extent so is fooling the grocery industry by refusing to play by their profit maximizing rules. But the real winnings seem to come from what people do with what they save. Here's an example from the boards:

i have been a lister for 1 year now. grocery shopping has changed 100% for me. i dreaded every single minute of being in a market. now, i find it to be fun. i average 100.00 a week in savings and spending 150.00. Today, i was able to purchase the dvd "Holes" for my children. It is because of the great savings weekly that i am able to purchase things like that"big ticket" item with ease.

Finally, it's worth remarking on this kind of integration between a digital game (if you can call the website a game) and the real world. The game itself takes place on the supermarket aisles, while the rules, scoring, and winner's circle takes place online. In this sense, the electronic aspect game is more of a digital clubhouse.

Comments (8)

I've been using the Grocery Game List for about 18 months. I love to grocery shop! My family is so excited when I come home to see how much I've saved and how much I purchased for so little $$. I have a stockpile that is unbelievable! I've been able to donate so many canned goods to local homeless shelters and make meals for friends and family in need with the "extra stuff" that I have been able to purchase. I usually spend $50-60 a week and save around $90 - $100 on my bill. It takes less than an hour, so it's worth it to me!

Jen on December 24, 2004 1:00 AM

I am just 2 weeks into the grocery game. My second week I saved $100.00 that is cutting my typical trip to the store by 50%. We eat only fresh fruit and vegetables and good cuts of meat. We are not eating hotdogs and donuts! :). We are saving $500-$00 per month in groceries and so now I am saving that $ for a trip to Italy.

Ellen on May 18, 2005 4:18 PM

I have been gging for almost 6 months and am only 24 years old. I love it. I'm not able to put all the $ into it that some do, But for a family of 5 I do really good. I spend around $100 a week on groceries, diapers, etc. I'm still able to stockpile witrh that to. It's not who wins or loses it's about supporting others trying to save a little $.

Jen on May 29, 2006 2:04 PM

I have been playing the Grocery Game for about 6 weeks. The game has a great concept but I find some issues with their forum. It is highly sensored making it difficult to get answers to some questions. I found three or four coupons missing from their lists in one week and posted this information on their forum. My post was edited to disallow informing anyone that a coupon was not listed. While they seem to promote sharing to help others get better deals and saving more money, any mention of list discrepencies are not allowed for discussion even when offered in the spirit of helpful sharing. I don't like that. I don't like censorship of any kind and this editing of posts to make them look so perfect makes me uncomfortable.

Judy Jones on July 23, 2006 11:18 PM

I am wondering how this is better than just going to Walmart. Walmart takes every coupon. I just get the sales adds and cut them out-use it like a coupon, and they give me the sales price for any store around. If I forget the sales add, Walmart has them at the checkstand for all of the local stores. I just ask what the sale o milk or whatever is. So.. knowing that I am a Walmart shopper can the grocery game still benefit me? Thanks for the input.

Kae on August 13, 2006 6:27 PM

I have been playing the grocery game for over 6 months now. It will save you so much more money than Walmart ever could. I used to spend from $125.00 to $150.00 a week for groceries (family of four and a cat) and now that I'm to the cherry picking stage, I'm not spending anymore than $50.00 a week. This week I only spent $32.00, my house is it's own grocery store, and I can donate so many things that I wasn't able to before. I love the Grocery Game and wouldn't ever go back to shopping any other way.

Crystal on October 17, 2006 4:30 PM

I've been at this game since late September, and while I've spent a lot to get a great stockpile going, I've spent about $800 and saved $670, without counting the $50+ in rebates, and $88 in ECBs, (Extra Care Bucks for CVS), I've accrued.

And, seriously, my family of six could eat for two months from my food stockpile, easy, and my health & beauty and cleaning supply stockpile is probably more like a year's worth for us.

Coming from the bare cupboard situation we were in, it's a HUGE improvement, and I love knowing my family has what they need for some time to come-especially since I live in Hurricane Alley, lol.

Angel on October 17, 2006 8:29 PM

I used to use The Grocery Game, but a couple of months ago I cancelled my account because I found a site that does the same thing but is free: http://www.groceryguide.com/ If you have been using Grocery Game for a while it is a bit of a difference in the lists, but honestly I like it better. HTH

Cookie on November 7, 2006 12:06 AM

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