Chaotic Cafe

A three-month internship became a lasting collaboration

I travelled to Ireland on my own for a three-month internship. The original plan involved working on websites. When the team learned that I could develop games, the brief changed: we were asked to design and build a game to help teach accounting.

We worked together on how the game should function, what players would do and how to connect play with learning. My role in the team is lead programmer. I became interested enough in the project to keep collaborating remotely through Discord after the internship ended. I have already invested a great deal of time in it, and we are now finishing the game ahead of release.

Understanding debits and credits through play

Chaotic Cafe teaches double-entry bookkeeping through situations from running a café. The aim is to build a systematic understanding of how accounts relate to each other and why transactions affect the debit and credit sides. Repeated game situations help players practise that underlying principle.

Three game modes

• Study Mode: learn through examples of booked transactions.
• Competitive Mode: book transactions yourself and compete against the clock.
• Accounting Fix: find and correct bookkeeping mistakes.

Custom cards and playing together

The game includes a custom card editor. Teachers and players can create content for their own needs or download additional cards from the website, expanding the game with new situations and exercises.

Study Mode and Competitive Mode support multiplayer, so friends or classmates can play together. Accounting Fix is designed for individual practice.

Designed for learning in schools

Schools are our primary initial audience. We want the game to fit into lessons and help students understand the connections behind bookkeeping. The project remains in development and close to release.