--- title: In-game currency: coins and gems are real money — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «In-game currency: coins and gems are real money», a lesson of the money course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: Games sell coins in packs that never quite match the prices: Ethan buys 1,000 V-Bucks for £7.99, but the skin costs 1,200, s --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/money/16-in-game-currency-coins-and-gems-are-real-money/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Money](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/money/) / In-game currency: coins and gems are r… # In-game currency: coins and gems are real money Lesson 16 of the money course of Mova's primary school: 12 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/money/16-in-game-currency-coins-and-gems-are-real-money/). - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/money/16-in-game-currency-coins-and-gems-are-real-money/1/) — Games sell coins in packs that never quite match the prices: Ethan buys 1,000 V-Bucks for £7.99, but the skin costs 1,200, so he is 200 short and must buy another pack, spending £15.98 and keeping 800 left over that tempt him to spend again. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/money/16-in-game-currency-coins-and-gems-are-real-money/2/) — Change it back into pounds to see the real price: if 500 gems cost £4.99, each gem is about 1p, so a 2,000-gem item costs about £20. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/money/16-in-game-currency-coins-and-gems-are-real-money/3/) — Games are designed to make you spend: tiny 99p prices that add up, countdown clocks on "special offers" that come back every week, a flashy shop next to the play button, and daily streaks you are scared to break. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/money/16-in-game-currency-coins-and-gems-are-real-money/4/) — In-game currency (coins, gems, V-Bucks, Robux) is pretend money inside a game, bought with real money. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/money/16-in-game-currency-coins-and-gems-are-real-money/5/) — Games sell currency in packs that do not match item prices, so you often buy more than you need. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/money/16-in-game-currency-coins-and-gems-are-real-money/7/) — A microtransaction is a small payment inside a game; many small payments add up to a big total. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/money/16-in-game-currency-coins-and-gems-are-real-money/8/) — Countdown timers on offers make you rush; many "limited-time" offers come back again and again. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/money/16-in-game-currency-coins-and-gems-are-real-money/9/) — Games often let you either "grind" (play a lot to earn something) or pay to get it faster; paying is how many game companies earn money. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/money/16-in-game-currency-coins-and-gems-are-real-money/10/) — Most game items cannot be sold for real money, so once bought, the money is gone; they are fun, not savings. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/money/16-in-game-currency-coins-and-gems-are-real-money/11/) — A battle pass is a paid list of rewards unlocked by playing during a season; it is only good value if you play a lot. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/money/16-in-game-currency-coins-and-gems-are-real-money/12/) — Game shops are placed where you see them often, because seeing something often makes you want it more. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/money/16-in-game-currency-coins-and-gems-are-real-money/14/) — Game money works like real money for sums: add the prices, then take them away from what you have. - ← previous: [Taking without paying: the consequences](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/money/15-taking-without-paying-the-consequences/) - next →: [Loot boxes and "free" skins](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/money/17-loot-boxes-and-free-skins/) - ↑ back to [Money](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/money/)