By SARI ZEIDLER
Adam Kornblum of Bellmore, CEO of Ark Brands LLC, and business partner Joe Davis of Merrick had the idea for Charge Large, the brand's premier board game, which teaches financial literacy and the art of building good credit, long before anyone predicted a nationwide financial meltdown.
According to Kornblum, 25, he had the idea for the Monopoly-esque board game, which is won by making sound investments and moving from a gold credit card to a black card, when he was just 9 years old. As the game, set to debut at the American International Toy Fair in February, is experiencing a surge of interest owing to it's timely release, Kornblum and Davis are thinking not only of their own fiscal well-being.
"This is the education to teach -- credit -- because that's the nation's downfall," said Davis, explaining that he and his partner are currently touring high schools, colleges and seminars pushing Charge Large as an educational tool rather than a simple leisure time activity. "The thing is, no one has ever taught kids how to use a credit card. They get out of high school and get limits of $5,000, $6,000, and they have no idea what that means."
Last month the men visited West Hempstead High School and Briarcliffe College, and things appear to be off to a good start. Michael Silberman, who teaches business management, career management and financial management at West Hempstead High School, played Charge Large with 32 students. According to survey sheets that the players were asked to fill out, the game scored an average of 4.65 out of 5 when students were asked if they thought the game had educational value.
Kornblum said he would also like to see the game used in bankruptcy education classes, and is pursuing New York state Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr. regarding such an option. He is confident the chance to make credit mistakes in the game can help players develop improved financial habits.
When conceptualizing Charge Large, Kornblum said he asked himself, "How can the imaginary world intertwine with the real world?" From there, the game developed into a microcosm of real-life financial lessons. Players invest in fictional businesses and make purchases on credit, earning wealth by buying more shares of company stock, investing responsibly and paying bills on time.
To gain credibility with the media, distributors, toy industry and distributors, Kornblum and Davis created fictional billionaire Charlie Large as the face of Ark Brands. They developed Web sites offering Charlie Large's financial advice, created social networking pages in his name and even named him chairman for Ark Brands.
Kornblum and Davis envision much more than a toy company for the future of Ark Brands. They hope to develop the educational aspect of Charge Large into a not-for-profit sector of the company, making lessons in financial responsibility a prime objective.
To learn more about Ark Brands or Charge Large, visit www.CharlieLarge.net, www.ChargeLargeGame.com or www.ArkBrand.com.
Comments about this story? Szeidler@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
