We're thrilled to share NGPF's Arcade Game Shady Sam's Slick Wheels won Best Non-Profit Project for School-Age Education at the 2026 Money Awareness and Inclusion Awards (MAIAs), selected from a field of 35 entries in its category.

Dubbed "the Oscars of Financial Literacy," the MAIAs are the first global awards dedicated to celebrating the best work being done to help people around the world understand money.

Why Shady Sam's Slick Wheels?

If you haven't played it yet, Shady Sam's Slick Wheels has students take on the role of a shady car salesperson who needs to maximize their profits. Through pressure, upselling, and scare tactics, they help three customers choose the best deal—for the dealership!

By making players think like the salesperson, Shady Sam's Slick Wheels teaches them to spot these tactics in the real world.

Created by McKinney for NGPF and launched in September 2025, the game has more than 250,000 game plays already. It is the newest of 12 games in the NGPF Arcade. 

MAIA - A Global Movement to Help People Understand Money Better

Shady Sam Slick Wheels is one of 17 MAIA winners finalists selected among entries submitted from 41 countries spanning Kenya to Canada, Australia to El Salvador.

This year's winners include programs helping self-employed workers in Kenya access pensions, a Texas A&M project teaching financial skills to incarcerated women, a documentary on social-media-driven speculation, and an AI-powered money coach in the UK.

We want to thank the MAIAs' 23-person judging panel for the care they put into evaluating this year's record-breaking pool of entries, and we want to congratulate every fellow finalist, runner-up, and entrant. The work you're doing matters.

See the full list of 2026 winners.

And if you want to try your hand at being the bad guy (for a good cause), play Shady Sam's Slick Wheels at shadysamslickwheels.com. Teachers can use the reflection worksheet to spark further discussion with students.

About the Author

Hannah Rael

As NGPF's Marketing Communications Manager, Hannah (she/her) helps spread the word about NGPF's mission to improve the financial lives of the next generation of Americans.

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