Socioeconomic Pong

Do all Americans have an equal chance to be economically successful?

Imagine that life in America is a game. Some players enter the playing field with many advantages that will make it easier to find success. Some players enter the playing field with many obstacles that will make it challenging to find success. This doesn’t mean that the player with obstacles is doomed, but it does mean that this player may find the game much more difficult to play.

In this game, you will be asked a series of questions about your socioeconomic status at birth. Then you will play the classic video game Pong—with a built-in level of advantage that reflects your own background.

The game ends when one player scores five points.

These choices will affect the size of your paddle:

My ethnicity is best described as:
The household income of my family of origin was:
The highest level of education attained by someone of my family of origin was:
The household wealth (property, investments, other assets) of my family of origin could best be described as:
The occupation of the highest wage earner in my family of origin was:

This choice will affect how many points you get when you score:

My gender is best described as:

Your opponent will affect the size of the paddle you play against.
Choose your opponent:

Game Over

Keep in mind that this game is based on averages. Your chances of success are by no means predetermined by your socioeconomic status at birth. However, as you can see, your socioeconomic status can have a powerful impact on how difficult it is to play the game.

Would you like to play again and input different values?