Picture this: you live in Hamburg, and your participants are in Berlin, Kyiv, Warsaw and London. Each has their own home, their own schedule and their own circumstances. But in the evening you all meet at one game table.
Nobody needs to buy tickets, look for a room or cross half the city after work.
Only a few years ago a remote transformational game often meant a compromise: the facilitator showed the board on screen, moved the tokens, turned the cards and at the same time made sure nobody got lost in the rules. Now you can set up an online table where every participant has their own screen and the game system itself counts the money and keeps track of whose turn it is.
I am Olga Loresh, author of the transformational game Sex&Money. In this article I will explain how to run games online, which formats exist and why a full digital version can be a real advantage for a facilitator.
Can a transformational game be run over the internet?
Yes. But there is a difference between a game the facilitator simply moves into a video call and a game adapted for the digital format from the start.
In the first case you will have to organise everything yourself: show the materials, move the tokens, turn the cards and count the game money. For a small group this can be perfectly convenient. But when there are many tasks, the facilitator's attention gradually shifts from the participants to technical details.
A full online format works differently. The board, the rules, the cards and the game's transactions are available in a digital environment. Each participant sees the information they need, and the facilitator runs the process from their side.
This set-up is especially useful when you run paid sessions and want to give more attention to people than to arithmetic.
Being online does not cancel the main thing, though: the facilitator is still responsible for the order of the session, the atmosphere, confidentiality and the rules.
Three ways to run Sex&Money online
We have provided three options. They differ not in the game itself but in how the digital table is organised.
1. One shared board in Miro
This is the simplest way to start.
You open a shared board with the game field, the cards, the money and the working materials. Participants join by link and see what is happening. The facilitator turns the cards, moves the tokens and keeps the score, while the conversation runs over a video call.
This format needs no separate program for the game. It works even when a participant only has a phone to hand.
There is a limitation too: everything on a shared board is visible to everyone, including each participant's game balance. The facilitator has to do more by hand.
As an introduction to the online format, it is a convenient solution. Especially if you want to run your first game for a small group without complicated technical preparation.
2. Two boards in Miro: one for the facilitator, one for the participants
Here the game table is split into two parts.
The participants have their own board with the field, the rules and their game money. The facilitator has a separate board with the decks and materials that should not be shown to players in advance.
You can open the card you need on your side without showing the participants the rest.
This approach works better when it matters to keep the suspense of each move and not reveal the decks too early. But the facilitator still has to run the game mechanics and keep track of the balance.
For Sex&Money, both Miro layouts are part of the certification set and stay with the facilitator with no time limit.
3. The full online game on the website
This is the most interesting option if you plan to run remote sessions regularly.
The facilitator has their own control console. Each participant gets a personal link and opens the game on a phone or a computer. Players do not need to install anything or create an account.
Everyone has their own game space, but they stay at one shared table: they see the board, the participants' tokens, the state of the game and whose turn it is.
And the system takes over part of the technical work.
- Players roll the die themselves. They do not have to wait for the facilitator to make every move for them.
- The game balance is calculated automatically. The system tracks payments and money transactions and keeps the bank and the kitty.
- Cards are opened according to the rules. The facilitator sees a new card first and decides when to show it to the participant. Closed decks stay hidden.
- Every participant has their own screen. They see their own and the shared game information but have no access to the facilitator's console or to other people's closed cards.
- Games are recorded automatically. The console logs every game you run: when it started, how many people took part, which languages they played in and how many moves were made. You do not have to remember how many games you ran and when: the table opens in the browser or downloads for Excel. Participants' names are not in it.
- Every game has a move log. The game's log records the rolls, the sectors, the practices done or declined, the result of each die check and every payment. The log is kept with the game, so after the session you can come back to it and calmly go through how the game went for each participant.
- You can work in different languages. The card text appears in the participant's language, while the facilitator works in their own.
Say you run the game in Russian, and people who find it easier to read Ukrainian or English join you. In the digital format everyone can see the text in their own language, and you do not have to switch materials by hand for each player.
The first year of access to the online game is included in the Sex&Money certification set. Further use is agreed separately. The Miro boards stay with you in any case.
All three options are shown on the page "Three ways to run the game online"
Why not every transformational game has a full online version
Today many transformational games can be run remotely. But having such a format does not yet mean the game has its own interactive digital table.
Often the facilitator has to work out alone how to show the board, where to put the cards, how to count the game money and how to keep closed information from other participants. Video calls, Miro and other digital tools are used for this.
It works, but it takes extra organisation.
With Sex&Money you can choose the simple option with a shared board, split it into two boards or move to the full version on the website. So you do not have to build a digital format from scratch yourself.
I would not claim that other games cannot work online at all: other developers have their own digital solutions. The difference is how fully online is built into the game method itself and how much technical work is left to the facilitator.
For a professional practice this matters. The less time you spend on counting and handling materials, the more attention you can give the participants.
What online gives a future facilitator
In my view, the main advantage of the remote format is freedom in how you organise your work.
- You do not need to gather everyone in one city. You can run sessions for participants in Germany, Ukraine, other European countries and beyond. The venue is no longer limited to your city.
- You do not need to rent a room for every game. You can run online sessions from home or from your office. This is especially convenient at the start, while you are still building an audience and testing demand.
- One-to-one sessions are easier to plan. It is not always possible to gather a whole group on one day. Online lets you work with a single participant, if that format fits your request and the rules of the game.
- You can grow your audience online. You post an announcement, invite participants on social media, talk to colleagues and gradually build a community of people interested in your games.
- It is easier to work with different languages. For a specialist who lives abroad or works with an international audience, this is especially relevant.
Finally, a full online system takes some of the routine load off you. You do not have to keep recounting money or carry out every technical operation by hand. You still lead the session, but you can give more attention to what it is about.
What an online Sex&Money session looks like
The sequence of the game does not change because the participants are in different places.
A session lasts about three hours, and one to six people can take part. At the start each person puts their request into words. Then the players roll the dice, move across the board, draw cards and do practices.
Sex&Money has two game currencies, dollars and hearts. Players receive and spend money, make decisions, do tasks and watch their game balance change.
The Mirrors have a special place: in these sectors the participant returns to questions about desire and looks at them through the theme of money.
In the digital version players see the board and their own actions on their own screens. The facilitator controls the turn order and the opening of cards, and automatic counting frees them from part of the manual work.
But do not think the program will run the game for you. The digital system is responsible for the mechanics, and the facilitator for the people. They ask questions at the right moment, uphold the rules of confidentiality, watch the time and help close the process so that participants can calmly reflect on their experience.
This is especially important in a game where personal relationships, desires and money are discussed.
How to start if you have no experience of leading online
I would suggest moving step by step.
First, explore the game and try the demo. It takes about a minute: you enter your name and make three rolls that introduce the start of a real session.
After that, look at how the three digital options work. That way you can judge not only the content of the game but the process of running it: what the player sees, what is available to the facilitator and what the system does.
If you decide to learn the game professionally, the Sex&Money training covers not only the rules and practices but also how to run a session. Depending on the package, preparation includes the written method, a video course or live lessons with me. Before certification there is a trial game with a review.
More about the terms on the facilitator training page
Can you earn from this?
Online does not guarantee income by itself. But it lets you offer the service to people who could not come to an in-person session.
Suppose you run a three-hour game and set the price at €80 a seat. If six people take part, the revenue is €480 per session. That is before costs and taxes; with fewer participants the revenue will be lower.
When you run a game remotely, you do not need to rent a separate room, though the costs of time, promotion, preparation and anything else still remain.
You can gather your first groups among clients you know, colleagues and followers. Then gradually widen your audience, publish a schedule and offer new dates.
The Sex&Money certification set includes a marketing plan with ready materials for announcements and invitations. It helps you start promoting, but it does not replace your own work with your audience.
You do not have to build an international business straight away. To start, it is enough to understand who is interested in your game, run your first sessions and gradually build a regular practice.
Try the online format before you decide
I wanted Sex&Money to be a tool that can be used not only at a physical table. That is why we prepared several ways to run it remotely, including a full browser game.
For a facilitator it is a chance to work with participants from different cities and countries, not to spend time counting game money by hand and not to be limited to one room.
But it is better to see it for yourself once.
Try the demo first, and then tell me how you plan to use the game.
Get to know Sex&Money and fill in the contact form. Write where you live, what you do and which format interests you: in person, online or both.
I answer messages personally, usually within a day. We will discuss which option suits your practice and how to start without unnecessary technical difficulties.
Perhaps your next game will take place not in a rented room but at a digital table with people from several countries. And all it takes is for everyone to have a screen, a link and the wish to take part.