Budget balancing--the game.

• Position: Stateline

Forget those boring, violent computer games, the real challenge in on-line games these days is trying to balance the state budget during a recession. That's what Ma$$ Balance: Interactive Budget Simulation invites its players to do--balance the Massachusetts state budget with its 53 billion deficit. Conceived by Senator Richard T. Moore, he saw the game as a way to educate and engage citizens. The Seattle Times newspaper also developed a state budget game a year ago that they called "Ax or Tax." And Utah, too, has its own version of a budget...