Rural wealth creation and local entrepreneurship are emerging economic development approaches that bring back a sense of self-determination to rural communities. However, their potential is often greatly diminished by preconceived and opposing notions within the community on what drives economic growth. The Dollar Game is an innovative curriculum where participants collectively build an understanding of how innovation, income distribution and export affect their communities. Teams play different scenarios, starting with an island economy isolated from grants, subsidies, and trading opportunities and builds to a connected economy where they eventually lose ownership of the local value-chain.