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Abundance - should I be worried?
So I recently started helping book events in the common space for our neighbourhood, and there's apparently a games night group who comes in there every few weeks. I had been curious about them but hadn't found out their deal until recently. Their head booked a new night for an event and when I asked what kind of games they played, they answered that it's a board game night, but they mostly just play one game: Abundance. They described it as "a tool to learn about investing with integrity and building relationships", and also mentioned that they sometimes offer the option to purchase tickets to other events (that take place elsewhere) at the cost of something like $100 a ticket.
I had never heard of this game, but the way he described the game nights set off a red flag or two, particularly the one that's gone off ever since a friend once managed to trick me into going to a Quixtar/Amway meeting when I was younger. I'm not sure what to make of this game, though, because information seems scarce. Google mostly just shows me stuff from the game maker's website and other meetups of players; there's not much info on BoardGameGeek other than some eyebrow-raising descriptions about spirituality and getting rich.
The only substantial lead I have is that it is apparently linked to Cashflow 101, which I have also never heard of. In hindsight, I now remember that the game night organizer said they also sometimes play this game. Judging from the comments and reviews on that game, I can see that it's polarizing, so it's hard for me as an outsider to accurately judge that one either.
So does anyone know anything about either game? Should be worried that there's some kind of scam being run out of our common space? Or are they just harmless folks and I'm worrying over nothing? The people running it live here and seem nice, and their players seem happy, but the same could be said about Amway people so... ???
I had never heard of this game, but the way he described the game nights set off a red flag or two, particularly the one that's gone off ever since a friend once managed to trick me into going to a Quixtar/Amway meeting when I was younger. I'm not sure what to make of this game, though, because information seems scarce. Google mostly just shows me stuff from the game maker's website and other meetups of players; there's not much info on BoardGameGeek other than some eyebrow-raising descriptions about spirituality and getting rich.
The only substantial lead I have is that it is apparently linked to Cashflow 101, which I have also never heard of. In hindsight, I now remember that the game night organizer said they also sometimes play this game. Judging from the comments and reviews on that game, I can see that it's polarizing, so it's hard for me as an outsider to accurately judge that one either.
So does anyone know anything about either game? Should be worried that there's some kind of scam being run out of our common space? Or are they just harmless folks and I'm worrying over nothing? The people running it live here and seem nice, and their players seem happy, but the same could be said about Amway people so... ???
Comments
Definitely a scam. Closer to Scientology than Amway. Bad news all around. Stay the fuck away from that thing.
Lol retails for 297 but you can get it for 14.95.
Lol. I didn't know this sort of scam even existed.
Why didn't we form a cult?
Why couldn't atheism just turn me into the giant douchebag that it's supposed to?
EDIT: Also, you totally could've monetized Geeknights and had a cult by now.
And the rest is history...
Also, just shot the person an innocuous followup e-mail asking what exactly the ticketed events are that they're offering. The more info I have on my side about exactly what they're doing, the better.
Favorite quote:
Guy makes terrible super expensive cult-like game that rips off another game, and then encourages players to also go to his seminars that he presents himself and that are also super expensive.
Welp.
His Twitter is made up almost entirely of pseudo-philosophical quotes -- from himself. Like:
Right, because that totally has nothing to do with brushing off people who doubt your vague and overpriced "teachings".
Also some further Googling reveals his past company names (touted in his bio as "founded and sold multiple businesses") to be Choose to Be Rich Inc (uhhhh), Brandon J Broadwater and Son, and AllPro Realty Group, Layton. The first two don't show up on the internet outside a literal handful of useless Google results (what a surprise), and Utah's AllPro group apparently went out of business in 2008 after being sued for unpaid commissions.
He also counts mowing lawns and selling candy when he was 10 as businesses. Joke-y or not, that is the most specific he gets in his bio about the businesses he has been involved in.
Everyone he namechecks in his bio as a mentor (and I mean everyone -- I checked) has one or more of the following red flags: 1) they are some kind of self-espoused financial guru with a bigger name for their coaching and self-help books than their actual businesses; 2) there are articles, forum threads, or Wikipedia controversy sections linking them with shady goings-on; and/or 3) they are involved with the Rich Dad Company, which in and of itself looks fairly shady (Robert Kiyosaki, founder of the Rich Dad Company, created Cashflow 101).
One of the few group names he mentions, Freedom Fast Track, is not BBB accredited and is connected with chiropractic (the kooky/scammy kind, from the looks of it). Cunningham Financial looks to be the only link he mentions that doesn't look immediately shady, but by this point my Googling fingers are getting tired, so maybe I just haven't dug deep enough yet.
And basically everything I could find about all of these people, Broadwater included, links back to investment, real estate, and/or high-pressure sales tactics, so my guess would be that if he has any non-vague financial advice to offer, it would probably be some kind of ill-conceived, possibly dangerous real estate investment advice.
TL;DR: seems like he's a wannabe financial guru with a scientology-type spiritual flavour added to draw in more people. He's not even on the level of the terrible people he namechecks, looks like. All he's got of major substance is this one overpriced roll-and-move board game. That's just sad.