Ponzi Scheme

Everybody at this table is going bankrupt. The only question is the order.

You are running a fraud. Investors hand you money on the promise of returns you have no way of generating, so you take more money from more investors to pay the first lot, and the pile of promises behind you grows every single round. The game does not offer you a way out of this. It never did.

What makes it more than a joke about finance is the inside trading. Each round you may approach one other player and offer to buy or sell an industry, and they must accept or counter — so the person you're negotiating with is the person you're racing, and the cash you hand over is cash they'll use to survive one more turn. The game ends the moment somebody cannot pay, and whoever is still standing with the most valuable industries wins. Play it with people you can look in the eye afterwards.

Perfect for: Groups who enjoyed the negotiation in Traders of Genoa and would now like the same thing with a countdown attached.

3–5 players | 60–90 minutes | Age 12+

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