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Monetary policy
Q.E. — Quantitative Easing
You are a central bank with unlimited money… but spending more than anyone else makes you lose
3–5Players
30–45 minDuration
~5 minSetup
Very lowComplexity
CompetitiveDynamic
An auction game in which each player represents a central bank that, during an economic crisis, bids to bail out companies that are “too big to fail”. As a central bank you can print unlimited money and bid whatever you like; bids are blind and secret.
The player who has spent the most money at the end automatically loses, and the one who has spent the least gets bonus points.
Classroom value
- A brilliant demonstration of quantitative easing: makes tangible a macroeconomic concept that is hard to explain on the board.
- The relative value of money: since everyone can print without limit, the game shows that relative value matters, not the absolute figure → a metaphor for inflation.
- Opens the debate on moral hazard and "too big to fail" bailouts.
- Short and quick to set up, conceptually powerful: ideal as a hook with a theoretical debriefing.
In the classroom
No. of players3–5
TeamsNo
People per gamemax. 5
Game MasterNo
Sessions1 session
SpaceOne table per group
MaterialPhysical game
💡An ideal economics demonstrationMakes QE and inflation visible
Technical details
DesignGavin Birnbaum
PublisherAllplay · SD Games (Spanish)
LanguagesSpanish · English