Trading Board Games - Favorites, Own, Have Played

#1

I thought since we have books and movies about Trading, why not include games. Sometimes it’s fun to give others a taste of what we do everyday. It’s not quite the same, but maybe a good way to introduce kids, friends, and family to this en devour.

I saw a few of these on lists published by various business and magazines around Christmas time. Feel free to add to or comment on the list. I would be especially interested if you’ve played any of these and what your thoughts or reminisces might be.

Specifically not looking for electronic trading simulators or online games.

Futures Magazine December 2013 list:

  1. Power Grid - Have not played
  2. Settlers of Catan - Have played - Fun, If you’ve never played it play with someone who already knows how to play
  3. Last Will - Have not played
  4. Crude: The Oil Game - Have played - Own, Fun, takes some setup
  5. Airlines Europe - Have not played
  6. Wits & Wagers - Have not played
  7. Panic on Wall Street - Have not played
  8. Acquire - Have played - Own, Fun, but I lose a lot.
  9. Chicago Express - Have not played
  10. Imperial 2030 - Have not played

My List

  1. Pit - Have played - Own, Fun
  2. Wheedle - Have played - Own, Fun, Fast, not as frustrating as Pit
  3. Gavitt’s Stock Exchange - Have not played
  4. Basari - Have not played

Your thoughts?

#2

Nice list. Have to review these.

#3

Never heard of any of these. Are these games educational in that they teach you how to trade? Or, are they for entertainment purposes only?

#4

They are more for entertainment, but they have elements of trading. Some of them have been around for a very long time (i.e 1930’s), some of them are newer. If you’ve not played any of them, I would suggest Pit or Wheedle. They are not very expensive < $20 usually and they can get quite animated.

For Pit, you’re basically trying to corner the market on a commodity (i.e. Sugar, Soybeans, Corn, etc) by trading other players cards in hopes they give ones you want.

For Wheedle, you’re trading cards in order to get the majority of one or more “stocks”, getting all of the cards for one stock is a bonus, but not necessary, and even if you don’t “win” the round, you’ll still usually get points, to keep “you in the game”. Point leaders can change very quickly and often. Gives you kind of that “Hey, I’m up!, Oh, I’m down” feeling.

Both are fun. In Pit I’ve seen bodies pile on top of each other to ring the bell that signals you’ve cornered the market. If two or more people corner the market at the same time, watch out. Wheedle is a little more orderly and actually gives a “Hey, those were good trades, I did the right thing” feeling.

The board games (Acquire, Oil, Settlers of Catan, etc) can be quite complicated and require a bit of setup to the boards. Not bad, just a lot going on. Some of them have “events” that change what you can buy and sell for in the markets. Some play along the lines of Mergers & Acquisitions. Others involve a particular industry, getting trade routes and moving things from one area to another to buy and sell.

Pick your poison and have some fun. If you pick any of them up, always interested to hear how you liked it.

#5

I have not tried this but I remembered I had bookmarked it for later. A board game called Million Dollar Challenge for $29 from The Hall Light., Inc. 2-4 players age 12 & up. Supposed to be very educational while having fun based on something from Larry Williams. Might be a good way to get kids involved. If anybody has this or knows about it, maybe you can let us know your experience.

#6

have tried a few of them for fun…

arbitrage - one by kyosaki etc… educational not very practical - but have not hear of that one - let me know