Ponzi Scheme
Run a pyramid scheme as long as you can, and don't be the first to go bankrupt.
Who it's for
You enjoy economic games with a sly theme and a little table talk. Best with four players who like negotiating and bluffing a bit.
Not for you if…
You want a friendly, building-up feel. The pressure rises as debts accumulate, and a bad start is hard to escape.
Vibe's take
Tense in a slow-burn way. Each turn the debts get a little heavier and you start counting what rivals can still afford. The wickedly fun part is watching someone's house of cards wobble.
About this game
Ponzi Scheme is a game of crooked finance where you play a fraudster who must keep the money flowing, and the loser is the first to go bankrupt. It is named after the 1919 scam by Charles Ponzi. Each turn you take a Fund card plus an Industry tile and cash from the Funding boards, then you juggle loans, trades and investments to pay out dividends that keep climbing. As time passes the payouts you owe pile up, and eventually someone cannot pay. When that happens, the remaining schemer with the biggest shell corporation wins. It is a clever, slightly wicked economic game for a group that enjoys sitting on the edge of ruin, and it runs about an hour and a half.
Get it
Mechanics
Categories
By the numbers
Players
Duration
60–90 min
Ages 14+
Complexity
2.4 / 5 — LightBGG Rating
6.5/10
Rank #1,437
3.5k ratings
Published
2015
Designed by
Jesse Li
Published by
Tasty Minstrel Games, 2Tomatoes Games, Sugorokuya, Homosapiens Lab, Bright Eye Games
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