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Game Info
Year
2015
Collection
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Description
Based on the textbook example of financial scams, "Ponzi Scheme" is the term used to describe the technique Charles Ponzi employed in 1919 to operate one of the most notorious financial frauds in history.
In the game Ponzi Scheme, players are scammers trying to trick investors into funding fraudulent investments with the promise of extremely high returns. You need elaborate trading skills to keep your operation afloat as long as possible, and as time goes on the dividends you need to pay every turn will only pile higher and higher! But when someone declares bankruptcy, the remaining fraudster who forged the biggest shell corporation wins the game!
The goal of the game is simple: Don't be the first player to go bankrupt!
In more detail, on each turn, players must take one new Fund card from the Funding boards along with a corresponding Industry tile and cash as indicated on the card. You need to pay the "promised reward" of each Fund card in a number of rounds.
After all players have taken their Fund cards, they may choose to initiate an "inside trade" with one other player in order to buy the Industry you want with a price they can't refuse, or sell your own Industry to them with a good price.
At the end of the round, players rotate their Time Wheel 1 or 2 spaces, and pay the "promised reward" to the bank if any Fund card is due.
The game continues until at least one player cannot pay the "promised reward" due and goes bankrupt. That player is out of the game, and the remaining player who has the most VP on their Industry wins.
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 5
This page: 5
Sentiment:
pos 4 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–5 of 5
Video 2zGflVUEWj8
BlampCo! Playthrough at 1:36
video_pk 84629 · mention_pk 215182
Click to watch at 1:36 · YouTube ↗
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Array
- Array
- Ponzi schemes, debt, loans, share issuance, bear markets, and stock-market-style dynamics
- Array
- Corporate boardroom with players acting as owners of a competing Ponzi-themed company
- Array
- Array
- Array
- mixed
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This is Ponzi scheme. We are all owners.
- This is a horrible claustrophobic spiraling economy.
- The bubbles just going to keep growing.
- This game is mad.
- Uncut Gems the game.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video kPh7xgh5XFs
Hungry Gamer Discussion at 1:10:29 sentiment: positive
video_pk 81253 · mention_pk 200727
Click to watch at 1:10:29 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
Positive
Pros
- Funny 'laugh out loud' moments
- Stressful but fun
- Fast gameplay
- Engaging bidding and bluffing mechanics
Cons
- Can be stressful
- Requires calling friends horrible names
Thematic elements
- Running a fraudulent financial scheme
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- bidding — Players engage in secret bids for properties using their money or properties.
- bluffing — Players bluff about their financial situation and the value of their assets.
- Loan management — Players must take loans to pay back previous loans, creating a cascading debt system.
- Player Elimination — The game ends when the first person cannot make their debt payment and busts.
- Property Acquisition — The primary goal is to acquire properties, which determine the winner.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- It is probably everything you would hate in a game.
- It's an area control game where you're trying to accomplish the various goals.
- The app the app's I think's really good.
- It's just really really clever.
- My favorite push your luck game.
- And inevitably, your guys will starve to death on the way or freeze to death.
- Man, I just love this game.
- It's a worker placement game, but you build out all these rooms in this castle or whatever and each one has different abilities that can happen there.
- Ponzi scheme. I'll I'll be really quick on this one.
- It's a bluffing bidding game in that sense.
- There's lots of those what I call laugh out loud moments where you just where you you call your dear friend some horrible name for the insulting offer that you accept because you have to
- It's a system um for basically doing it's almost like uh DMless Dungeons and Dragons, you know, in a in a board game.
- The entirety of the rule set for this game is one page long.
- It adds official cooperative rules.
- this is my favorite expansion.
- It is a true 100% sandbox in that regard.
- The win condition is voting because you're trying to become the new headmaster of the school or whatever.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video qykUVRVldsk
Review at 0:03 sentiment: positive
video_pk 66749 · mention_pk 162556
Click to watch at 0:03 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Fascinating simulation perspective.
- Does a good job of modeling the Ponzi scheme mentality and the brain state associated with it.
- Relatively quick playtime (about an hour for five players).
- Highly recommended for those interested in game experiences and simulations.
Cons
- Host lost on a tiebreaker.
- Host doesn't feel like clamoring for a copy, though would play again.
- Felt like they 'happened into' a good score rather than strategically playing to win.
- Uncertainty about the game's late stage or potential winning scores due to limited plays.
Thematic elements
- The concept of Ponzi schemes where new investments are used to pay off interest on previous investments, until it all comes tumbling down.
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Hand Management — Players manage their acquired tiles and money to afford upcoming payments while trying to score points.
- Market Crash — If the number of bear market tiles on the board equals the player count, a market crash occurs, forcing players to discard a token of their most common type.
- Secret Bidding/Trading — Players can initiate clandestine trades by putting money in an envelope, with the other player deciding whether to accept the money and give the tile, or return the money and keep the tile. This is described as a price-setting mechanism where players state their selling and buying price.
- Set Collection — Players acquire funding tiles from different industries/indexes, and the number of a specific tile type they possess influences payouts and victory points.
- Timing/Clock — Hexagonal tiles have a timing clock, and once a certain number of rounds pass, players must pay a specified amount.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The idea of Ponzi schemes is kind of fascinating as long as you don't get your finances ruined by it.
- So, I essentially use new investments to pay off the interest on my previous investments, and it's all great until it all comes tumbling down.
- It was fascinating from like a simulation perspective. It absolutely puts you into that mindset of um how do I juggle all of these debts? Well, I'll take on more debt, and then deal with that later.
- I think it does a very good job of modeling this kind of brain state, essentially, putting you into this brain state.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video U9EMg0beM0w
TheGameBoyGeek - Hi Quality Hi Energy Board Game Reviews Top 100 List at 12:30 sentiment: positive
video_pk 32449 · mention_pk 96011
Click to watch at 12:30 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- fresh, unique take on economic games
- strong thematic integration with bluffing risk
Cons
- mechanically fiddly; requires familiarity to run smoothly
Thematic elements
- Ponzi scheme capitalism and risk
- economic deception and swindling
- economic take with a bluff/role-detection flavor
Comparison games
- Power Grid
- Liar's Poker (metaphorically)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Betting and Bluffing — players take large risks to accumulate money while attempting to outlast others
- risk-taking/multi-turn bluff — players take large risks to accumulate money while attempting to outlast others
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the twist to this game is you don't get to score your trees unless you have more of the values of those trees in your hand than your opponent
- it's basically six little miniature games that you're playing
- one of those games where you're thinking two, three, four turns ahead
- it's a better version of Ticket to Ride
- the dice work, replacement; one of my favorite Felds
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video kTU-_4ieokQ
Board With Steve Top List at 22:31 sentiment: positive
video_pk 2710 · mention_pk 7974
Click to watch at 22:31 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- very stressful in a humorous way
- great social stress-testing game
Cons
- can be anxiety-inducing for some players
Thematic elements
- debt, cash flow, and risk management
- financial market and investment scheme
- stressful, humorous, chaotic
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- auction/market/debt clock — players buy shares, manage cash, and face debt clock progression with increasing interest.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Starting off with the two-player game, Agent Avenue.
- It's a boatload of fun and it's another game which I've just brought out and it just never misses.
- This is another two-player abstract game that I can't stop playing and that's Zenith.
- Rival Cities takes Tug of War to another level.
- The production on Shackleton Base is through the roof.
- Ponzi scheme is one of the most stressful games you'll ever play and it's brilliant.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–5 of 5