How To Play the Money Printer Game
You are in charge of the money printer in Pretendia, a made-up country with its own pretend dollars (P$). The year lasts 12 months, and each month goes by in about five seconds.
Press and hold the big green button to print. On a computer you can also hold Space or Enter. Every press sends a fresh stack of notes into the economy, and the counter shows how much money Pretendia has and how much you have added.
Now watch the right side. Bread, ice cream, bus tickets, sneakers, bikes and rent all show their prices. When you print, prices start climbing, and the tiles flash red while they rise. Granny Ottoline’s jar of savings shows how many loaves her P$500 can still buy.
Once prices triple, you can design a bigger note worth ten times more. Bigger notes make each press count for a lot more. When December ends, the printer stops and you see the final damage.
What Your Score Means
Your score is the price of one loaf of bread at the end of the year. It started at P$2.50. Your highest bread price is saved as your personal best.
- Still P$2.50: you printed nothing. Pretendia thanks you for your calm.
- A few dollars more: a little extra money, a little higher prices. Granny barely notices.
- Thousands or millions: shoppers now carry bags of cash, and Granny’s jar is in trouble.
- Trillions and beyond: you have turned bread into a luxury item. Impressive and terrible.
The result screen also lists every item’s price in January next to its price in December.
Tips To Improve
- Start printing right away. Each month is short, and the clock does not wait.
- Upgrade notes as soon as you can. A bigger note multiplies every press by ten, which beats holding the button longer.
- Hold, don’t tap. Holding prints a steady stream, about eight presses a second.
- Watch the hint under the button. It tells you when shops are ready for your next note.
Real Hyperinflation in History
Prices running away like this has really happened, and it hurt real people. The economists Steve Hanke and Nicholas Krus listed the worst cases in their paper “World Hyperinflations” (Cato Institute, 2012).
- Germany, 1923: inflation was worst in October 1923, when prices rose about 29,500% in a single month. Prices doubled roughly every 3.7 days.
- Zimbabwe, 2008: at its peak in mid-November 2008, monthly inflation was about 79.6 billion percent, with prices doubling about every 24.7 hours.
- Hungary, 1946: the worst case on their list. In July 1946, prices doubled about every 15 hours.
In January 2009, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe announced a 100 trillion dollar note, according to Reuters (2009). That note is why the biggest bill in Pretendia stops at P$100 trillion.
