Stockpile is an economic board game that has the traditional stockholding strategy of buy low, sell high with several additional mechanisms to create a fast-paced, engaging and interactive experience.

In Stockpile, players act as stock market investors at the end of the 20th century looking to strike it rich, and the investor with the most money at the end of the game is the winner. Stockpile focuses on the idea that nobody knows everything about the stock market, but everyone does know something. In the game, this philosophy evolves in two ways: insider information and the stockpile.

First, players receive insider information each round. This information tells how a stock’s value will change at the end of the round. By privately learning if a stock is going to move up or down, each player has an opportunity to act ahead of the market by buying or selling at the right time.

Second, players buy their stocks by bidding on piles of cards called stockpiles. These stockpiles will have a mixture of face-up and face-down cards placed by other players in the game. With this, nobody will know all of the cards in the stockpiles. Additionally, not all cards are good. Trading fees can poison the piles by forcing players pay more than they bid. By putting stocks and other cards up for auction, Stockpile catalyzes player interaction, specifically when potential profits from insider information are on the line.

Both of these mechanisms are included with some stock market elements to make players consider multiple factors when selling a stock. Do you hold onto a stock, hoping of catching a lucrative stock split or do you sell now to avoid the potential company bankruptcy? Can you hold onto your stock until the end of the game to be the majority shareholder, or do you need the liquidity of cash now for more bidding? Do you risk it all by investing into one company, or do you mitigate your risk by diversifying your portfolio?

In the end, everyone knows something about the stock market, so it all comes down to strategy. Will you be able to navigate the movements of the stock market with confidence? Or will your investments sink from poor predictions?