Students face off in a mock financial game where China, Brazil, Australia, Germany, United Kingdom, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United States attempt to find their trade alliances and race for economic dominance.
Along the way, unforeseen economic updates cause market crashes, shortage of goods, and cybersecurity threats. Both Producing and Finance countries also compete to answer economic-themed questions correctly and stock up their resources, including transportation ships and central banks.
Producing nations raced to collect ships and 4 vital resources, while Finance nations were tasked to collect a central bank, cybersecurity, and 4 vital resources. But that’s not all; gold was the ultimate deciding factor in determining the most powerful economy at the end of the game.
But watch out! Finance nations were also armed with Nerf Guns, engaging in duels for cybersecurity. Only the skilled sharpshooters of the Finance nations win protection, and in a friendly, safe way, students had a lot of fun firing Nerf bullets at their peers.
In a simple, classroom environment, the Great Trading Game explores the importance of economic interdependence between nations. Speed is of essence as students interacted with others in diplomatic negotiations, while also demonstrating their historical knowledge on economics. Special shout-out to Jay Wickliff for designing such a creative and magnificent game for students at the International History Olympiad; the competitors really enjoyed it. Congratulations to the awardees from all the age divisions and to all the students who took the time to play the Great Financial Trading Game!
Navdeep Singh Badhan
Varsity, Canada (Edmonton, AB)