Portfolio Power Game

Target Age Group: Grades 6-12

Materials Needed:

Game Summary:
In this game youth will practice principles of investing by creating an investment portfolio. Players begin with $500 that they can use to create their initial portfolios. As the game continues, their investments will either earn or lose money, depending on the numbers rolled on the dice. When a player(s) wins on an investment(s), he/she is paid the “win” amount from the bank. When a player loses on an investment, he/she must pay the “lose” amount to the bank.

Meanwhile, players will have the opportunity to continue to build their portfolios by making more investments at the beginning of their turns, before they roll the dice. When an odd number is rolled, the player will have a chance to test his/her investment knowledge by selecting a Bonus Question Card. The Card asks a question that, if the player answers correctly, wins him/her an Investment Edge Card. The Investment Edge Cards will benefit them in some way and give them an “edge” over the other players. The goal of the game is to be the first player to make $3,500 in cash by maximizing return and minimizing risk. (Note to teachers: You can also set a time limit on the game, such as 30 minutes, and then the winner will be whoever is holding the most cash at that time.)

Preparations:

  • Print the Portfolio Power Investment Board.
  • Print 5 copies of the Power Money, which includes $50, $100, $500. Cut out the money. Create a “bank” that puts these three denominations in separate stacks.
  • Print the Portfolio Power Bonus Question Cards and the Investment Edge Cards on two separate paper colors. Stack the cards face down in two separate stacks.
  • Distribute a set of 10 buttons to each player.
  • Pass out $500 from the bank to each player.

Directions:

1) To begin play, each player will use their $500 to build their initial investment portfolio by choosing investments on the Portfolio Power Investment Board. To make an investment, look at the purchaseprice of all the investments on the board and decide which investments you would like to purchase. The risk and return rate varies from one investment to another, so consider the amount the investment can win or lose, and the odds it has of winning or losing. The odds of winning or losing vary because some numbers are rolled more frequently than others. To see the frequency of each number rolled, see the chart below. The investments on the game board imitate their real-world risk and return rate.

Numbers

Frequency

6,7,8

High

4,5,9,10

Medium

2,3,11,12

Low

2) When you have decided which investments you would like to purchase, pay the bank the purchase price and place one of your buttons in the box of each investment you want to make. You may use your full $500 to purchase investments, or you can just use some of it. (Hint: Tying up all your cash in investments may not be the smartest move, since if you or other players roll numbers that cause you to lose on your investments, you won’t have any cash to pay the bank and then you could go bankrupt.) Players can purchase any investment, regardless of whether they or any other player have already purchased that investment. In other words, there can be multiple buttons of the same or different colors in each box.

Example of Initial Investments: Player A may choose to invest in Real Estate ($400) & Savings Accounts ($50), and retain $50 in cash. Player B may choose to invest in a CD ($50) and Bonds ($250), and retain $200 in cash. Player C may choose to invest only in stocks ($300) and retain $200 in cash.

3) Once everyone has made their initial investments, decide who goes first by rolling the dice. Whoever rolls the highest number will go first, and then take turns going clockwise.

Each turn has three parts:
a. First a player decides if he or she wants to make more investments. If so, he or she will place a button on the box for the investment and pay the bank the designated purchase price for that investment.

b. The second part of the turn is the roll. Whoever’s turn it is will roll the dice. When the dice are rolled, every player should pay careful attention to the number rolled and to where their investment buttons are on the game board. The number rolled determines who will earn and who will lose money on their investments. Players with a button on an investment with the number rolled as the designated “win” number will collect the “win” amount shown from the bank. Players with a button on an investment with the number rolled as the designated “lose” number will pay the “lose” amount shown to the bank. Each player must pay or collect for every investment that has the number rolled assigned to it. If they have more than one button on the same investment, they must collect or pay the amount shown, multiplied by the number of buttons they have for that investment. For example, imagine that for the Money Market Account, the “win” number (7) is rolled. If a player has two buttons on that investment, that player will collect $200, since the “win” amount is $100.

c. If the number rolled is even, it is the next person’s turn. If the number is odd, the person who rolled gets the opportunity to answer a Portfolio Power Bonus Question. Have another player pick up a Portfolio Power Bonus Question Card and ask the question to the player whose turn it is. If the player answers the question correctly, he or she wins an Investment Edge Card. This player should select a card from the stack of Investment Edge Cards, being sure to keep it face down so the other players cannot see it. The player should read the card and then decide whether or not to play it immediately or at the start of a future turn. (Depending on what the card says, the player will determine whether it is in his best interest to use the card right away or save it until later.) Pay close attention to the directions on the Investment Edge Cards. For example, in many instances, the player with the card will be able to use it to extract money from another player. One Investment Edge card, for example, says that a strike has occurred among silver miners and that a player with an investment in Precious Metals must pay the card-bearer $800. The market events listed on the Investment Edge Cards always benefit the card-bearer – if it is a good event, they win, and if it is a negative event, even one that affects one of their investments, they are shielded from that harm.

4) Continue taking turns until a player earns $3,500 or until the designated time period is up.