About
this project.

Why it exists

When I started learning about international relations and global economics, I quickly noticed that textbooks are great at defining terms — tariffs, trade deficits, currency devaluation — but terrible at making you feel the feedback loops. You read about how raising tariffs protects domestic producers but can trigger retaliation from trade partners. But you never actually experience the approval bump followed by the inflation spike followed by the retaliatory tariffs from China that tank your GDP.

Simulation is the antidote to passive learning. Every quarter you spend in this game, you make real decisions with real tradeoffs. You feel the weight of those decisions when your public approval crashes because you let inflation get out of control, or when a global oil shock hits and you realize you forgot to invest in energy independence.

That's the learning that sticks.

The economics model

All 12 playable countries use real-world starting data from the World Bank, IMF World Economic Outlook, and CIA World Factbook. GDP figures, trade balances, inflation rates, unemployment numbers, and foreign reserves are drawn from 2023–2024 data.

The simulation engine models quarterly turns with real economic relationships: trade deals boost GDP with a delay (as supply chains adjust), currency devaluation immediately raises inflation, infrastructure investment creates construction jobs now and trade capacity benefits later. Each calculation includes ±5% random variance because real economies aren't deterministic.

The world model is intentionally simplified: 12 playable countries stand in for major economic archetypes, while global events like oil shocks, pandemics, and trade wars apply archetype-specific modifiers. An oil shock hurts oil-importing manufacturers but benefits oil exporters.

The 12 playable economies

Each country represents a different economic archetype — deliberately chosen to show the full spectrum of how countries participate in global trade:

• 🇺🇸 United StatesThe superpower — reserve currency, tech dominance, massive deficit
• 🇨🇳 ChinaExport powerhouse — manufacturing engine, huge reserves, but export-dependent
• 🇩🇪 GermanyIndustrial leader — precision manufacturing, EU backbone, energy vulnerability
• 🇯🇵 JapanTech innovator — robotics pioneer, aging population, deflation fighter
• 🇮🇳 IndiaRising power — IT services boom, demographic dividend, infrastructure gap
• 🇧🇷 BrazilEmerging market — agricultural giant, political risk, resource wealth
• 🇸🇦 Saudi ArabiaOil economy — OPEC power, Vision 2030 diversification race
• 🇳🇬 NigeriaDeveloping economy — Africa's largest, oil-dependent, fintech rising
• 🇸🇬 SingaporeTrade hub — city-state, perfect logistics, no natural resources
• 🇲🇽 MexicoManufacturing hub — USMCA nearshoring boom, US dependency risk
• 🇦🇺 AustraliaResource economy — iron ore & LNG superpower, China trade tension
• 🇰🇪 KenyaFrontier market — M-Pesa fintech, tea exports, debt challenge

What's coming

Learn more