Ticker Leak
Rules

How to play

1

Read the news.It tells you which stocks may rise or fall.

2

Make one move.Buy 1 share, sell 1 share, or hold.

3

Finish with the most money.Five rounds. Highest total value wins.

Want the news first?Pay $4 for an Early Briefing and trade 30 seconds before everyone else. Each briefing raises your Regulatory Heat. If regulators intervene, Heat determines your regulatory cost.
For educatorsConcepts and discussion prompts

Ticker Leak is a simplified market model. It lets players feel how new information, unequal access, and trading behavior can change prices.

Efficient capital markets
Public information tends to be reflected in prices quickly, making easy advantages hard to keep.
Information asymmetry
Early Briefing buyers know something other players do not—and can act before the market catches up.
Price discovery & market impact
Trades help form the next price. Several players acting on the same signal can reduce the value of being early.
Insider trading & enforcement
Real laws are more specific than this game. The Heat meter represents the legal, financial, and reputational uncertainty around unequal access to potentially market-moving information.
After the game, ask:When was information most valuable?Did early traders improve prices for everyone else?How did Heat change your choices?What does this model leave out about real markets?

For classroom discussion only—not legal or investing advice.

Everyone starts with $60 and one share of every company. All money and companies are fictional.

A face-to-face market game

Ticker Leak

Trade the leak. Manage the heat.

Get the news first. Move the market. The rules may change.

3–6 players5 rounds15 minutes

The whole game

Three simple steps

1

Read the news.It tells you which stocks may rise or fall.

2

Make one move.Buy 1 share, sell 1 share, or hold.

3

Finish with the most money.Five rounds. Highest total value wins.

Optional edgePay $4 to see an Early Briefing and get a 30-second head start. It raises your Regulatory Heat—and may increase your regulatory cost.
For educatorsConcepts and discussion prompts

Ticker Leak is a simplified market model. It lets players feel how new information, unequal access, and trading behavior can change prices.

Efficient capital markets
Public information tends to be reflected in prices quickly, making easy advantages hard to keep.
Information asymmetry
Early Briefing buyers know something other players do not—and can act before the market catches up.
Price discovery & market impact
Trades help form the next price. Several players acting on the same signal can reduce the value of being early.
Insider trading & enforcement
Real laws are more specific than this game. The Heat meter represents the legal, financial, and reputational uncertainty around unequal access to potentially market-moving information.
After the game, ask:When was information most valuable?Did early traders improve prices for everyone else?How did Heat change your choices?What does this model leave out about real markets?

For classroom discussion only—not legal or investing advice.