erstwhile gameA little hindsight.
The market, in hindsight

Five years.
Ten chips.
Your call.

A hidden year. $10,000 to invest.
Find out what you would have made.

An illustrated investment chart and a gold-colored chip
✳

Real history. Your decisions.
Free to play. No account needed.

Daily puzzleA little history awaits

Opening the market…

A free game of hindsight

Play Erstwhile Game free online

A daily investing puzzle with real price history and imaginary money. Read a clue, choose where your $10,000 goes, and find out whether your portfolio can beat the S&P 500 over five years.

A new Daily investing puzzle

Everyone with the same local date gets the same hidden year and investment choices. Place ten chips across four stocks, two other assets and cash, with up to four chips on any option.

Play today’s puzzle

Keep playing in Unlimited

Finished today’s game? Unlimited has 100 practice puzzles plus previously released Daily puzzles. Play as many rounds as you like, without revealing today’s Daily or a future puzzle.

Play unlimited

Play on mobile or desktop

Open the game in your browser on a phone, tablet or computer. Add and remove chips with a tap, open help when you need it, and save or share your result. Your progress stays in this browser.

How the game and prices work
Before your next round

Erstwhile Game FAQ

What is Erstwhile Game?

Erstwhile Game is a historical investing puzzle. You start with $10,000 in a hidden year, choose investments and revisit your portfolio twice. After five years, the dates and your result are revealed.

Is Erstwhile Game free to play online?

Yes. Daily and Unlimited are free to play in your browser. You do not need an account, a subscription or real money.

Can I play more than one puzzle a day?

Yes. Switch to Unlimited for 100 practice puzzles plus Daily puzzles from earlier dates. Today’s Daily and future Daily puzzles stay out of the practice pool.

Can I play on my phone?

Yes. Play on a mobile phone, tablet or desktop browser. The mobile layout keeps investment choices together, with large chip buttons and the next action close at hand. No app download is needed.

When does the Daily puzzle change?

A new Daily puzzle is available at midnight in your device’s local time. Players with the same local calendar date receive the same puzzle.

Are the prices real, and am I investing real money?

The puzzle uses historical adjusted stock and fund prices. Your $10,000 is imaginary, and there are no deposits, cash prizes or real trades. The game uses the named funds as proxies for gold, silver, bonds, oil and commodities.

Know your options
A quick field guide

Five years. Three decisions.

You have $10,000 in a hidden year between 2005 and 2020. Can you grow it faster than the S&P 500?

  1. 1

    Build your portfolio

    Place 10 chips across four stocks, two other assets and cash. Each chip starts at $1,000. Put up to 4 on any option, including cash.

  2. 2

    Hold or change course

    At years 2 and 4, see your positions and a new historical clue. Hold keeps your actual holdings. Rebalance sells everything: divide the current total into 10 equal chips and place them again.

  3. 3

    See where you landed

    Year 5 reveals the dates, your return and the S&P 500 fund result. See the strongest possible strategy and how your result compares with all legal strategies.

Daily changes at midnight in your device’s local time. Unlimited includes 100 practice puzzles plus previously released Daily puzzles. Gold, silver, oil, bonds and commodities use the fund proxies named in asset details. No fees, taxes or trading costs are simulated.