The Investor's Time Machine
About

About the Investor's Time Machine

Made by Miguel Rodriguez, an economist with 15 years in transformation and consulting, who wanted a game that teaches investing with real history.

It is for anyone starting out: no knowledge needed, no country-specific rules, and every new word is explained when you hover or tap it.

An educational game, not financial advice. Nothing here recommends any investment, and past returns don't predict future ones.

Where every number comes from

Every return, price and inflation figure in the game comes from these sources, 1928–2025. Nothing is made up.

The 156 news stories are real and dated, each with its source (a newspaper, the Federal Reserve, a government or an encyclopedia page), and written as a newspaper of the time would, without knowing what happened next. The monthly data is checked against a second source year by year, and every figure in the lessons is rebuilt from the data automatically.

How the game works, and what it simplifies

  • Monthly steps. Time moves one month at a time. Shiller's stock prices are averages over each month, so a one-day crash such as Black Monday looks smaller than it was on the day.
  • Bonds. The monthly return of 10-year bonds is worked out from the 10-year yield: a bond paying last month's yield, priced again at this month's yield, plus a month of interest.
  • Yearly figures spread over the months. T-bills, corporate bonds, home prices and gold before 1968 are only available year by year, so each year's return is spread evenly across its 12 months.
  • Cash. Money you don't invest stays as cash “under the mattress”: it earns nothing and loses purchasing power to inflation. The money market (T-bills) is the investment that earns interest.
  • Costs. You choose where you invest once per game: Online broker + index ETFs, Traditional bank, Advisor + active funds. Each has realistic trading fees, spreads (the gap between the buying and selling price), yearly fund costs and, for the bank and the advisor, a yearly fee on everything you hold.
  • Taxes. One flat rate on the year's net gains when you sell, set by each mission. Losses in the same year count against gains. There are no country-specific rules.
  • Housing. Prices only (rent can be counted as an option). Buying a home costs 10%, selling it 5%, upkeep is 1% a year, and the money from a sale arrives 6 months later.
  • Gold. Private gold ownership was banned in the US from 1933 to 1974 (Executive Order 6102), so in those years gold can't be bought, and gold held in April 1933 is handed in at that month's value.
  • Dollars. All amounts are in US dollars, and the investments are American ones.
  • No future. The game never shows what happens after the date you are in: not in the news, the prices or the lessons.

More

Privacy · what the game keeps and what it counts. How to play · the five steps. Lessons · the ideas behind each mission.