The Investor's Time Machine
A free game about investing

Learn to invest by traveling through almost 100 years of real markets

Go back to a real month in history with money to invest, and decide as the news arrives. No account, no real money.

Start mission 1 →
How it works

Three steps, month after month

  1. 1
    Split your money

    Stocks, bonds, gold, housing or cash, on a platform that charges real fees.

  2. 2
    Move through time

    Each month brings that month's real returns, costs and taxes.

  3. 3
    Decide when the news breaks

    Big news stops the game. Keep your mix or change it, without knowing what comes next.

Mission map

Eight missions through real history

  1. Mission 1 · FoundationsCompound interest vs. inflation1950–1959 Locked
  2. Mission 2 · Risk and diversificationRiding out a storm1973–1977 Locked
  3. Mission 3 · Risk and diversificationDon't put all your eggs in one basket2000–2009 Locked
  4. Mission 4 · Costs and taxesThe silent enemy: costs1982–2001 Locked
  5. Mission 5 · Market cyclesInterest rates and bonds1977–1986 Locked
  6. Mission 6 · Market cyclesA financial crisis2007–2012 Locked
  7. Mission 7 · Market cyclesThe return of inflation2020–2023 Locked
  8. Mission 8 · Final examFinal exam, blindfoldedA surprise period Locked
Free playThe 1950s with any amount, no mission rules.
The lessons

A short chapter before every mission

The idea, a chart and the rule to remember, in plain words: compounding, risk, diversification, costs, taxes and panic.

See the lessons
Lessons
12
Real data

Every number is real

Monthly returns, prices and headlines come from published sources, listed at the bottom of every page. The game never shows what happens after the date you are in.

years of monthly data
1928–2025
real, dated news stories
156
Sources and methods
$0$10k$20k$30k$40k192819321936194019441948YearValue (US$)Cash (under the mattress): $10,000 at the end of 1949Money market: $12,300 at the end of 194910-year bonds: $19,779 at the end of 1949US stocks: $31,192 at the end of 1949
Real returns, month by month$10,000 in US stocks in January 1928 fell to $3,492 by 1932, and was worth $31,192 by the end of 1949. Prices rose 36% over those years.
The timeline

From 1928 to 2025

The missions are the highlighted periods. Open one, or see what unlocks it.

  1. 1929The Wall Street crash
  2. 1933Private gold ownership banned
  3. Mission 1 · 1950–1959Compound interest vs. inflationOpen
  4. Mission 2 · 1973–1977Riding out a storm Locked
  5. 1973The oil embargo
  6. Mission 5 · 1977–1986Interest rates and bonds Locked
  7. 1979Volcker's Fed takes on inflation
  8. Mission 4 · 1982–2001The silent enemy: costs Locked
  9. 1987Black Monday
  10. Mission 3 · 2000–2009Don't put all your eggs in one basket Locked
  11. 2000The dot-com peak
  12. Mission 6 · 2007–2012A financial crisis Locked
  13. 2008Lehman Brothers fails
  14. Mission 7 · 2020–2023The return of inflation Locked
  15. 2020The pandemic
  16. 2022The Fed starts raising rates against inflation
Mission 8 · A surprise periodFinal exam, blindfolded Locked