Wongamania: Banana Economy (2016)

Overview

Welcome to Banana Republic, a political unstable country where the economy is controlled by political and business elites. You are one of the elite of this nation, and your objective is to stash enough money in an offshore trust fund that you can retire comfortably. Invest your income in stocks, properties and bonds, then exert influence on the government to manipulate the economy for your personal gain. Orchestrate the downfall of other elites by destroying their personal life through car accidents, expensive divorces, and shotgun babies. Do you have what it takes to survive in this cutthroat world of money mania?

Wongamania: Banana Economy is an economic and modern finance board game that reflects the complexity of modern investment portfolio management by incorporating multiple asset classes that behave differently under different economic situations. Deviating from the traditional auction mechanisms used by most stock-trading board games, Wongamania: Banana Economy uses a combination of resource management, environment manipulation, and take-that mechanisms to reflect the brutal competition and uncertainty of the modern global financial markets. Players have to manage a portfolio of stocks, properties and bonds, and assess the risk-reward of holding them in different allocations. Players are also able to influence the economic environment by manipulating it to either benefit their personal investment allocation or to wreck havoc against other players who are using a different asset allocation strategy. Players are also able to make use of their money for other purposes, such as sabotaging the personal lives of other players, hiring professionals to disrupt the strategy of other players and buying insurance to protect against sabotages. Whoever stashes enough money in a off-shore trust fund wins the game.

Wongamania: Banana Economy is a reimplementation of the 2014 game Wongamania (only available in SEA), and multiple changes have been made to cater better to the international audience.