Draft 7 stocks, bench 3. Compete with your friends all season. Real prices, fake money, real bragging rights.
Not sure which one? Here's what each is actually like.
Trade freely with the same starting cash as everyone else until a deadline you set. No draft, no brackets, best return wins. The simplest way to jump in.
Play Showdown →Fantasy-football-style. Draft a 7-stock roster, either an NFL-style live draft where each stock only goes to one manager, or FPL-style where everyone gets a $100 budget to spend. Runs over weeks, real skill-based scoring.
Start a League →Showdown, but just the two of you. Same starting cash, same deadline, no leaderboard to worry about, just who does better.
Challenge a Friend →Squads of up to 20 trade together, ranked by the team's average return. Good when you want to collaborate on decisions, not just compete solo.
Build a Squad →A single- or double-elimination bracket, tables of 4 per round, up to 50 players. One bad week and you're out, win or go home.
Enter Madness →Join a friend with a code. Take turns claiming squares with S&P 500 companies that fit both the row and column - Dow 30, Dividend Aristocrat, sector, HQ state. Three in a row wins.
Play Stock Tac Toe →See a real S&P 500 price chart with the last day hidden. Guess up or down. Right keeps your streak alive and moves to a new stock, wrong ends it. Real data every round.
Play Bull or Bear →A real company name flashes up, type the ticker before time runs out. As many as you can in 60 seconds. Fast, replayable, good for a class warmup.
Play Speed Round →$10,000 and a real, genuinely volatile 20-day stretch from a real stock. Stay in, get out, get back in, before each day's real move happens. See how you actually do under pressure.
Play Crash Survival →Same 5 real companies for everyone today - rank them best to worst by actual year-to-date return. Scored instantly, new puzzle tomorrow.
Play Today's Puzzle →Volatility adjustment. A stock's move is weighed against how much it normally swings, in both directions. A wild stock's gain (or loss) counts for less; a calm stock's identical move counts for more. Stops someone from winning just by holding something explosive.
Alpha bonus. Beat the real S&P 500 that week, earn extra credit. Lag the market, take a small hit. The same way real stock pickers are actually judged.
Diversification. Spread your 7 starters across different industries for a bonus. Stack them all in one, take a small penalty.
Every stock also shows its real industry, like a position tag in NFL fantasy, right on the draft board and your roster.
Which mode fits your class?
Showdown — the simplest starting point. Everyone trades freely with the same starting cash until a deadline you set; best return wins. No draft, no brackets, just pick an end date and go. Good default if you're not sure which to pick.
League — a fantasy-football-style draft. Each student drafts a 7-stock roster from real S&P 500 companies, competes weekly, and standings carry across a season you can set to match your semester. Best for a class running the activity over several weeks or months.
1v1 — a Showdown for exactly two people. Good for a quick head-to-head between two students.
Team Mode — students form squads of up to 20 and trade together as a group, ranked by average return. Good for group projects or collaborative assignments.
Madness — a single- or double-elimination bracket tournament, tables of 4 per round. Good for a shorter, higher-stakes event, like a one-week class tournament.
Setting one up (same basic steps for every mode)
Pick a mode above, click Create, and you'll set the basics (name, end date or season, size limits). You'll get a join code immediately, share that with your class and students create a free account to join. No student needs your permission or approval to join, the code is the only gate.
What students can actually do
Every mode trades real stocks at real live prices with virtual money, nothing here ever touches real funds. Depending on the mode, students can also short sell, trade options, and earn real dividend payouts, all using real market data, not simulated numbers. Every stock shows its real industry right on the screen, similar to a position tag in fantasy sports.
Understanding the scoring
League specifically uses a skill-adjusted scoring system, see the "New: Scoring Now Rewards Real Skill" section above for the full breakdown. The other modes rank directly by portfolio return.
Start a private league with your crew or join with a code. Choose FPL style (same stocks allowed) or NFL snake draft.
Pick your 7 starters and 3 bench stocks. Every pick is live — watch your friends swipe the stocks you wanted.
Your score = your starters' total return %. Prices update in real time. Watch the leaderboard flip every market day.
2 free transfers per week. Swap bench for starters anytime. Extra trades cost -5% off your score — choose wisely.
Season 1 is live. Draft opens now.