Finally: Bailout, the flash game
posted at 12:20 pm on January 13, 2009 by Allahpundit
Share on Facebook | regular view
I played for five minutes, triggered a recession by dropping $229 billion up front, then got depressed and quit when I let AIG fail and crashed half the economy. From what I can tell, it’s the economic version of “New York Defender”: There’s no way to win, and thus no strategy for playing. Whom you save and whom you don’t is almost entirely a matter of whim. Which makes it eerily realistic.
I did hang in there long enough to get my first $700 billion infusion from Congress. Presumably, the longer you play, the more money you get to play with until the game finally just melts down. Again, give the designers credit for verisimilitude. Click the image to start bailing.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages:
GM: You’re going down!
BadgerHawk on January 13, 2009 at 12:26 PM
I played the game, made some bad choices and now I’m living off of whatever I can steal.
rplat on January 13, 2009 at 12:31 PM
Either Fannie and Freddie are too big to fail or we just suffered a major terrorist attack.
BadgerHawk on January 13, 2009 at 12:32 PM
AP,
This is the best game…evah!!!!
Thanks to you I won’t get any work done for the rest of the day.
Lance Murdock on January 13, 2009 at 12:33 PM
Dammit, zombie depression for me. Well, I only spent 77 billion. Silly me.
MadisonConservative on January 13, 2009 at 12:36 PM
So I didn’t bail out anyone and just let them all fail. There is now a global depression and zombies rule the earth. The only commodity worth anything now is brains.
Kelligan on January 13, 2009 at 12:36 PM
I’m in the same boat as Lance…my boss is not happy with you AP
Rogue on January 13, 2009 at 12:39 PM
Leaderboard. 11,200 approx. I got a “congratulations, you have saved the economy”.
I flipped a coin on each bailout.
aquaviva on January 13, 2009 at 12:40 PM
eh, lightly amusing …
Buckaroo on January 13, 2009 at 12:40 PM
“aquaviva on January 13, 2009 at 12:40 PM”
Harvey Dent lives!
:-)
Buckaroo on January 13, 2009 at 12:41 PM
I must be too much of a capitalist. I kept saying ‘no bailouts’ to everyone and after a few rounds, the program crashed.
Vashta.Nerada on January 13, 2009 at 12:42 PM
Oh great…second playthrough, I got on the leaderboard, rank 100, with a result of “Growth”…
…by bailing out every single bunch of worthless pricks who asked for money.
What a lesson.
MadisonConservative on January 13, 2009 at 12:44 PM
I “won” with only a deep recession on my watch.
The best part was when charges were brought up against Paulson and Bernanke on conspiring to spread Communism. HA!
Lance Murdock on January 13, 2009 at 12:45 PM
Depression, i has it
kirkill on January 13, 2009 at 12:46 PM
Yeah, you have to spend a lot. I started out letting a few companies fail, got an angry mob behind me but was able to make it to the end.
I got ranked.
Esthier on January 13, 2009 at 12:46 PM
Like the a$$hats who designed this game know what to do. The “Cheney-lose-a-turn” is one clue. Also the Palin reference in the news crawl. Only a Harvard or Columbia economist can beat this game.
genso on January 13, 2009 at 12:47 PM
Why not. Our money is monopoly anyway.
It’s funny. Office manager leaves the coffee pot on again.
Click on leader board
Kini on January 13, 2009 at 12:47 PM
Deep recession. 5973 pts.
I gave $$$$ to that Nevada bank, Fannie and Freddie, Silver State Bank, and the auto industry.
toliver on January 13, 2009 at 12:49 PM
I made it all the way to the end but still ended up with deep recession. I just couldn’t bring myself to bail out the autos…
BadgerHawk on January 13, 2009 at 12:50 PM
Yeah, it wants you to bail out everybody.
Mr. Bingley on January 13, 2009 at 12:52 PM
That was my result, too.
I saw a show (on PBS I think) that said the game Monopoly was invented by a communist to illustrate how capricious capitalism is.
zmdavid on January 13, 2009 at 12:53 PM
I didn’t bail out anyone and I made it two spots from the end…
Jared_MA on January 13, 2009 at 12:57 PM
I bailed out everyone and improved my score on the leaderboard to 15,300, #52 from the top. Result = “Growth”
aquaviva on January 13, 2009 at 12:57 PM
I also lost my job, my boss caught me, and am now in a personal economic depression.
aquaviva on January 13, 2009 at 12:58 PM
Heh.
BadgerHawk on January 13, 2009 at 12:59 PM
I won and am 166 on the leader board now on my first try. Maybe you are bailing out too many people to win. :-)
JeffinSac on January 13, 2009 at 1:00 PM
I saved the economy! I let most things fail, and for the hell of it bailed out many of the smaller banks. But I blew up the auto industry. Didn’t make the top 50 though.
Free Constitution on January 13, 2009 at 1:03 PM
I decided to play again and this time got “Zombie Depression.” Does that mean we are in the Age of Obama?
Lance Murdock on January 13, 2009 at 1:09 PM
I finished with 11,200 or so. I found if you bailed out the big entities like AIG, GM, Freddie/Fannie and helped some trouble ones get bought while telling the ones that were strong or regional they were not getting any soup it worked out.
tarheelcon on January 13, 2009 at 1:13 PM
I bailed everyone out and made the leader board.
cadams on January 13, 2009 at 1:17 PM
Zombie Recession… film at 11.
BoomJunkie on January 13, 2009 at 1:19 PM
Leadership board, #403, Dow of 10978. I didn’t give money to sound banks that wanted some bail out money, “just because”. And I let other fail.
rbj on January 13, 2009 at 1:26 PM
Same here. #69, dude!
Tuning Spork on January 13, 2009 at 1:29 PM
First go I bailed out Lehman Bros only and finished with a Zombie depression. Second time I bailed out the first half spending about $500,000,000,000, then denied most of the second half. I saved the economy, got on the leader board with 12,119. Still believe we should bail out no one.
Oleta on January 13, 2009 at 1:42 PM
Isn’t it how that really works in Washington?
Badger40 on January 13, 2009 at 1:43 PM
Wait a minute! This game rewards those that bail out everyone?
Bogus.
toliver on January 13, 2009 at 1:44 PM
I just played. I love the music.
But regarding the angry mob behind me… who the hell carries a flail these days?
madmonkphotog on January 13, 2009 at 1:52 PM
Kobayashi Maru.
I don’t like to lose.
juanito on January 13, 2009 at 2:00 PM
At least I got to spend absolutely, positively nothing on my way to Zombie Depression. Then again, my advice is, buy ammo!
steveegg on January 13, 2009 at 2:04 PM
I beat it. I only bailed out banks that were doing well and didn’t bailout Fannie or Freddie or any other bank that was going under or just looking to buy another bank. Funny how I made it to the end and did just fine….. hmmmm..
Luckedout on January 13, 2009 at 2:06 PM
Currently number two on the leaderboard! Please send me all of your money, so I can distribute it to the deserving.
Master Shake on January 13, 2009 at 3:02 PM
+1
I played it a few times, I did fairly good. Then I tried no bailouts (the game ends) and giving everyone a bailout – I scored very high with that. Lame.
batter on January 13, 2009 at 3:02 PM
I dunno. I think the ones being bailed out are chosen by political allegiances–i.e., unions–not whims.
jgapinoy on January 13, 2009 at 3:18 PM
I loved it and now i know WHY God didnt make me president yet..
I would have let them ALL FAIL and then taken ALL of the congressmen outside and personally had then all SHOT..
then i would have arrested ALL of the CEO’S of those banks
and Had them all taken outside and SHOT..
then i would have arrested ALL of the members of the congressional black caucus who also FORCED the banks into this mess and i would have dropped them off into the Big Pond in front of the memorial and wired it with 5000 volts AC… so they could fry as we all sat there and roasted 100 dollar bills over their smoking carcass..
So yep i made it three moves before the mushroom cloud launched..
I loved it..
jcila on January 13, 2009 at 5:09 PM
I was hoping someone would make this reference. :)
Dave Shay on January 13, 2009 at 6:36 PM
The game is like the movie War Games. There is no solution and everyone loses; unless you get points for allowing people to fail, but you don’t.
theboss on January 13, 2009 at 6:58 PM
#1 now – I bet even Obamuhhh can’t beat that. Now you can feel safe in sending me all of your money for proper (re)distribution.
Master Shake on January 13, 2009 at 7:28 PM
Me too.
Anna on January 13, 2009 at 7:50 PM
Me too.
It was funny to see the atom bomb video and the square that said “government passes stimulus, stocks go up 350.”
Wouldn’t be surprised if someone in Clinton’s former cabinet came up with the idea for that game.
Ryan Gandy on January 13, 2009 at 8:30 PM
I am near the top of the leaderboard. Why? Because I am.
I am a centrist. I know when to bailout and when to pass. Bailout, baby is as safe as uprotected sex with total, unscreened strangers off of the street.
HotAirJosef on January 14, 2009 at 1:11 AM
Comment pages: