Overview
About this game
As featured on the Marketplace podcast where Kai Ryssdal played on air.
Step into the shoes of history's most powerful central bankers.
Federal Reserve Simulator puts you in command of the world's most influential economic institution. Navigate real historical crises, set the course of monetary policy quarter by quarter, and try to achieve what few Fed Chairs ever have: a perfect soft landing.
MASTER THE LEVERS OF MONETARY POLICY
Control the Federal Funds Rate, adjust the Discount Window, set reserve requirements, and deploy unconventional tools like quantitative easing and forward guidance. As the decades progress, unlock new powers — from press conferences and dot plots to explicit inflation targeting. Every tool carries tradeoffs, and every rate change takes four quarters to fully hit the economy. Plan ahead or pay the price.
RELIVE DEFINING MOMENTS IN ECONOMIC HISTORY
Play as the legendary Chairs who shaped the modern Fed:
Paul Volcker — Crush runaway 14% inflation with historic rate hikes, even if it means back-to-back recessions
Alan Greenspan — Survive Black Monday, the dot-com crash, and 9/11 across the longest tenure in Fed history
Ben Bernanke — Invent quantitative easing on the fly to prevent a second Great Depression
Janet Yellen — Engineer the recovery and normalize policy without derailing fragile growth
Jerome Powell — Battle a pandemic, confront 40-year-high inflation, and weather political pressure from the White House
NEW: KEVIN WARSH MODE — THE AI ERA (2026–2034)
Take the oath in 2026 with inflation still running hot and a President demanding deep cuts on day one. A hawkish FOMC — led by Jerome Powell, now sitting as a Governor — stands ready to revolt if you cave. Cross the danger line on either side and the Independence Pendulum punishes you: defy the President too long and the DOJ opens an investigation; cut to please him and Powell leads the Board into open revolt. Removal from office is on the table.
Then there's the wild card. The AI Impact slider lets you dial in how transformative the technology becomes — from a quiet disappointment to a record jobless boom that hollows out the labor market while GDP and markets soar. Pump QE to fight unemployment and you'll inflate an AI-equity bubble that bursts in 2033. There is no easy way through.
FEEL THE WEIGHT OF YOUR DECISIONS
Watch the economy react to your policies quarter by quarter. Raise rates too fast and trigger a recession. Cut too slowly and watch inflation spiral. Your credibility score tracks how much markets trust your word — build it early, because you'll need it when crisis strikes. At the end of your term, receive a letter grade from A to F based on how you stacked up against history.
DESIGN YOUR OWN CRISIS
In Custom Mode, choose your nightmare scenario: stagflation, deflation, a market crash — then add a wildcard like a war, energy crisis, or automation boom halfway through. Think you understand monetary policy? Prove it.
THINK YOU CAN DO BETTER?
Unlock Prestige Mode for tighter scoring and narrower margins of error. Chase achievements across every era. Study the in-game Fedcyclopedia to learn real monetary policy concepts. Compare your run against the historical benchmarks for every Chair.
Presidential tweets. Board revolts. DOJ investigations. AI bubbles. Market panics. Congressional hearings. Can you preserve the Fed's independence and steer the economy through the storm?
The fate of millions hangs in the balance. What's your next move, Chair?
Available in English, German, Spanish, 中文, and Portuguese.
