Erstwhile

Erstwhile, subtitled the Certificate of Speculation, drops you at the end of a year it will not name. You have $10,000 split into ten $1,000 chips, and a menu of seven options: four stocks, two other assets such as a metal or a commodity, and cash, which earns nothing but cannot fall. Each option shows a one-line description and how much it moved the year before.

The clues come from the wire: real news headlines from the hidden year, credited to the outlet that ran them. Some are about the economy in general and some about the companies in play, so a careful reader can often place the year before betting. You can put at most four chips on any one option, then lock in.

The game then plays out the following years with real year-end prices. At year 2 and again at year 4 you can change your allocation, and at year 5 the year is revealed along with your final value, your return against the S&P 500 benchmark and where you stand among the other players that day. Prices for stocks and metals are split- and dividend-adjusted year-end closes, and commodities use December average world prices.

Erstwhile launched on 8 October 2026 and is made by one person. The daily puzzle is free and needs no sign-up, and yesterday's puzzle can be replayed for free. Older puzzles from the archive and an unlimited mode with random windows are for supporters ($1.99 a month or $9.99 a year), who also get no ads, certificate styles and extra stats; only the daily puzzle is ranked against other players. The free game shows Google ads beside the board on wide screens and under the result. It suits players who like history, markets and reading news for clues more than quick word puzzles.