# Handout 02.13: Skittles Market Game Rules and Ledger

## Page 1: Rules and fee cards (teacher posts the rules; cuts the three fee cards, one set per house table)

### The rules (three sentences)

1. The student holding the most Skittles of one color at the final count wins the prize.
2. Any trade is legal, but every trade must happen at a house table, and the house takes a fee.
3. No eating. No taking. The banker initials your ledger for every trade.

### The House Banker's job

- Sit at your table with the jar. You do not trade and you do not win. You are paid from the house jar at the end.
- For every trade at your table: collect the fee from each trader into the jar, then initial both ledgers.
- Do not give advice. Do not refuse a trade that follows the rules.
- At the end, count the jar and report the number.

### Fee card, Round 1

**THE HOUSE TAKES 1 SKITTLE FROM EACH TRADER, EVERY TRADE.**
(Picture: one Skittle, an arrow, a jar.)

### Fee card, Round 2

**THE HOUSE TAKES 2 SKITTLES FROM EACH TRADER, EVERY TRADE.**
(Picture: two Skittles, an arrow, a jar.)

### Fee card, Round 3

**MEMBERSHIP: PAY 3 SKITTLES ONCE, TRADE FREE ALL ROUND. NO MEMBERSHIP, NO TRADING.**
(Picture: a small card with a star, three Skittles, a jar.)

### The non-food version

Same rules, same rounds, same ledger. Each student gets a cup of 15 colored paper clips in five colors, mixed. The winner has the most clips of one color. The house jar holds clips. Use it for the whole class if anyone on the class list cannot have candy and you cannot seat them apart without comment, or hand a paper clip cup to any student who needs one and say nothing.

* * *

## Page 2: The trade ledger

Name: ______________________ Date: __________ Banker at my table: ______________________

**Do now (keep this line covered until the debrief):** Think of a game or app you play. Who made it? Write one way they make money from you playing.

_____________________________________________________________________________

### Part A: Start count

| Color | Red | Orange | Yellow | Green | Purple | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| How many at the start | | | | | | |

My target color: ______________

### The ledger (one line per trade; the banker initials every line)

| Round | I gave (color and how many) | I got (color and how many) | Fee I paid | Banker initials |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | | | |
| 1 | | | | |
| 1 | | | | |
| 2 | | | | |
| 2 | | | | |
| 3 (membership paid? yes / no) | | | | |
| 3 | | | | |
| 3 | | | | |

### Part B: End count and the math

| Color | Red | Orange | Yellow | Green | Purple | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| How many at the end | | | | | | |

My biggest color: ______________ How many: ______

Total fees I paid (add the fee column, plus the membership if you bought one): ______ Skittles

Start total minus end total = ______. Is that the same as the fees I paid? yes / no. If no, what happened? ________________

**The room (fill in from the board):** The house jars held ______ Skittles. That is ______ Skittles that left the players and never came back. Did the total in the room go up or down? ______

Why did the house end up with Skittles when the house never traded? ______________________________________

### Part C: Fees in real life (fill in during the debrief)

A fee is _________________________________________________________________

| Real-life fee | Who collects it | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| ATM fee | | |
| Instant transfer fee on an app | | |
| Subscription fee | | |
| Commission | | |

### Part D: Which fee plan was the best deal?

| Fee plan | Best for a heavy trader (many trades) or a light trader (one or two)? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1: 1 per trade | | |
| Round 2: 2 per trade | | |
| Round 3: 3 once, then free | | |

Real choice: Checking Account A charges $12 a month and nothing per transaction [update]. Checking Account B charges nothing a month and $0.50 per transaction [update]. A person who makes 10 transactions a month should pick ______ (A costs $______, B costs $______). A person who makes 40 should pick ______ (A costs $______, B costs $______).

### After the debrief

Reread your do now line. One sentence: "The maker gets ______________ every time I ______________."

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## Teacher key

Part A and the ledger: complete if every trade line has a fee and initials.

Part B: start minus end should equal fees paid (plus membership). If it does not, the student ate some, lost some, or forgot a line; any of those is a fine debrief example. Room: the house jar total is the number of Skittles that left the players; the total in the room went down (or stayed the same if you count the jar, but the players' total went down); the house ended up with Skittles because it charged for the use of its tables on every trade and never risked one of its own.

Part C: a fee is a price you pay to use someone else's system or service. ATM fee: the ATM's bank (and sometimes your own), for using a machine that is not your bank's. Instant transfer fee: the app company, for moving your money to your bank today instead of in one to three days. Subscription fee: a company, for access to a service every month whether you use it or not. Commission: a broker or agent, for handling a trade or a sale.

Part D: Round 1 is fine for a light trader and adds up for a heavy trader; Round 2 punishes the heavy trader and pushes everyone to trade less; Round 3 is the best deal for a heavy trader (three once, then free) and a waste for someone who trades once or not at all. Account choice: 10 transactions: A costs $12, B costs $5, pick B. 40 transactions: A costs $12, B costs $20, pick A. The rule: know how much you will use the system before you pick the fee plan.