Chair the Fed: Insights from game usage data

Chair the Fed is an award-winning online educational game developed by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco to help players learn about monetary policy. Players assume the role of Fed Chair and adjust the federal funds rate to try to achieve low inflation and low unemployment. If successful, they are reappointed to another term. By investigating anonymous user data from a three-month period in 2019, we find that about 20 percent of games completed result in reappointment. Chances of reappointment improve with game experience; however, players exhibit more skill in addressing some situations than others. Given the widespread interest in the game, reflected by over 80,000 games initiated per month, the implications of the game for improving economic literacy are important.