The game where students learnthe game business metrics by playing it.
Acquisition, retention, monetization — taught as decisions, not definitions. Students compete for the best results. AI cannot predict the result with instructor-activated events.
After one round, students canrun the numbers — for real.
Most publishing education describes the P&L. Churn & Burn makes players live it. Every round forces an acquisition vs. retention tradeoff with real score consequences. Churn compounds. Poor early decisions catch up. The debrief maps every game decision to a real metric.
Students don't just understand the concepts — they've felt the consequences of getting them wrong.
Four phases.One loud afternoon.
Setup (5 min)
Each player runs a games portfolio. Starting metrics — install base, ARPU, monthly churn — are dealt as cards. No two games start the same.
Rounds (40–60 min)
Draw market event cards. Choose: invest in acquisition or defend retention. Every decision shifts your portfolio metrics. The scoreboard updates live.
Scoring
Churn compounds across rounds. The portfolio with the highest lifetime value at game end wins — but the winner is rarely obvious until the final round.
Debrief (15 min)
Facilitator-led. Maps every major game decision back to a real metric and business case. The room does the talking — the debrief closes the loop.
MBA & Game Business courses
Maps directly to: publishing strategy, product management, games industry business models, platform economics.
"Three classes in, students get the dynamics of metrics." —Ivan Kako, Faculty, Game Business Program
Corporate L&D
Games industry onboarding · Publisher training · Retention strategy workshops · New team alignment.
Everything torun it out of the box.
Printing is not required.
One game.Three ways to use it.
Single cohort
One-off session, up to 30 players. Includes full print files + digital scoring tool.
Annual license
Unlimited runs, one institution, 12 months. All materials + facilitator guide + instructor support.
Custom Build
Adapt the game to your class. The competitive card-based system is flexible.
Academic pricing available. All tiers include the digital scoring tool and facilitator guide.