Oligopolies, cartels and colussion classroom activity for A level Economics

A classroom activity that uses a pack of cards to effectively show the problems of oligopolistic competition and the temptations of collusion; students really love this activity. One pack of cards is enough for twenty-six students. The resource includes detailed guidance for the game and suggestions for discussions at several stages throughout the activity.

I developed this activity to demonstrate the difficulties of oligopolistic competition and the dilemmas involved with ‘who moves first’. The game is similar to the Prisoner’s Dilemma game, but is impossible to cheat at, (something my students were very good at), because whichever card is played there is both a risk or a benefit dependent upon the card played by the other player; it’s pure chance.