Long or Short is a free, turn-based stock trading game. Each wave drops you into a famous market era — the dot-com boom, the financial crisis, the crypto mania and more — and shows you five real-ish companies with a punchy pitch and a few stats. Your only job: decide whether to go long (bet it rises) or short (bet it falls), then watch history rhyme.
How to play
- Read the card. Each company has a one-line pitch plus stats — IPO price, revenue, monthly burn, runway.
- Tap LONG or SHORT. Long profits if the price rises; short profits if it falls.
- Watch the quarter play out. A correct call adds to your portfolio; a wrong one subtracts.
- Clear five eras of five stocks each (25 calls) without going broke.
Long = "this goes up." Short = "this goes down." The fun is that hindsight makes it obvious (short Pets.com, long Amazon) — but in the moment, both looked like dog-food-shipping money pits.
Long vs short: the real difference
Going long is the familiar one: you buy an asset hoping it appreciates. Your downside is capped (a stock can only fall to zero) and your upside is open-ended.
Going short flips it. You borrow shares from your broker, sell them at today's price, and plan to buy them back cheaper later to return them — keeping the difference. The catch: your loss is theoretically unlimited, because a price can keep climbing forever (see: every short squeeze ever). Shorting is how you profit when things fall apart — and how you get wiped out when a "doomed" company refuses to die.
Why leverage makes it spicier
Leverage multiplies your position with borrowed money. At 2× or 3×, a correct call pays double or triple — and a wrong one costs the same multiple. Later eras in the game crank the leverage, which is exactly how real traders turn a bad week into a margin call.
Tips to beat the street
- Read the burn, not the hype. A great story with a 6-month runway and no revenue usually ends one way.
- Mind the era. In a mania, even garbage floats for a while; in a crash, even good companies sink.
- Shorting isn't free. Betting against a hyped name can be right and still hurt if the squeeze comes first.
- Protect the portfolio. You only need to survive 25 calls — don't go all-in on a hunch at high leverage.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Long or Short free?
- Yes — it plays free in any browser on phone or desktop, no download or signup.
- Is this real financial advice?
- No. It's a comedy game built on real history. For actual investing, use a regulated broker and never risk money you can't afford to lose.
- Can you really lose money shorting if the stock goes up a lot?
- Yes — that's the danger. Because a price can rise without limit, short losses are theoretically unbounded, and a "short squeeze" can force buy-backs at brutal prices.
Key terms glossary
Long — betting a price rises. Short — betting it falls (by borrowing and selling). Leverage — trading with borrowed money to multiply gains and losses. Margin call — a broker demand to add funds or be liquidated. Short squeeze — a rising price forcing shorts to buy back, pushing it higher. Burn rate — how fast a company spends its cash.
Related
- ▶ Play Long or Short
- 📈 Pump or Dump — ride one chart instead of picking sides.
- 🏦 How Ponzi schemes work
- 📉 What is a margin call?