Maximize your utility by choosing the optimal bundle as prices and income change!
This game simulates the real-world challenge a consumer faces: prices and income change unpredictably each month, and you must re-optimize your consumption bundle to keep utility high. Each "month" lasts a few seconds, during which random shocks — price spikes, income changes, or preference shifts — alter the economic environment. You have a limited number of action points to adjust your bundle of goods \(X\) and \(Y\), forcing you to prioritize which changes matter most.
The indifference curve graph shows your current position relative to the budget constraint and the optimal bundle. When the budget line shifts (because a price or income changed), the old optimal is no longer optimal — you need to move. The closer your indifference curve sits to the budget line's tangency point, the higher your efficiency score. Over a 12-month "year," your cumulative utility measures how well you adapted to changing conditions.
The core economic lesson is that optimization isn't a one-time decision but an ongoing process. In a world with changing prices and income, consumers must continuously re-evaluate their spending. The tangency condition \(\mathrm{MRS} = P_x/P_y\) must hold at every moment, and deviations from it — whether from inattention or constraints on adjustment — carry real welfare costs that compound over time.