The Silk Road Exchange
Trade, negotiate and build a fortune together.
- Duration
- 2 hours
- Group size
- 12 – 600 guests
- Setting
- Indoor
- Style
- Competitive and collaborative
Key outcomes
- Strategic Negotiation Skills
- Cross Team Communication
- Information Sharing Habits
- Win Win Thinking
- Planning Under Pressure
- Keeping Partner Commitments
About
It is the height of the Silk Road. Each team is a merchant house with a caravan, a purse of coins and a secret contract to fulfil. Silk, spices, tea and porcelain change hands at five market towns, and prices move every round.
No house can win alone. The routes are long, information is scattered and the best deals need two or three partners. Teams that ask good questions, share what they know and keep their word finish with the strongest ledgers.
Learning outcomes
Relationships compound. The houses that kept their promises got the best offers in later rounds, and trust worked like capital.
Teams that asked before they assumed found deals others missed, because prices and contracts were different for every house. Every trade is recorded, so the debrief uses real numbers rather than opinions.
Program flow
A typical run of show. Timings are adapted to your agenda.
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13:30 Welcome and house formation
Guests are split into merchant houses, choose a house name and receive their caravan satchel and secret contract.
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13:45 Market briefing
The host explains the five market towns, goods, coins and how prices move between rounds.
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13:55 Open market trading
Three fast trading rounds. Houses buy, sell and barter while news events shake up prices.
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14:35 Grand caravan deals
Houses form alliances to fulfil large contracts that no single house can complete alone.
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15:00 Market close and scoring
Ledgers are counted live on screen and the richest house is crowned.
-
15:10 Debrief
A facilitated discussion links the game to negotiation, collaboration and trust at work.
What is included
Included
- Lead host and facilitators
- All trading materials and caravan satchels
- Live scoring screen and results
- Facilitated debrief
- Winner trophy
Not included
- Venue hire
- Food and drinks
- Sound system and projector
- Transport
We can arrange any of these for you on request.
Frequently asked questions
Is it competitive or collaborative?
Both. Houses compete for the top ledger, but the biggest contracts can only be won together.
Can it run for very large groups?
Yes. We add market towns and facilitators so it works smoothly up to 600 guests.
Do guests need any business knowledge?
No. The rules take ten minutes to learn and everyone can take part.
Something else?
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Request a quote for The Silk Road Exchange
Tell us your group size, date and goals. We will reply with a tailored proposal.