· Social Engineering · Get-rich courses
Guru Simulator: a free game about get-rich-quick courses
A "6-figure passive income" course for people with €12 left. Swipe the claims: real skill or guru hype?
What is Guru Simulator?
A “6-figure passive income” course is being sold to Sam, who has €12 left until payday. Swipe each claim from the sales page: a real skill, or guru hype? Every hype claim you let through costs Sam money.
Guru Simulator is a free satire game about online courses that promise to make you rich. Sam has €12 left until payday, and a guru's sales page is doing its best.
Swipe each claim: real skill, or guru hype? Every hype claim you let through costs Sam money. At the end, you'll see what the course really teaches.
At a glance
- Category
- Social Engineering
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Play time
- 2–4 min
- Price
- Free, in your browser, sign-up optional
How to play
- Swipe
- ← Guru hype or Real skill → (arrow keys work). 100 per right call, +20 per streak.
- Sam's wallet
- Each hype claim let through costs Sam. At €0, the run ends.
- Three levels
- Beginner, Intermediate or Expert, picked before you play: the content and the clock change, and each level keeps its own best score.
- Satire
- Satire with a lesson: every name, brand and platform is made up, and every run ends on how to spot the trick.
Scoring
100 per right call plus 20 per call in a row. Each hype claim let through costs Sam €2 or €3.
Win with at least 70% right calls and money left in Sam's wallet.
What it trains
- Spotting scams
- Guarantees, fake urgency, recruiting.
- Evaluating courses
- Syllabus, refunds, a teacher you can check.
Strategy and tips
- Look for checkable facts
- A syllabus, a refund policy and a teacher you can look up elsewhere are good signs.
- Distrust guarantees
- Nobody can guarantee income, and “no skills needed” is the tell.
- Watch for recruiting
- If the course teaches you to sell the course, it's a pyramid.
Why play Guru Simulator?
Guru marketing targets people who need money most. Spotting the pattern protects your wallet and your friends'.
Frequently asked questions
Is it free?
Yes. It is free and runs in your browser, with no download. Signing up is optional.
Are the gurus real?
No. Every name, brand, platform and coin in the game is made up. The tricks, though, are real ones you'll meet online.
Are all paid courses scams?
No. Many are great. The game is about the signs that separate a real course from a sales funnel.