The BMG Experiment | Round One Results & Round Two Pairings

EXPLORE THE BMG EXPERIMENT

The results, the revelations, and the next round.

01 · RESULTSRound OneHow the £1,000 pot was divided (and lost)See the results →02 · PLAY AT HOMEA Bit of the PotMake secret choices with family or friendsPlay the home game →03 · ROUND TWOTrust IssuesMeet all ten unlikely partnershipsSee the pairings →04 · GET INVOLVEDSeries 2Apply to join the January 2027 seriesSee the application →

WELCOME TO THE BMG EXPERIMENT

Ordinary people. Questionable decisions.

No financial expertise. No complicated calculations. Just secret decisions where what happens to you depends on everybody else.

There are 20 contestants, three rounds and a real £30 prize for whoever comes out on top in December. Round One has already taught us something about human nature.

Round One: results are in Round Two: pairs announced rules still secret

The game so far

One round down. Two to go.

The first decisions are in. Two contestants finished with nothing, eighteen kept their requests, and everybody returns for the next round.

Published 25 October 2026

Round 01 / CompleteA Bit of the PotResults revealed · 25 October

Round 02 / Pairs announcedTrust IssuesTen partnerships · November 2026

Round 03 / To be revealedGrand finaleThe December finale

The numbers

A pot with a problem.

The group asked for more than they could collectively have. And our rules don't allow partial payouts.

Total requested£1,174.97£174.97 over budget

Available pot£1,000All imaginary, naturally

Requests removed2 of 20Both earn 0 this round

Total BMG Bucks won924.9775.03 left unclaimed

Wait. What were the rules?

Each player privately chose how much of the imaginary £1,000 pot they wanted — anything from £0 to £1,000.
If everyone together asked for £1,000 or less, every player would receive their full request in BMG Bucks.
If the requests were too high, the single largest request would be removed in full. Then the next largest, if necessary, until the total fitted inside £1,000.
A removed request earns zero BMG Bucks. Remaining requests are paid in full, and those BMG Bucks carry into the next rounds.

So why did two players get zero?

All 20 requests combinedAlready £174.97 over the £1,000 limit

£1,174.97

1. Bill Alty removedBiggest request: £150

−£150

New totalStill £24.97 above the limit!

£1,024.97

2. Fortress Fatherhood removedNext biggest request: £100

−£100

Remaining requestsNow safely under £1,000

£924.97

£924.97 awarded£75.03 unused

Why not share out the spare £75.03? Because the rules were all or nothing: requests were never reduced or topped up. Bill and Fortress Fatherhood get zero this round, but both remain in the experiment for Round 2.

Meanwhile, in the group chat…

The art of looking trustworthy.

I encouraged the contestants to influence each other. They didn't need much encouragement. The interesting bit? I could already see their secret requests.

GeoChris Fairness campaigner

“£50 each.”

A tidy equal split. Very reasonable. Surely he'd do exactly that himself?

Hundal Earnings Confident mathematician

“£150 is fine as you are safe regardless if people ask for more or less.”

A particularly interesting piece of advice, as it turns out.

My Dividend FIRE Journey Not sharing

“This feels like a game of poker, so I don’t confirm nor deny if I already send in my numbers. 😎”

borncodelab-money Popcorn in hand

“Fascinating. I’m just here with popcorn to see who blinks first. 🍿”

Vy Nguyen was suggesting just £16.67; Joe Giessinger fancied being second-greediest; Cap wanted everyone to reveal their numbers. We even ended up arguing about time zones and an early-submission tie-breaker. Twenty adults. One imaginary pot. Several questionable strategies.

So who actually asked for what? See the leaderboard ↓

Official standings · After Round 1

The leaderboard.

BMG Bucks are imaginary, the standings are real, and the bragging rights are completely unnecessary. Here are all twenty players.

Full request earnedNothing this round

01 · Top of the table

Ben Wong

82.97BMG Bucks

02 · Second place

GeoChris

75BMG Bucks

03 · Third place

Kristen

60BMG Bucks

20 players · 18 earned BMG Bucks

Rank	Player	Requested	BMG Bucks
01	Ben WongRequest #16 · Kept full request	£82.97	82.97 BB
02	GeoChrisRequest #14 · Kept full request	£75.00	75 BB
03	KristenRequest #07 · Kept full request	£60.00	60 BB
04	Joe GiessingerRequest #15 · Kept full request	£59.00	59 BB
05	Borncodelab-moneyRequest #12 · Kept full request	£57.00	57 BB
06	ManfredRequest #06 · Kept full request	£54.00	54 BB
07	Hundal EarningsRequest #09 · Kept full request	£51.00	51 BB
08	My Dividend FIRE JourneyRequest #02 · Kept full request	£50.00	50 BB
08	CapRequest #03 · Kept full request	£50.00	50 BB
08	BearlyManagingRequest #10 · Kept full request	£50.00	50 BB
08	Delusional ZarniRequest #13 · Kept full request	£50.00	50 BB
08	Learning.Investing.ThrivingRequest #17 · Kept full request	£50.00	50 BB
08	Vance RobertsRequest #19 · Kept full request	£50.00	50 BB
14	K.M.Request #11 · Kept full request	£49.00	49 BB
15	Trust ProfRequest #20 · Kept full request	£42.00	42 BB
16	Honesty-First Personal FinanceRequest #01 · Kept full request	£40.00	40 BB
17	VikkieRequest #05 · Kept full request	£39.00	39 BB
18	Vy NguyenRequest #08 · Kept full request	£16.00	16 BB
–	Fortress FatherhoodRequest #04 · Oversized request · £0	£100.00	0 BB
–	Bill AltyRequest #18 · Oversized request · £0	£150.00	0 BB

BB = BMG Bucks. Ties share the same rank. Rank is based on BMG Bucks earned, not how much somebody originally requested. All 20 players can continue to Round 2.

Well, well, well…

Some explaining to do.

What players recommended in public and what they requested in private were not always quite the same thing.

The fairness champion

GeoChris

Suggested a perfectly equal £50 split.

Actually requested£75

Second place. Twenty-five pounds more than his own proposal.

The mathematical adviser

Hundal Earnings

Told everyone that £150 would be safe.

Actually requested£51

Just £1 above an equal share. Funny, that.

The expensive lesson

Bill Alty

Actually requested the amount Hundal had suggested.

Asked for £150 · Earned0 BB

Removed from the pot. No evidence that Hundal's advice caused Bill's choice.

Practised what she preached

Vy Nguyen

Recommended a modest £16.67.

Actually requested£16

Eighteenth place. At least one strategy was fairly consistent.

ROUND ONE WINNER

Ben Wong

Ben joked about everyone else requesting £1 so he could claim £981. He eventually made a rather better-judged request.

82.97BMG Bucks · 1st place

Six players asked for exactly £50. All six survived. All six sit behind the seven players who asked for more — but not so much more that they were eliminated.

And borncodelab-money, who was just here for the popcorn? Fifth place with 57 BB. Turns out spectating and competing aren't mutually exclusive.

Caution kept you safe. Ambition could put you ahead. Too much ambition left you with nothing. And as for what people told each other in the group chat? Well, make up your own mind.

Your group. Your decisions. Same £1,000.

Try Round One at home.

Think your friends or family could do better? Take turns in private on a single device, submit secret requests and reveal who keeps their share of the imaginary pot. No account. No real money. Potentially some awkward conversations.

2–30 playersSecret turn-takingReal rules & reveal

PLAY A BIT OF THE POT →

SERIES 01 · ROUND 02

Trust Issues.

Round One was about greed. Round Two is about something arguably more dangerous: trusting other people. The contestants have been paired according to their Round One standings, with higher finishers teamed up with lower finishers.

10 PAIRS · 20 CONTESTANTS · BEGINS NOVEMBER 2026

PAIR 01

Ben Wong82.97 BB

Bill Alty0 BB

PAIR 02

GeoChris75 BB

Fortress Fatherhood0 BB

PAIR 03

Kristen60 BB

Vy Nguyen16 BB

PAIR 04

Joe Giessinger59 BB

Vikkie39 BB

PAIR 05

borncodelab-money57 BB

Honesty-First40 BB

PAIR 06

Manfred54 BB

Trust Prof42 BB

PAIR 07

Hundal Earnings51 BB

K.M.49 BB

PAIR 08

My Dividend FIRE Journey50 BB

Vance Roberts50 BB

PAIR 09

Cap50 BB

Learning.Investing.Thriving50 BB

PAIR 10

BearlyManaging50 BB

Delusional Zarni50 BB

Ben Wong starts with 82.97 BB and a partner with absolutely nothing to lose. Literally. GeoChris is paired with the other contestant who finished on zero. And Hundal Earnings has a whole new person to reassure about his mathematics.

BB means BMG Bucks, our fictional game currency. We know who's partnered with whom. Whether they cooperate, put themselves first or betray each other remains to be seen. The actual Round Two rules have not been revealed yet.

The experiment continues

What happens next?

The pairs have been revealed, but the Trust Issues rules are still under wraps. Round Two begins in November, and the final winner will be crowned in December.

Series 01 · Round 02

Trust Issues · November

Ten pairs. Secret decisions. Consequences for your partner as well as yourself. After that group chat, I have some reservations about their ability to cooperate.

Series 01 · Round 03 · Coming soon

The December finale

Three rounds lead to one winner and a real £30 prize. The final challenge remains a secret.

Your turn to make terrible decisions

Series 2.
January 2027.

Fancy trying to outsmart a group of strangers for imaginary money and an actual cash prize?

We'll be back for another three-round experiment in January. There are a maximum of 30 places, and you must be a subscriber to Boring Money Guy to take part. Free subscribers are welcome to apply. BMG Champions are guaranteed a spot.

Not subscribed yet? Subscribe to Boring Money Guy ↗ before applying. No finance qualifications required. A willingness to second-guess yourself would help.

£30Real prize for the Series 2 winner

30Maximum places

SubscribersRequired to enter

ChampionsGuaranteed a spot

Put your name in the hat.

Series 2 · January 2027 · Maximum 30 contestants. You must subscribe to Boring Money Guy; BMG Champions are guaranteed a place.

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Free to apply and play. £30 prize for the Series 2 winner. This is an application, not an automatic place reservation. Subscriptions and Champion status will be verified manually; submitting multiple forms does not increase your chances. Submissions are stored privately by Mintmere using Cloudflare. No payment details are requested.

The BMG Experiment.

The results, the revelations, and the next round.

Ordinary people. Questionable decisions.

One round down. Two to go.

A pot with a problem.

Wait. What were the rules?

So why did two players get zero?

The art of looking trustworthy.

The leaderboard.

Ben Wong

GeoChris

Kristen

Some explaining to do.

GeoChris

Hundal Earnings

Bill Alty

Vy Nguyen

Ben Wong

Try Round One at home.

Trust Issues.

What happens next?

Trust Issues · November

The December finale

Series 2. January 2027.

Put your name in the hat.

Series 2.
January 2027.