🎓 Free Educational Tool

Teach Bitcoin Mining
Through Gameplay

The Bitcoin Game is a free, browser-based classroom simulation that makes blockchain concepts tangible. Students compete as miners — guessing nonces, selecting transactions, and reaching consensus — exactly as the real Bitcoin network operates.

▶ Launch the game How it works
Free
Always, forever
20
Players per session
0
Minutes to set up
Any
Browser, no install
About the tool

A simulation that makes Proof of Work feel real

Most blockchain courses teach Proof of Work through slides and diagrams. Students understand it intellectually but never feel it. The Bitcoin Game changes that.

In a typical session, 5 to 20 students become Bitcoin miners. They receive an open transaction pool on a shared screen, choose which transactions to include in their block, and race to find a nonce — a random string that makes their computed hash meet a specific difficulty condition. The first miner to succeed shouts "BITCOIN!" and the class validates the block together.

The experience is designed to make three things viscerally clear: why mining requires computational effort, why miners prioritise high-fee transactions, and why consensus works without any central authority. These are the insights that survive long after the class ends.

Session flow

How a session works

01
Educator opens the Satoshi View
The moderator opens the Satoshi View on their browser and projects it on a shared screen. They set the number of miners, block reward, maximum block size, and mining difficulty — then click Initialize.
02
Students open the Miner View
Each student opens the Miner View on their own device — laptop, tablet, or phone. No account creation, no download. They enter their assigned Miner ID and they are ready.
03
The block opens — mining begins
The educator clicks "Open New Block." After a 3-second countdown, 10 random transactions appear in the shared pool. Students immediately begin choosing transactions and guessing nonces in their Hash Calculator, racing to find a valid hash.
04
A miner shouts "BITCOIN!"
The first student to find a hash meeting the difficulty condition shouts "BITCOIN!" — a genuinely exciting classroom moment. All other miners stop immediately.
05
Consensus — the class validates the block
The winning miner announces their nonce and selected transactions. Every other miner independently reproduces the hash using the same inputs. If everyone agrees and all conditions are met, the block is valid. The class has just reached distributed consensus — without trusting anyone.
06
Repeat for up to 10 blocks
The educator closes the block, balances update, and a new block opens. The game runs for up to 10 blocks. The miner with the highest BTC balance at the end wins.
Pedagogy

What students learn

The Bitcoin Game is designed around experiential learning. Students do not just observe — they make decisions, feel competitive pressure, and discover blockchain principles through direct experience.

Who uses it

Designed for any educational context

🎓
University courses
Business schools, computer science departments, economics and fintech programs. Ideal for a single 90-minute lecture on blockchain fundamentals.
🏫
High school classes
Technology and economics electives. No prior knowledge of Bitcoin required. The game explains itself through play.
💼
Corporate training
Fintech firms, banks, consulting companies running blockchain literacy programs for employees. Works for groups of 5 to 20.
🌐
Remote sessions
The educator shares the Satoshi screen via Zoom or Teams. Students open Miner View on their own devices. Works identically online and in person.
⚡
Bootcamps
Blockchain and Web3 developer bootcamps needing a fast, engaging intro to consensus mechanics before diving into technical content.
🎤
Conferences & workshops
Live audience participation at blockchain events. No setup time, no accounts — the game is running within 60 seconds of opening the browser.
Technical details

Built for the classroom — no friction, no dependencies

🔒
Real MD5 hashing
The Hash Calculator uses the actual MD5 cryptographic function. The same inputs always produce the same hash — students are doing real cryptography, not a simulation of it.
💾
Persistent state
Game progress is saved automatically in the browser. Closing and reopening the tab restores the exact game state — no lost data between rounds or sessions.
📱
Responsive Miner View
The student interface is fully responsive — works on laptops, tablets, and phones. The moderator view is optimised for large projected screens.
⚙️
Adjustable difficulty
The educator can change the mining difficulty at any point — making rounds faster or slower to control session pacing and demonstrate Bitcoin's difficulty adjustment mechanism.
🔓
Completely open
No backend, no database, no accounts, no cookies except local game state. Three HTML files. Copyright free. Use it, share it, adapt it.
🛜
Works offline
Once loaded, the game works without an internet connection. Useful for classrooms with unreliable WiFi — students only need to load the page once.
FAQ

Common questions

Is The Bitcoin Game really free?
Yes — completely and permanently free. No registration, no subscription, no paid tiers, no ads. It runs in any web browser with no installation required.
How many students can play at once?
The game supports 2 to 20 real players (miners) per session. Any remaining slots up to 20 are filled with fictional "users" who appear as transaction counterparties, making the transaction pool realistic regardless of class size.
How long does a session take?
A full 10-block game takes approximately 60 to 90 minutes, making it ideal for a single university lecture. Educators can end the game early after any number of blocks — 3 to 5 blocks runs in about 30 to 45 minutes, perfect for a shorter class or workshop segment.
Do students need to know anything about Bitcoin beforehand?
No. The game is designed to teach from scratch. A brief 5-minute verbal introduction from the educator is enough — the game mechanics explain the concepts through play. The Miner View includes a full guide that students can consult at any time.
Can it be used for remote or online classes?
Yes. The educator shares their Satoshi View screen via Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, or any video conferencing tool. Students open the Miner View on their own devices simultaneously. The experience is identical to an in-person session.
Does it work on phones and tablets?
The Miner View is fully responsive and works well on phones and tablets. The Satoshi (moderator) View is designed for desktop or laptop — it is intended to be projected on a large screen, so a full-size display is recommended for the educator.
Is there a teacher guide or lesson plan?
Each view includes a built-in guide. The Satoshi View contains a full moderator guide with step-by-step instructions for running the session. The Miner View contains a complete player guide explaining each field of the Hash Calculator, the winning condition, and strategy tips. No external materials are needed.
Can I modify or adapt the game?
Yes. The Bitcoin Game is copyright free. The source code is three plain HTML files with no build system or dependencies beyond a CDN-hosted cryptography library. Any educator or developer is welcome to adapt it for their context.
The creator
👨‍🏫
Guillermo A. Beuchat
Business Consultant · Startup Founder · University Professor · Blockchain Enthusiast

The Bitcoin Game was developed out of a genuine frustration with how blockchain is taught. Most courses explain Proof of Work through analogies and diagrams that students forget within a week. This game was built to make the mechanism felt — competitively, socially, and physically — so the understanding sticks. It is free because educational tools should be.

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Ready to run your first session?

No setup, no registration, no installation. Open the game and start playing in under 60 seconds.

▶ Launch The Bitcoin Game