How to play Counterweight: balance an economy

Three economies. One balancing act.

Counterweight gives you a target GDP and a selection of countries. Pick exactly three whose combined GDP gets as close to the target as possible.

Too small and too large can both miss. You’re adding economic output from the board’s historical snapshot. GDP measures production, not land area, population, or the wealth of each resident.

Lock it. Weigh it. Have a little rethink.

Select three countries and lock your basket. The first weighing shows where your combined total falls relative to the target. Keep that basket or replace one country.

One swap means one country out and one country in. You can’t rebuild all three choices. Confirm the swap, or keep the original basket. The final reveal shows your result and the closest possible combination from the board.

A basket made of practice numbers

Imagine a $1 trillion target and three fictional values: $500 billion, $300 billion, and $100 billion. Your basket totals $900 billion, leaving a $100 billion gap.

Replace the $100 billion choice with an available $200 billion choice and you reach the target exactly. These invented values explain the arithmetic; they don’t reveal a puzzle answer.

Mind the gap

Try one large anchor with two smaller additions, or three more evenly sized economies. After the first weighing, focus on how much you need to add or remove.

The biggest country on the board isn’t automatically the most useful swap. The useful one changes your total by the right amount.

Read the final combination as a chance to tune your sense of scale. GDP isn’t a complete description of living standards or people. Even a rather satisfying basket can’t tell you everything.