Does Planet Money’s game pass the shelf test? We go undercover to find out

What you'll learn

• 1 (00:06) **The Setup: Sneaking a Game Into a Big Box Store** - Kenny Malone and Exploding Kittens co-founder Alon Lee prepare to secretly place a prototype board game onto retail shelves to observe customer reactions.
• 2 (02:36) **The Mission: Using a Game as a Reporting Trojan Horse** - The Planet Money team has been documenting the creation of an economics-inspired board game, "Sell Me a Sasquatch," with Exploding Kittens.
• 3 (03:31) **Entering the Aisle: The "Sell Me a Sasquatch" Prototype** - The team, including Kenny, Waylon, and two accomplices, enters the store with the purple prototype box.
• 4 (04:44) **Test #1: The Visual Shelf Test** - The first question is simply how the game looks and stands out among its competitors on a neat shelf.
• 5 (05:37) **Test #2: The Chaotic Shelf Test** - The team simulates real-world shelf conditions by shoving the game behind others and knocking it over, mimicking a "chaotic garage sale" environment.
• 6 (06:28) **The "Three Feet, Three Seconds" Rule** - A retail consultant's rule is introduced: once a shopper is three feet away, you have three seconds to convince them to pick up the product.
• 7 (07:01) **Test #3: The Customer Intercept** - Alon spots a potential test subject, Diego, browsing the game aisle, and Kenny awkwardly intercepts him.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app