About

What The Exchange is

The Exchange is a social bracket-board game operated at https://theexchange.cash. Players join open boards at different stake levels, move up as positions open, and may retire from a board when they reach the top after the board fills.

Registration is free. Payment is required only when you join a paid board (board entry plus a platform service fee).

How the bracket works

Each board is a fixed-size pyramid of positions arranged in tiers (seeds). Spots fill from the top tier downward.

• Seeds — Positions are grouped into tiers. Higher tiers are closer to retirement; the lowest tier holds the most open slots for new entrants.
• Joining — You take the next available open slot on a board at your chosen level. Your display name appears on the bracket.
• One board per level — Each signed-in player may be on only one active board per stake level at a time.
• Moving up — When someone leaves a position above you (or the board reorganizes after a split), you can advance into a better spot. Optional email or text alerts can notify you when your position changes.

When a board fills and splits

After every position on a board is taken, the board splits into two new child boards:

1. The player at the top position retires and receives a fixed multiple of that board’s entry amount (the retirement payout for that level).
2. Most remaining players are carried forward onto the two child boards in better positions than they held before.
3. Each child board opens new slots at the lowest tier for fresh entrants who have not yet played on that lineage.

Carried players do not pay again for that carry-forward move. New entrants pay the board entry and service fee for their slot. As child boards fill, more retirements occur and the pattern continues — that is how a popular level can produce many retirements over time.

Payments and fees

• Board entry — Set per level by the administrator (for example, a low-stakes level and higher-stakes levels). This is the amount used to calculate retirement payouts.
• Service fee — A configured percentage of the board entry, added when you join. It supports platform operations and is separate from the retirement multiple.
• Total at join — Board entry plus service fee, collected through Stripe when payment is enabled. Card numbers are processed by Stripe; we do not store full card details.
• Retirement — Paid to the top player when a board completes. The retirement amount is based on the board entry multiple for that level, not on the service fee.

See Privacy and Terms for legal and data-handling details.

Getting started

1. Create a free account (email/password or Google).
2. Browse open boards on Home or open Play to view a bracket.
3. Choose a stake level and join an open slot (pay entry plus service fee when payments are required).
4. Watch your position, opt in to SMS if you want move alerts, and advance as the board evolves.
5. When you reach the top of a full board, you retire with the level’s retirement payout as that board splits.

Release history

Application versions use Major.Minor.Build numbering. Newest releases are listed first.

System information

Live details for this running instance (refreshed on each page load).