A-LEVEL ECONOMICS · BOARDROOM SERIES · THE BASIC ECONOMIC PROBLEM

The Resilience Kit

An introduction to the basic economic problem. Four rounds. One bonus round. 100 points. Work with your team, record your answers below, then hand this sheet up when your teacher calls for it.

Team name

Members

Date

The scenario

In August 2026, the UK government's Cabinet Office announced a new campaign urging households to stock up on tinned food, bottled water and other basic supplies, in case of extreme weather or disruption caused by hostile states — part of an update to the country's civil resilience planning.

Read the real story on The Guardian →

Your team plays a household racing to build the best resilience kit — and along the way you'll meet three ideas that sit underneath almost all of economics.

Three key words

Scarcity — there is never enough of something to give everyone as much as they want.

Choice — because of scarcity, you have to choose what to have and what to go without.

Opportunity cost — the next-best thing you gave up in order to make your choice.

ROUND 1 · 20 POINTS

Know the Threat

Match each situation below to one of the three key words above. Write your answer in the box.

Situation	Key word
Supermarkets don't have enough tinned food for every household to buy as much as they'd like.
A household decides to buy a first aid kit instead of a portable power bank.
Because they bought the power bank, the household can't also afford extra bottled water.
There isn't enough money in the household budget to buy everything on the list.

ROUND 2 · 20 POINTS

Build the Kit

The resilience campaign has launched. Shelves are still well stocked — for now. You have £40 to spend on any of the eight items below, but not enough to buy all eight — that's scarcity in action. Talk it through as a team and tick what you buy; your total must not exceed £40.

Item	Price	Buy?
Tinned food (10-day supply)	£11
Bottled water (multi-pack)	£7
Torch & spare batteries	£6
Wind-up / battery radio	£10
First aid kit	£13
7-day medication buffer	£5
Portable power bank	£16
Reserve of banknotes at home	£9
Total spent (must not exceed £40)

ROUND 3 · 20 POINTS

Panic at the Shelves

A heatwave warning has triggered a COBRA meeting and wildfire alerts nationwide. Everyone is trying to buy the same things at once, so shops have put their prices up — tinned food, water and torches now cost more. You have £20 left for one final shop. You can't buy an item you already own.

Item	New price	Buy?
Tinned food (10-day supply)	£16
Bottled water (multi-pack)	£10
Torch & spare batteries	£8
Wind-up / battery radio	£10
First aid kit	£13
7-day medication buffer	£5
Portable power bank	£16
Reserve of banknotes at home	£9
Total spent (must not exceed £20)

ROUND 4 · 20 POINTS

The COBRA Briefing

Your team must pick a position and be ready to explain it out loud. There's no single correct answer — you'll be scored on whether you give a real reason, ideally using one of today's three key words, not on which one you pick.

Choose one:

A: The government should hold the supplies and hand them out to everyone directly.
B: The real policy: households buy their own supplies from the shops, using their own money.
C: The government should help pay for supplies for households who can't afford to prepare.
D: Households should be left completely on their own to decide.

Our choice:

Our reason (try to use "scarcity", "choice" or "opportunity cost"):

BONUS · 20 POINTS

Real World Recall

Four quickfire questions on the real story behind this game.

Which government department announced the campaign?
Classic UK emergency advice recommends keeping supplies for how long?
Which extreme weather triggered the COBRA meeting in the real coverage?
What does the government call its plan for a large-scale conflict?

Scoreboard

Round	Points
Round 1 — Know the Threat
Round 2 — Build the Kit
Round 3 — Panic at the Shelves
Round 4 — The COBRA Briefing
Bonus — Real World Recall
Total (out of 100)