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 Playing a stock market game is a great way to gain a better understanding of the inner workings of the stock market without the risk of losing real money. We did a little snooping around and found a couple of stock market games that are pretty good - so we'll point you in their direction. We also took a look at a couple of alternatives to an online stock market game that might be of interest.
Stock Market Board Games
While most of us might prefer to play a stock market simulation game online, there are alternatives. This is because life actually did exist before the Internet and people have been intrigued by the workings of the stock market since its beginnings.
In fact, there is certainly something to be said for board games in general. After all, many of us spend quite a bit of our time staring at a computer screen. Wouldn't it be nice to interact with real people for a change while playing a friendly stock market game? If that's possible...
We understand that your seven year old daughter might not share your enthusiasm for the stock market, but kids like to fantasize and play interactive games, and most adults do too. So here is a list of a couple of stock market board games for your consideration:
- Pit (2 to 8 players) - first published by Gavitt in 1903, in this game players are charged with the task of cornering the market in one type of commodity. The game is a loud, real time commodity and stock trading game that takes about 90 minutes to play.
- Monopoly Stock Exchange (2 to 6 players) - this is a variation of the famous Monopoly game that involves bidding for stock, speculation, and auctions. The game includes an electronic console that keeps track of all the trades and the playing time is roughly two hours.
- Stock Market Tycoon (2 to 8 players) - played like Monopoly, this stock market board game takes about 2 hours to play. The object of the game is to make $1 million and the game involves commodities, stocks, and even a shot at day trading. Wildcard problems emerge in the form of gambling sprees and unexpected taxes.
Free Stock Market Games
We are a big proponent of the Open Source software movement. The development of Linux and OpenOffice are great examples of people working together to make high quality software products that are available to everyone with a personal computer. We were not able to find a production-ready free stock market game that was available at SourceForge.net, but we did find a couple of applications that provide the user with some tools to analyze stocks.
- EMarkets - One to keep an eye on, right now only in the planning stages. Promises to be a simulation game where you can buy stocks, bonds and commodities.
- Market Analysis System - not a stock market game, but a software application that provides for both the technical analysis and fundamental analysis of stocks and the stock market.
Online Stock Market Game
There are lots of websites that offer an online stock market game that you can join. Some of these are "free" and others actually want you to pay a fee for participating. There is certainly enough competition out there, which means you should not be paying for the right to play fantasy game. Also be wary of stock games that merely offer you free trials.
We're going to recommend a couple of stock market games that offer you all you need at regardless of your experience in trading stocks. The first site is sponsored by MarketWatch and they host an excellent virtual stock trading game.
When you create an account, they want you to subscribe to newsletters and limited time offers. Don't be intimidated and think you have to subscribe just to play the stock game. These companies are sponsors of the game and in exchange they get a chance to offer you additional information. Even if you refuse all these offers, you still get a chance to play the game.
The second of the online stock market games comes from the University of Georgia. This game is played across America both by individuals, students and teachers. Since this website is already sponsored by the university, you will not see the advertisements you will with MarketWatch.
- StocksQuest - Claims to be the world's most realistic stock market simulation game. You can play as an individual or in a group. The normal starting portfolio is $100,000. The game is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The game even comes with fifteen different lesson plans.
- Virtual Stock Exchange - You can conduct stock market trades based on real stock prices and other stock trading information from the NYSE and NASDAQ. You can play the game as an individual or in a group. Each fantasy / competition has different rules such as the ability to trade on margin accounts and the dollars placed in the account at the beginning of the game.
So there you have it, at least three different ways to play a stock market game, plus some free software to analyze stocks too. Have fun with these games and please do remember that they're only games. And while you're having all this fun, just keep in mind that the reason for playing the stock market game is also to learn about the workings of a stock exchange and increase your comfort level when it comes to trading stocks using your own money.
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