by For many investors, stock and currency trading games can be a good way to develop trading strategies. For others, games may take the place of actual trading on markets, fulfilling fantasies of being the next Warren Buffet.
Such stock and currency trading games or simulators are usually found on the internet. Some financial or educational websites such as CBS’s MarketWatch, Yahoo! Finance or Investopedia offer free simulators for fun or learning purposes. The simulators provide users with a certain amount of money, such as $100,000 or $1 million, which they use to execute trades, with the hope of increasing their “wealth.” Most of these simulators also offer competitions between users. Simulators act like a platform and generate more engagement which is very important for trading sites or B2B sites.
In 2010, the website Mashable listed the top five investment simulators as Wall Street Survivor, HowtheMarketWorks.com, YoungMoney.com’s Stock Market Game, Market Watch’s Fantasy Earnings Trader Game, and UpDown.com
Each of these games has different attributes to recommend them to prospective users or players. Wall Street Survivor provides a variety of tools to help the users learn about the market and aide in stock selection. How the Market Works includes different types of investment products including Forex and short selling. It also has a beginner’s level, called “Fun Mode,” which allows users to trade without some of the limitations of their “Realistic Mode” such as executing trades within normal market hours.
Mashable found Young Money’s game to be a good balance of easy to learn and realistic. It allows users to create their own contests, has good educational aspects, and includes commissions on trades.
MarketWatch’s Fantasy Earnings Trader Game runs for four weeks at a time allowing users to make selections from a closed set of well-known stocks at the beginning of each, which are then sold at close on Friday. MarketWatch also has a large number of games on their site besides Fantasy Earnings Trader. They have both private and public games, and allow users to create their own games.
UpDown allows users to collaborate within groups or create their own contests. Mashable finds this site good for beginners because of the collaboration feature and UpDown’s comprehensive educational resources.
Most investment games software is in the form of online games or simulators, or Forex trading platform software available for download. Another option is Go Venture’s Investment Simulation Software, available at Amazon.com. This software allows users to invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds and precious metals.
I don’t think so playing with closed eye’s is a great idea.