Best Economics Games

[IntvGene]

I am looking for the best Economics games for the classic systems. Single player or multi-player, they are probably my favorite types of games. Here are the ones that I can think of right now:

Utopia (INTV) is absolutely amazing, especially for its time. I just wish that my friends would play cutthroat with me. Everyone wants to play nice. There's no room for nice in the world!

Coleco's Fortune Builder was great, but I was too young at the time to really understand the complex game that was going on. We were just amazed at the tiny cars booting through the streets.

Ah... Lemonade for the C64. Personally, I think that this started my introversion and addiction to video games. Why the hell would I want to go outside in the blazing sun and hawk lemonade, when I can do it right here on my personal computer?

M.U.L.E. (Atari / C64 / NES) was also an instant classic. That insane music, the terrible graphics, but hours of Mountain Wampus enjoyment to be found.

Run For the Money (Atari / C64) was also a great, lesser-known one... I think the first game that was developed by someone with a PhD in Economics. This game also had funky tunes and probably the best economic system out there.

There was also Dope Wars... but I am not really sure when or where that fits in..


So, what about the Genesis and NES? Any great suggestions? If you know any of the above games, you know what type of game I am looking for. I am also not really looking for games that are based off of a board game, like monopoly. I am looking for original games. Any help? Any memories?

[Aswald]

One of the best things about Fortune Builder, aside from the 2-player mode, was the fact that what you built would have a logical effect on whatever else was nearby. For example, if you built an amusement park near a hotel, the two enhanced each other. But if you put an oil rig near a marina, business at the marina would suffer. Imagine, for a moment, applying this to a two-player game...

[FABombjoy]

I used to play "Millionaire" for the C64. It's a stock market simulator. It was lots of fun for a 7 year old... I'm still not quite sure why my parents bought it for me.

Ghostbusters is inherently a financial game, since you have to make a positive return on investment or else suffer foreclosure. There's that catching ghost part too, but that's pretty transparent to the game's real capitalist themes.

[Aswald]

You know, it's interesting how much variety there was in those days, even though the machines were so much more primitive. An economics simulator on the ColecoVision? And there were some incredibly complex games of that sort on the computers.

[jaybird]

There's Wall Street Kid for NES.

[Nature Boy]

I remember a game for the Atari 8 bits called "C'est la Vie" that was an 'economics' game. I think. I can't seem to remember any of the actual game play elements. I just remember my dad thinking I was odd for liking it.

[Jorpho]

Oh, Space King. All the way. Oh, wait, we're talking classic systems.

Well, there was that three-in-one game by MECC for the Apple II that also included a version of Lemonade.
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[IntvGene]

I've thought of some more...

Rag's To Riches (C64)
Jones in the Fast Lane (PC)

Hey Nature Boy, I tried C'est La Vie. It's alot like a souped up Pac-man with economic aspects of storing your cash, borrowing, etc. Pretty interesting...

[Nintendork]

How about Sim City? That game is all about supply and demand and budgets!

[Sothy]

oregona trail cuz you can just shoot alot of animals and eat them.

[petewhitley]

How 'bout "Aerobiz" and "Aerobiz Supersonic" for the SNES? I've had some fun with those. The key word there is "some".

[Big Player]

The Great Wall Street Fortune Hunt for the Odyssey 2. The game board and investment pads help get around the severe limitations of the system.

However, I'm an accountant by trade and even I get tired of all the record keeping required for the stock trades. It's also tough to find another player, since it takes a while to learn the game.

But still, it has to be one of the first console economics games and has surprising complexity at the higher game levels. I like it.