Business Games
Encyclopedia
Business Games is a software package published by Acornsoft
for the BBC Micro
(Model A and Model B) and Acorn Electron
. It was released in the Acornsoft Education range and includes two business simulation games; Stokmark and Telemark.
. Up to eight players take turns to either buy or sell shares in a choice of four companies. As well as the price, players are given the price-to-earnings ratio
and dividend yield
. Prices change instantly when transactions are made (usually based on the standard supply and demand
principle although there is a random element). After each round a news story is displayed which affects the value of certain shares. After every four rounds, players are awarded dividends on the shares they hold and are ranked on their total current value (of both cash and shares). The object of the game is to make the largest amount of profit.
, overheads
, profit and loss accounts
and balance sheet
s. The instruction booklet provides detailed instructions on working out the break-even
point as well as blank worksheets to be filled out by the players. The winner is the player who has made the most profit after a set number of rounds or the first player to gain more than half the market share for televisions.
, it runs on the BBC Micro
Model A as well as the Model B. It was also released for the Acorn Electron
in 1984. The instructions recommend the games for teaching business and economic studies but the Acorn Electron version in particular was well known among home users, as it was often included with the Acornsoft software packs bundled with Electrons in 1984 and 1985.
which was largely positive. Stokmark was described as "a well-presented and useful introduction to some investment terms" but also "rather repetitive". He claimed Telemark is "a good game and to be properly appreciated must be played seriously".
Acornsoft
Acornsoft was the software arm of Acorn Computers Ltd, and a major publisher of software for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron. As well as games, they also produced a large number of educational titles, extra computer languages and business and utility packages - these included ROM-based word...
for the BBC Micro
BBC Micro
The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation...
(Model A and Model B) and Acorn Electron
Acorn Electron
The Acorn Electron is a budget version of the BBC Micro educational/home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd. It has 32 kilobytes of RAM, and its ROM includes BBC BASIC along with its operating system....
. It was released in the Acornsoft Education range and includes two business simulation games; Stokmark and Telemark.
Stokmark
Stokmark is a simulation of the stock marketStock market
A stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...
. Up to eight players take turns to either buy or sell shares in a choice of four companies. As well as the price, players are given the price-to-earnings ratio
P/E ratio
The P/E ratio of a stock is a measure of the price paid for a share relative to the annual net income or profit earned by the firm per share...
and dividend yield
Dividend yield
The dividend yield or the dividend-price ratio on a company stock is the company's total annual dividend payments divided by its market capitalization, or the dividend per share, divided by the price per share. It is often expressed as a percentage...
. Prices change instantly when transactions are made (usually based on the standard supply and demand
Supply and demand
Supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a market. It concludes that in a competitive market, the unit price for a particular good will vary until it settles at a point where the quantity demanded by consumers will equal the quantity supplied by producers , resulting in an...
principle although there is a random element). After each round a news story is displayed which affects the value of certain shares. After every four rounds, players are awarded dividends on the shares they hold and are ranked on their total current value (of both cash and shares). The object of the game is to make the largest amount of profit.
Telemark
Telemark is a four player game where each player has to make decisions based on the manufacturing of televisions. This includes whether to build or extend factories, spend on improving management or marketing, and setting the price. When the player enters their price, it is not displayed on the screen so other players do not know what their competitors are charging until the end of each round. The game introduces terms and reports such as market shareMarket share
Market share is the percentage of a market accounted for by a specific entity. In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 67 percent responded that they found the "dollar market share" metric very useful, while 61% found "unit market share" very useful.Marketers need to be able to...
, overheads
Overhead (business)
In business, overhead or overhead expense refers to an ongoing expense of operating a business...
, profit and loss accounts
Income statement
Income statement is a company's financial statement that indicates how the revenue Income statement (also referred to as profit and loss statement (P&L), statement of financial performance, earnings statement, operating statement or statement of operations) is a company's financial statement that...
and balance sheet
Balance sheet
In financial accounting, a balance sheet or statement of financial position is a summary of the financial balances of a sole proprietorship, a business partnership or a company. Assets, liabilities and ownership equity are listed as of a specific date, such as the end of its financial year. A...
s. The instruction booklet provides detailed instructions on working out the break-even
Break-even (economics)
In economics & business, specifically cost accounting, the break-even point is the point at which cost or expenses and revenue are equal: there is no net loss or gain, and one has "broken even"...
point as well as blank worksheets to be filled out by the players. The winner is the player who has made the most profit after a set number of rounds or the first player to gain more than half the market share for televisions.
Release
Business Games was released in 1983 as part of Acornsoft's Education range which was aimed at schools as well as home users. As it only requires 16k ROMRead-only memory
Read-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...
, it runs on the BBC Micro
BBC Micro
The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation...
Model A as well as the Model B. It was also released for the Acorn Electron
Acorn Electron
The Acorn Electron is a budget version of the BBC Micro educational/home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd. It has 32 kilobytes of RAM, and its ROM includes BBC BASIC along with its operating system....
in 1984. The instructions recommend the games for teaching business and economic studies but the Acorn Electron version in particular was well known among home users, as it was often included with the Acornsoft software packs bundled with Electrons in 1984 and 1985.
Reception
The package was reviewed by Ken Garrett for The Micro UserThe Micro User
The Micro User was a British specialist magazine catering to users of the BBC Microcomputer series, Acorn Electron, Acorn Archimedes and, to a limited extent, the Cambridge Z88...
which was largely positive. Stokmark was described as "a well-presented and useful introduction to some investment terms" but also "rather repetitive". He claimed Telemark is "a good game and to be properly appreciated must be played seriously".