Capitalism Plus

4_1Capitalism is deep, multi-faceted, and challenging. There’s a bit of a learning curve, especially if you aren’t familiar with the economic principles at work. But once you get the hang of it, this sim is a business blast. Capitalism gives you a wide world of business and industry with which to build your empire. Manufacturing, raw materials production, farming, research and development, advertising, and retailing are all modeled in depth. You can manufacture your own products and materials, import them, or purchase them from a competitor.

Such a diverse mix of tools gives the players plenty of options for clawing their way to the top. You can concentrate on retailing, farming, or manufacturing, or diversify with any combination of those economic segments. Or you can sit back, light a cigar, and play the stock market, buying and selling your rivals’ stock, maybe even finish off the day with a satisfying hostile takeover. You can pursue all these strategies, or only one of them. That flexibility is the beauty of Capitalism.

Your competitors are ruthless, wily, and driven — much like yourself. You can change the competition’s ability, of course, and at the highest level, these guys and gals are tough to beat. They don’t waste any time, either. Take a bathroom break without pausing this sim, and they’ll rip your lungs out.

9_1There’s an interesting range of scenarios. Maybe you’re out to topple The Beverage King, the guy who controls a monopoly on the beer industry. Or you’re a 25-year-old smart-aleck with an MBA, bankrolled by the family to build an empire in 10 years. Or you’re charged with running the operations of a struggling farm. The scenarios have various objectives and different products. The many components of Capitalism make these scenarios work. Turn off the stock market, and limit the player to only two or three products, and you’ve still got an interesting game.

This sim requires some work to get into, but there’s an outstanding tutorial to walk you through all the fundamentals. These eight instructional games cover everything from retailing to playing the stock market. After you work through a tutorial, you can continue to play the game, and you’ll be playing the same game when you begin the next tutorial. When you’ve finished all eight tutorials, you’re already well into your first career as an entrepreneur.

Capitalism isn’t for everyone. It’s a fairly sophisticated business simulation, a detailed re-creation of production, marketing and retailing. But if the prospect of running a virtual business empire entices you, this game is worth your look.

System Requirements: Pentium 90 Mhz, 16 MB RAM, DOS

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