A&B Computing


Stockmarket
By Argus Press
BBC Model B

 
Published in A&B Computing 1.09

Many people like me dream of making a fortune by investing money on the Stock Exchange, but lack the money and/or the courage to do it for real. This game provides a satisfactory alternative, with thousands being made or lost on your television screen. There are four commodities: Lead, Tin, Zin, and Gold, each of which begin with a certain share value, although this does vary considerably during the game. Shares may be bought or sold at each turn, although trading might be suspended occasionally, and there are unexpected newsflashes concerning tax demands, refunds of cash, or even bankruptcies.

I found this to be the kind of game that Monopoly players might enjoy, best played with a group (the program accepts up to six names). The actual idea is to turn an initial thousand pounds into a million, but the game can be terminated after any complete round, in which case the profit made by each player is displayed.

The display makes sensible but imaginative use of colour, although I did find that some of the prices of the shares took on very strange values occasionally. I found it a compulsive and interesting game, totally different from zapping invaders.