The Gold Trading Game
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So you want to test your luck and skill in trading gold? You've come to the right place. I've just written a simulation game (it's a REALLY simple one, just text). I couldn't figure out how to compile it, so you'll have to download the game and the "interpreter," as they're called, to run it. Don't worry, it's really easy, I promise! I've tested it out and it does run in Vista, though only in a small window. It's all right though. Probably won't work on a Mac, but try it out. Click the links below to download.

Click here to go to download QBasic

Right-click and save destination as here to download the game itself.

Instructions: There's no need to "install" QBasic, just unzip it into a new folder somewhere sensible you'll remember and you're ready to go. Run (double-click) QBasic (the executable file, not the help file). Once in the program, go to the file menu, choose open, and select the file "gold.bas," which you should also have downloaded from this webpage.

The game itself: You'll be asked to enter your age in years. This is then used to calculate your age in months, which will be displayed throughout the game. You will gain $200 per month that you set aside from working to invest in gold as long as you work. When you turn 65 (month 780) you will retire and it will cost you $2000 a month to live. You can continue trading in gold during your retirement of course, but you must have amassed enough wealth by then to live off gold trading alone. If you're not too old and have some skills it should be fairly easy. Oh yeah, you die at some point, too. You'll get a negative message if you leave your kids with nothing or, worse, debt!


Some tips for cheaters: Only read this if you're lame. Here are some tips for doing well:

• Remember: buy low and sell high. Never sell the gold for less than you bought it for! The gold price will fluctuate, be patient!
• The gold price will fluctuate, but the laws of supply and demand will seek equilibrium. This means the gold price will not rise or fall forever, it will always turn around sometime as supply is reduced due to low returns or increased due to high profits
• The higher the price, the higher the risk that investors will suddenly get nervous and pull out. Price collapses of up to 50% are possible!
• Supply shocks can happen at any time, sending the price skyrocketing for 1-2 months. For you, these things are good. Ride the wave. If you think it's a supply shock, be sure to sell your gold before production gets back online and drives the price back down as fast as it came up!
• The price will tend to recover after a collapse in demand, but it will not return to its peak. Conversely, supply may return to its peak or even surpass it after a supply shock (meaning the price will return down to higher than where it was before the shock, or may even drop below the pre-shock price).