Stocks and Bonds

The Game of Investments

Stocks and Bonds is another of the 3M business simulations. In this game the players are given an initial stake of $10,000 which they then invest in a series of 10 stocks and bonds.

On each turn, the players first collect any dividends and interest from the previous year. They then determine if this year will be a "bull" or a "bear" market and determine the current market price of all stocks using a special slide-rule style calculator. The players then buy and sell stocks for the year. The game lasts for 10 years (turns) and the player with the highest net worth at the end of that time is the winner.

This game does an amazing job of simulating the effect of the stock market. While I wouldn't use it to gain investment advice, it does give a good feel of how stocks behave.

The game also has one of the more interesting components I have seen. Instead of a plastic board and grease pencil, this game uses an actual chalkboard and piece of chalk for tracking stocks. The chalkboard was replaced in later editions, but it is one of the more unusual game components.