Business Simulation Game

Unleashing the Power of Economic Games

Economic games are not just a digital escape; they’re a gateway to a realm of skill development and mental stimulation. They offer a multitude of benefits, from enhancing student learning to honing management skills, boosting business acumen, providing brain training exercises, and offering engaging intellectual entertainment. In this article, we’ll delve into the fascinating universe of economic games and why Virtonomics is a standout choice for those looking to excel in all these aspects.

The Multi-Faceted Benefits of Economic Games

Economic games are more than just games – they’re tools for enriching various aspects of your life.

1. Student Learning

For students, economic games are like a dynamic classroom where economic theories come to life. They offer a hands-on approach to understanding complex economic concepts, turning academic material into an interactive adventure. This unique form of learning can significantly improve academic performance.

2. Management Training

Aspiring managers and business leaders can use economic games to simulate real-world business scenarios. These games create a risk-free environment for testing strategies, making crucial decisions, and learning from both successes and failures. The strategic thinking and leadership skills honed here are directly applicable to professional settings.

3. Business Skill Development

Economic games are an ideal training ground for mastering the intricacies of running a business. From marketing and financial management to supply chain logistics, they offer a comprehensive understanding of entrepreneurship. This knowledge can be invaluable when tackling real-world business challenges.

4. Brain Training

Economic games require more than just quick decision-making. They stimulate your brain, promoting analytical thinking and problem-solving. This not only keeps your cognitive abilities sharp but also provides an enjoyable mental workout.

5. Intellectual Entertainment

Economic games, above all else, are a source of intellectual entertainment. They offer a unique way to unwind, keeping your mind engaged while you have fun. Whether you’re managing a virtual economy or building a business empire, these games offer a satisfying blend of enjoyment and intellectual engagement.

Virtonomics: A Game-Changer in Economic Gaming

Now, let’s talk about Virtonomics, a game that takes these benefits to a whole new level.

Realistic Economic Simulation

Virtonomics is renowned for its unparalleled economic realism. It offers a detailed and immersive economic model that mirrors real-world dynamics. This makes it an ideal choice for learning economics, management, and business skills. The game challenges players to make strategic decisions, manage resources, and navigate the complexities of a dynamic market.

Global Community

Virtonomics connects you with a global community of players. This feature is particularly advantageous for students and professionals alike, as it enables networking, collaboration, and learning from others. You can compete with players from around the world, gaining exposure to diverse strategies and ideas.

Educational Value

Virtonomics isn’t just a game; it’s an educational tool. It’s a resource for students, offering a hands-on approach to learning economics and business concepts. For professionals, it provides a platform to test management strategies, learn from failures, and refine decision-making skills.

Strategic Depth

The depth of strategy in Virtonomics sets it apart. Players must tackle intricate challenges, such as market fluctuations, competition, and supply chain management. This depth ensures that players are constantly learning and adapting, which is invaluable for skill development.

Conclusion

In a world that’s increasingly fast-paced and complex, economic games like Virtonomics offer a unique opportunity for skill development, learning, and intellectual entertainment. Whether you’re a student aiming to excel in economics, a manager sharpening your decision-making skills, or simply someone looking for a mentally stimulating pastime, Virtonomics has something to offer. It’s not just a game; it’s a tool for real-world success.

So, what are you waiting for? Dive into the world of Virtonomics and embark on a journey that combines the thrill of gaming with the benefits of real-world skill development.

Introduction: The Thrilling World of Economy Games

Economy games are more than just a pastime; they are your ticket to mastering the art of managing finances, resources, and strategy. These games provide a unique opportunity to step into the shoes of a business mogul, make critical decisions, and see the consequences unfold in a virtual world. In this article, we’ll delve into the realm of economy games, explore their types, benefits, and present a comparative analysis of the most famous titles. Plus, we’ll reveal why Virtonomics shines brightly among its competitors.

Types of Economy Games

Economy games come in various flavors, catering to different preferences and skills. Here are the primary types you might encounter:

1. Tycoon Games

Tycoon games put you in charge of building and managing businesses, ranging from theme parks to zoos. They challenge your strategic thinking and financial acumen.

2. Economic Simulations

Economic simulations aim to replicate real-world economies, allowing you to experiment with supply and demand, inflation, and fiscal policies.

3. Trading and Stock Market Games

These games simulate the excitement of trading stocks, commodities, and currencies. They are perfect for anyone interested in the world of finance.

4. City Building Games

City building games, like SimCity, task you with creating and maintaining a city, making decisions on infrastructure, public services, and more.

5. Business Management Games

Business management games focus on running companies, making them profitable, and competing in the corporate world.

Benefits of Playing Economy Game

Before we dive into the competitive landscape of economy games, let’s explore the benefits of playing them:

1. Financial Literacy: Economy games provide hands-on experience in managing finances, improving your understanding of economics and personal budgeting.
2. Strategic Thinking: These games challenge your problem-solving skills and strategic thinking, helping you make better decisions in real life.
3. Risk Management: By experimenting with various financial strategies, you learn the art of risk management and how to adapt to changing market conditions.
4. Entertainment and Relaxation: While educational, economy games are also highly entertaining, offering a unique blend of fun and learning.

Now, let’s shift our focus to the most famous economy games and discover what makes Virtonomics a standout choice.

Comparative Analysis of Famous Economy Games

1. SimCity

SimCity is a classic city-building game that’s been a fan favorite for years. It focuses on urban planning and development, allowing players to create and manage their cities.

2. Capitalism II

Capitalism II is a business simulation game that challenges players to build and run a successful business empire. It’s known for its depth and complexity.

3. Tropico Series

The Tropico series places you in the shoes of a dictator managing a tropical island nation. It’s a unique blend of strategy and economy.

4. EVE Online

EVE Online is a massive multiplayer online game where players can engage in a complex, player-driven economy, involving trade, warfare, and diplomacy.

5. Economy game Virtonomics

Virtonomics is a powerful online business simulation game that sets itself apart with its attention to economic detail. It offers a highly realistic economic environment where players can create and manage virtual companies, simulate real-world business challenges, and interact with a global community of players. Virtonomics excels in its educational value, strategic depth, and commitment to realism.

Why Virtonomics Stands Out

• Realistic Economy: Virtonomics boasts an impressively realistic economic model, making it an excellent tool for learning and honing real-world business skills.
• Global Community: It connects players from around the world, allowing you to network, learn from others, and compete on a global scale.
• Educational Value: Virtonomics isn’t just about fun; it’s a powerful educational tool for entrepreneurs, students, and anyone looking to improve their financial literacy.
• Strategic Depth: The game offers a profound level of strategy, challenging you to make intricate decisions in the ever-changing virtual market.

In conclusion, economy games offer a unique blend of entertainment and education, making them an excellent choice for those looking to enhance their financial literacy and strategic thinking. While various economy games have made their mark, Virtonomics truly stands out with its commitment to realism, educational value, and a global community that’s eager to connect and compete.

So, if you’re ready to dive into the world of economy games, don’t miss the opportunity to experience Virtonomics, where your journey to financial mastery begins.

• How to play the economic strategy game Virtonomics?
• What is the game about and what can you do here?
• What is a turn-based economic strategy game?
• What is multiplayer economics simulation?
• What is a free business game scenario?
• Recommendations for a beginner
• Complete the starting tasks – “Quests”
• Start developing retail business
• Explore the main sections of the game menu
• Business skills
• Initial qualification and its growth
• Summary: what to do first
• What to do after the first turns?
• Other important and useful information:
• Boosters and innovations
• Reports
• The most important financial indicators

How to play the economic strategy game Virtonomics?

What is the game about and what can you do here?

Virtonomics is a turn-based multiplayer economic game where you create and manage your company and build your business empire.

Your main goal in Virtonomics is to build a large competitive company that dominates the global market.

In our virtual but realistic economic space, you manage your own business, competing with many competitors. Your company may include a variety of divisions – natural resource enterprises, factories, shops, restaurants, research centers, and much more. During the game, you can create a wide variety of business units and try to develop your business in any industry and any market.

In each division of your virtual company, you manage all key business processes and functions: HR, production, marketing, sales, logistics, strategic management, finance, purchasing, etc.

The model of economy and market behavior in the simulation is based on the most advanced stochastic modeling methods, using big data on the results of the actions of hundreds of thousands of players. The behavior of the virtual economy and the dynamics of industries and markets in our simulation is formed and changed as a result of the actions and behavior of many players who build their virtual business and interact with each other. Such an economic model is as realistic as possible and close to the behavior of markets in real life.

What is a turn-based economic strategy game?

Each game round lasts one day. During the day, you can enter the game at any convenient time to manage your company. At the end of each round, the game situation is updated, during which the server calculates the results of all actions and transactions that all players have made during the day. After the “server recalculation” is completed, a new round of the game begins, in which you can see the results and consequences of all your managerial decisions in the previous round. And in the new round, you can continue to develop your business empire. The number of game rounds is not limited. Many players have been playing Virtonomics for several years. For a one-day game round in the virtual game space, a week passes. Each round ends at the same time for all players. You can see the counter of time left until the end of the round in the upper right corner.

Information in the timing line: game date / current server time / time before recalculation

What is multiplayer economics simulation?

This means that you are not playing with bots and static algorithms but with thousands of live players from all over the world. It is real people who will be your competitors, partners, suppliers, and customers (except retail buyers). Everything is almost like in real life!

A unique feature of Virtonomics is that the economic space of the game world changes dynamically and does not have a predetermined algorithm. Thousands of players through their actions affect the state of virtual markets and economies that change, and therefore also affect the behavior of our players. All this creates a realistic market environment, which is characterized by risk and uncertainty.

What is a free business game scenario?

Our economy simulation game doesn’t have a linear scenario. This is an open world of economics and business. As in real life, you set intermediate goals for yourself, come up with a strategy to achieve them yourself, and develop your path to dominance in global markets. You can build your business in any of the 200 available industries (retail, services, manufacturing, energy, agriculture, etc.), in any of several dozen countries. You can also focus on research and development of new technologies, or participation in politics and regional governance. You can create your party, and become the governor or president of the country. Your possibilities are not limited. Experiment, and look for your path to the heights of success.

This form in the “My Company” menu will help you describe your business model and strategy:

Recommendations for a beginner

Complete the starting tasks – “Quests”

Since Virtonomics is the most realistic economic simulation with very extensive gameplay, without a clear sequential scenario, the game may seem complicated and incomprehensible to you at the very beginning. At first, you may be confused by the variety of possibilities, an unusual interface with a large number of numbers, and most importantly, you do not immediately understand the answer to the question – “What can you do here and how to start the game?”. We hasten to reassure you, we have tried to simplify the process of getting to know Virtonomics and the world of big business. First of all, we recommend that you pay attention to the “Quests” section.

Completing quests will allow you to quickly understand the interfaces and basic game mechanics. At the beginning of the game, tasks will become key short-term goals for you in the game.

Start developing retail business

While a wide range of different industries are available to you from the start, your initial capital is limited. Therefore, so that you do not go bankrupt quickly, we recommend that you try the retail business first. Build and make several shops successful. After that, you can move on to a more costly manufacturing business.

The store is the only type of business unit where your customers are bots. In all other enterprises (factories, farms, mines, etc.), real people act as buyers, players just like you.

An example of displaying a line with a store on the main page of an enterprise:

Hover your cursor over store indicators and the simulation will give you hints about location, line of business, core products, and key performance characteristics.
The business model of the store is simple: buy cheaper (from the supplier), sell more expensive (to the consumer). Profit should cover the costs of maintaining the store (rent of retail space, staff salaries, advertising costs, etc.) and the purchase of goods.

Explore the main sections of the game menu

MY COMPANY:

Enterprises: an overview of all enterprises, opening new subdivisions.

Reports: financial, market reports; reports based on specific products, technology sales, warehouse stock, and logistics.

Management: equipment, technologies, licenses, business boosters.

Strategy: participants can define their business strategies, business models, and company goals.

TOP MANAGER: the qualification level of a participant in specific business fields.

ACTIVITIES: game missions, tasks, contests, tenders.

ANALYTICS: the information about the virtual economics world:

Market analysis: reports on the products, competitors, geographical locations, licenses, production, etc.

Macroeconomics: geographical map of the virtual environment, logistics and transportation expenses, seasonality.

Reference: the list of industries and enterprises, business boosters, and trade.

Bonuses and restrictions: taxes and fees, demographics information, etc.

RATING: lists and ratings of the best players and companies in many different categories.

POLITICS: organization of political parties, elections of mayors, governors, and presidents.

CONSTRUCTION: Build unique structures and wonders of the world.

Business skills

The experience and business skills of a top manager have a direct impact on the efficiency of the office and enterprises. Click the “Top Manager” menu section and you will see the current skill values of your game character.

The higher your skills in a certain field is, the bigger and more hi-tech enterprises you will be able to manage. If the qualification level is not high enough, the efficiency of your business decreases, which leads to bigger expenses and lesser profit. 

Initial qualification and its growth

The qualification level that you receive at the start of the course depends on the purpose of the course. Normally, the initial qualification is relatively high (e.g., 10 or 20), for short-term courses and training and relatively low (1-5) for long-term ones.

Your skills will be growing steadily if your business is profitable.

Summary: what to do first

1. Analyze the markets in which your company operates. Identify those goods and raw materials that have the greatest sales prospects. Focus on these products.
2. Find a promising market for your company based on market size, level of competition, and other indicators. Don’t forget to open the office first. Without it, as a management structure in the region, no other unit can function.
3. Make purchases of promising goods (raw materials). Take into account factors such as the location of the division, the average price, quality, and brand of products in this market, and the sales volume of competitors.
4. Set selling prices for your products.
5. Check that all your departments are provided with personnel, production equipment, and contracts for the purchase of components or goods.
6. Try to complete most of the starting tasks.

What to do after the first turns?

1. Check the efficiency of all your subdivisions on the homepage. 
2. Take advantage of the in-game hints.
3. Look at the company financial reports — that way you can see which subdivisions of your company are more profitable. 
4.  Check the sales volumes in the trade hall and the warehouse of your factory are all products selling out? How many units were ordered and how many were sold? Experiment with prices if necessary.
5. Improve the sales and leftover stock supplies. Bear in mind that there is no point in investing in products that are not selling out. 
6.  Launch an advertising campaign. Try various advertising channels and budgets. Increase the efficiency of the advertising campaign. 
7.  Expand your business — optimize the processes in existing subdivisions or open new ones.

Other important and useful information:

Boosters and innovations

Economic game Virtonomics has the function, can accelerating certain business indicators using business boosters, like opening parking spaces, launching ERP business management systems, integrating quality control, increasing energy efficiency, etc. Every business booster has its price, service costs, and validity. 

Boosters for stores:

Innovations for factories:

Activating boosters

Go to the main page of a subdivision. Click on the buttons at the top of the page.

Select the ones that would match your enterprise and would be effective in accelerating your business.

For example, if your qualification in management is quite high, but your store still cannot attract high traffic of customers (although the size of your store is good, the ad campaign is effective, but the store efficiency is still not 100%), so it is better to invest in convenient parking space rather than in installing EPR system.

Information on boosters is available by clicking on «Analytics » – «Reference» – «Business boosters» tab.

Reports

For reports of your company click on «My company» > «Reports». There are a lot of different types of reports. Financial reports, for instance, show the financial indicators of your company: revenues, expenses, profit, and indicators based on regions, subdivisions, products, etc.  There are marketing, warehouse, and movement of goods reports as well as technology and mineral deposits reports. You can also see the reports of each subdivision of yours in the «Financial Report» tab. 

A sample of a financial report of the store, which has been opened only a few game turns before:  

Your money balance is seen together with your name in the top corner of the homepage:

The most important financial indicators

Just like in real business, virtual companies have a lot of important indicators. But there is the most important that should be taken into consideration in the first place:

Money balance — it is your strategic recourse for opening new subdivisions, purchasing supplies, and equipment, paying for ad campaigns, salary to your employees, rent, etc. Bear in mind that your money resources are not unlimited and excessive investment in products may eventually tie up your money. Poorly calculated expansion or financing of expensive projects can lead the company to bankruptcy as well. All operations of a bankrupt company are

put on hold.

Profit — an indicator of your success, which helps you save money. This indicator is a difference between the revenues and expenses of your company.

Revenues and expenses — open several subdivisions that would generate stable profit. Try to decrease your expenses, while increasing your revenues. Do not expand your business without conducting a proper cost and revenue analysis.

A sample of income statement report:

 A sample of warehouse report: locations, sizes, supply, occupancy:

• Retail Market
• Market development index
• Sample report analysis
• Market analysis: specific indicators
• Sample report analysis
• Competitions assessment
• Competition analysis: products, sales, enterprises
• Competition assessment
• Market structure and sales volumes
• Navigating the market
• Service sector market
• Navigating the market
• Production sector analysis
• Reading graphic reports
• Key manufactures
• Reference

Retail Market

For market analysis click on «Analytics» > «Market Analysis». The information on market situations is categorized based on the following sectors:

Retail market reports are one of the most important in the business simulation. It includes information about the consumer market: product price and quality, market maturity and capacity, key players, etc. The information can be filtered based on specific geographic locations that will help assess the selling potential of your product.

A sample of Clothes market report in the USA:

Market development index

For a quick assessment of market potential, a market development index can be used. It can be found in «Market analysis» / «City Retail»:

The index rating:

AAA — oversaturated market, supply exceeds the demand by more than three times.

AA — oversaturated market, supply exceeds the demand by more than two times.

A — oversaturated market.

B — saturated market.

C — the initial stage of saturation.

D — the market is not saturated.

E — the market is not saturated, the local suppliers’ share is more than 50%.

Sample report analysis

The market development index is «E—A», which means that the market has potential. Two key players make up one-fourth of the market in total (sales volumes for both are 150 000 units and the whole market volume is 600 000 units.).

Local suppliers offer the product with a quality little higher than a unit at a price of about 1400. The market leader offers the product of high quality (about 78) at the price of 700. The products offered by another player are of a quality of about 30 and a price of 230. Both offers are more attractive than the market average (the price is lower, whereas the quality is higher). Use this information as a guide before launching a product.

Market analysis: specific indicators

For detailed market and competition analysis select the city of your interest. You will receive information on key indicators.

A sample of detailed Clothes market report in New York:

Sample report analysis

Competition in the market simulation is moderate – the development index is ”E”. Approximately 5/6 of the market belongs to local suppliers – computer shops and stores, which offer products on the market since there are no real participants with such offers. Just over 1/6 of the market is controlled by a real participant. The market volume is stable and has not drastically changed. The products’ brand is zero. There is a positive trend in quality and price dynamics in local stores. It is a reaction to the actions of a real participant, who has entered the market with a product of a higher quality and price.

Local suppliers have also begun to raise the prices and quality of their products to remain competitive.

Competitions assessment

You have the opportunity to see the behavior of your competition. Click on the subdivision of your competitor in the competition report (in the example of the report “store») or just a company name, in the second case, you will see the whole list of subdivisions of your competitor.

Competition analysis: products, sales, enterprises

Select the competitor of your choice In the «Market Analysis» tab. You will see the whole list of their enterprises.  By clicking on a specific enterprise you will see a detailed report of its activity. 

Competition assessment

The store is of the biggest size possible – 300 thousand square meters. It specializes only in selling clothes and shoes (there’s only one department). The store is of an elite service level, which means that the number of employees and their qualifications are of a relevant standard, and the size of the trade hall meets the customer traffic flow.

To increase traffic, you can select the following options:

• Parking. One of the business boosters (available on the store’s homepage).
• Advertising campaign

The store offers a wide range of products. The products that sell the most are the ones with a price higher than the market average, their quality is also significantly higher than the city average.

Market structure and sales volumes

A useful report on market structure and the key players is available in «Analytics» > «Market Analysis» > «Sales volumes». Just click on any competitor to access the information about their company.

Navigating the market

Reports on market structure are based on separate products. Select the product category first then specify the concrete product.

You can also select a specific location (regions and cities. If a concrete location is not selected, the product report is based on all data (market situation of the products in all geographical locations).

Service sector market

A sample of the service sector market report: 

Navigating the market

Service sector market reports are based on specific service sector specializations and geographical locations.

The reports contain information on key players and market structure based on competitors’ specializations and the geographical locations of their enterprises. The report also includes data on market size and average prices.

Below the graph, there is detailed information on your competitors. You will be able to access the company or enterprise report of your competitors.

Production sector analysis

Production reports are available by clicking on «Analytics» > «Market analysis» and selecting the «Production» > «General report» tab. Select a product category and the product. 

A sample of the Gasoline 92 production report:

The information on the market structure and key competitors is available in «Production» > «Today»: 

Reading graphic reports

Graphic reports show the data on production average quality and costs. These reports are useful for understanding general market trends. From the Gasoline example, we can see the increase in production quality and reduction in prime costs.

It means that someone has introduced new technology. The production volumes for this moment have decreased and at the same time

there is an increase in consumption of the product in the market.

Key manufactures

For a detailed analysis see the information on key competitors («Production» / «Today»).

The key player in Gasoline production is company “ImperCorp”, which is about 5 times bigger than the second biggest competitor. When choosing a production strategy, the information on the competition in the market is highly useful.

Reference

Information on the types of enterprises, products, raw materials and production types, trade, and business boosters is essential in business management in Virtonomics. The information can be found by clicking on «Analytics» > «Reference».

For example, this data will inform you what raw materials are necessary for the production of Cars, the duration of construction of such a factory, and how many product units can be produced in one game turn:

By clicking on the component or raw material, you will see the information on what is needed to produce them. It is vital information for planning to establish a vertically integrated company.

The reference data is based on the following sections:

• Types of enterprises

The list of all types of manufacturing enterprises, their production, required raw materials, and production cycle, the time needed to build a factory.

• Products and raw materials

Products and raw materials are bought and sold by the participants of the business simulation. This section also contains the data on the raw material, from which products are made. By clicking on the raw material of your choice, you will see the same report and the information on where this raw material is used.

• Trade

The products that are offered to the end users in retail. Also, the section contains information on raw materials, which are necessary for manufacturing the products.

• Business boosters

The list of all business boosters in the simulation, their prices, service costs, and validity periods.

• World map
• Demographic situation in cities
• City indicators
• The main demography indicators
• Taxes and fees
• Tax and fee rates
• Transport and rent expenses, energy consumption costs
• Transport expenses
• Real estate market
• Renewable resources
• Report on products’ seasonality
• Seasonal businesses
• The geography of agriculture business

World map of virtual economics

The world map in Virtonomics is identical to the real geographical map. The only difference is the number of available countries in Virtonomics. There are 5 countries in Intensive format and 36 in Classic mode. You can see the Virtonomics world map by clicking on «Analytics» > «Macroeconomics».  

General information on the countries includes the number of cities, population, and tax rates. For detailed information on the cities (population, average salary, unemployment rate, education, etc.) select the country or a region:

Demographic situation in cities

Every city has its own demographic profile. 

Employment types:

• Employees at the enterprises owned by other participants
• Employees at computer-generated enterprises
• Civil servants
• Non-working population
• Unemployed

City indicators

    There is archived information on key indicators in every city:  

Additionally, there is data on rent costs, renewable resources (agricultural products, wood, etc.), and seasonal variations. 

The main demography indicators

When selecting a city to start your business, pay attention to the following factors:

• Population — it gives an overview of the potential market size.
• Average city salary — the level is normally higher in bigger cities.
• Unemployment rate — on one hand, high unemployment reduces the market potential.
• On the other hand, the unemployed can easily become your employees.
• Education level — an abstract indication of average employee qualification in the city.
• Wealth level — an abstract indication of the population’s buying power in the city. It is a calculated correlation between the city population and the size of the retail market.

Taxes and fees

The information on the taxes and fees that are applied in Virtonomics virtual world can be found by clicking on the «Analytics» > «Macroeconomics» tab.

A sample of customs duties on export and import (select the country and click on the «Custom duties » tab):

Information on the tax rates in a specific region of the country. Select the country and click on «Region».

A sample of CTIE rates (select the region and click on the «CTIE rates»):

Tax and fee rates

Just like in real life, the virtual companies in Virtonomics have to pay certain taxes and fees:

• Custom duties — are applied in export and import operations. Their rates depend on the product / raw material.
• Income tax — the main tax. Applied in trading (wholesale, sales of products produced by your factories, sales in stores), and services. The income tax rates vary according to region. The dividends are transferred during the game update.
• CTIE rates — a minimum tax deduction sum; applies only to production subdivisions. It is deducted only when the products are sold at a price lower than their prime cost or if the enterprise’s income is lower than the income tax rate. In all other cases, the income tax is applicable. The tax rates vary based on region.
• Technology and licenses sales tax. 7% rate.
• Property sale tax (when selling subdivisions). 10% rate.

Transport and rent expenses, energy consumption costs

Just like in real life, the shipping of products in Virtonomics costs a certain amount of money. The information on shipping costs is available by clicking on «Analytics» > «Macroeconomics», and selecting the «Transport» tab. Select the product category and the departure city:

Energy tariffs of certain regions of the country or the whole country can be found by clicking on «Analytics» > «Macroeconomics», just select the required country or region. 

The rent costs of the cities by clicking on «Rent»: 

Transport expenses

In some cases, transportation expenses and customs duties can have a significant impact on the selling price of the product. For example, the manufacturer’s price of one potato is $ 0.09. The shipping of potatoes from Shanghai to Cologne and customs duties will cost $ 0.06 per potato, which is ~ 66% of the price. The selling price and the price with shipping expenses and customs duties are indicated when ordering products:

• Supplier’s price — selling price.
• The price — the total price, including transport
• expenses and customs duties.

Real estate market

Premises for offices, stores, warehouses, restaurants, hair salons, laundries, etc. are for rent. You can rent the required premises in one game turn (the actual building of the subdivisions takes longer than that).

Renewable resources

Wood, agricultural, and fishery products are renewable resources that vary according to each city.   Production of certain resources does not depend on seasonal variations (wood manufacturing or pearl fishing, for example). However, the agriculture business depends heavily on seasonality. 

A sample of the harvesting calendar in specific cities:

The seasonality is depicted in crop cultivation reports: 

Report on products’ seasonality

For the information of the city’s renewable resources, click on «Analytics» / «Macroeconomics», and choose the «Resources» tab.

For specific reports click on «Analytics» / «Market analysis» and select the «Resources» tab.

Seasonal businesses

Agriculture businesses (farms, plantations) are actively developing only during a certain part of the game year. The seasons of sowing, ripening, and harvesting vary according to different types of crops.

When the harvest season comes to an end, the employees of the agriculture subdivision are dismissed, but general expenses are still applicable.

When you open farms, you can start the sowing process during this exact virtual year. 

The geography of agriculture business

Just like in real life, growing certain crops strongly depends on geographical aspects. Each renewable resource depends on certain environmental conditions and geographical locations. (You cannot grow coffee in Norway, for instance).

• Finance
• Graphic report example:
• Profit / Loss report example:
• Cash inflow and outflow

Finance management

At the beginning of the simulation, you will always receive a certain amount of money. The amount can vary, but they are necessary to maintain your company’s processes and open new subdivisions. 

The amount of your money funds is indicated on the top of your company’s homepage. It is always visible whenever you perform any actions in the simulations (purchasing supplies, hiring employees, etc.)   

Factors to consider when managing the money funds of your virtual company:

• Cash inflow and outflow. Some operations are calculated during the game update and some are calculated instantly. 
• Carefully assess your business development expenses or improve the technology level. 
• Pay attention to the available stocks of raw materials and finished products at your warehouses. On one hand, they ensure the stability of your business. On the other hand, your money is tied up in those stocks when they could be invested into your company’s growth. Find the right balance between stability and business development. 
• Your company account is replenished by company profit.
• In case of a shortage of money, you can sell some of your businesses at an auction. But it may take some time, and you cannot be certain how much money you will be able to gain. The process of selling the business should be planned beforehand, a few rounds before. 
• If the money balance of your company is negative for more than 10 consecutive game turns, your company is declared bankrupt. In this case, the management function of your company is stopped, and the company is put up for sale. If the company recovers after the sale of some of the businesses and the money balance is positive again, the management function is restored.

There are a lot of reports on the financial situation of the company as a whole and its separate subdivisions. You can find them by clicking on «My Company» > «Reports» in the «Financial Report» tab on the homepage of each separate subdivision.  

Graphic report example:

Profit / Loss report example:

Cash inflow and outflow

During the game update, the system calculates your cash flow:

• Supply and product purchasing expenses.
• Rent expenses (stores, warehouses, offices, etc.).
• Employees’ weekly salary.
• Employee training expenses.
• Revenues from sales.
•  Write-offs (receipts) in case of purchase (sale) of licenses.
• Expenses of opening new subdivisions or changing their size.
• Advertising expenses.
• Tax fees.
• Profit from the sales of subdivisions at auctions.

The following expenses are calculated instantly:

• Employee hiring /dismissal payments.
• Opening offices, stores, warehouses, etc.
• Changing stores’ size and location,
• Purchasing mines and oil wells, etc.
• Buying business boosters

• Equipment: purchasing, repairing and removing
• Automatic repair

Equipment: purchasing, repairing, and removing

There is some sort of equipment in any type of enterprise: computers (offices), machines (factories), workout equipment (fitness centers), trawlers (fishing bases), research equipment (laboratories), etc. The equipment is selected based on the technology level of your enterprise. High technology levels require high-quality equipment. The quality of the equipment depends on the qualifications of your employees.  

Equipment tends to wear out due to constant exploitation and needs to be repaired. Go to «My company» > «Management» to manage the equipment in your company.   

There are equipment buying, repairing, and removing functions on the home page of each enterprise.  («Equipment» and  «Automatic repair»):

Automatic repair

If you have an equipment auto repair function in your enterprise, the system will monitor the condition of your equipment every game turn and automatically repair it if needed. You can set the replacement equipment quality and price range. It is also possible to set the supply of equipment from your subdivisions (in case they manufacture the required equipment).

• R&D: research, buying technologies and licenses
• Research
• Purchasing of a license
• Purchasing of a technology

R&D: research, buying technologies and licenses

The technology level of an enterprise (just like the qualification of the employees, equipment, and raw materials) has a huge influence on the production quality and staff efficiency. The technology level can be improved by conducting research in laboratories and buying licenses and technologies.   

Every method has its specific nuances. For example, the process of conducting your research will take time, but eventually, you will be able to implement a new technology or sell it to other participants. Although the purchasing of a license or technology is the fastest way to improve the technology level, you will need to pay for it right away. The licenses normally cost less than technology. However, licenses are implemented only in one enterprise, whereas technologies can be implemented in all enterprises of the same type.

A sample of technology implementation prices of 1, 2, and 3 levels at a pet food factory: 

Example of license purchase application:

Select the required level of technology and the maximum amount you are willing to pay for a license.

The competitive application is when the price that you offer does not exceed the given price, not competitive – average market price. In this case, it can be any price, but the purchase opportunity increases.

The applications are processed during the game update.  

Research

If you want to conduct your research, first, you need to open a laboratory, hire adequately qualified scientists, and purchase equipment of appropriate quality. The larger the laboratory is, the higher the level of technology that can be developed.

There are three stages of research:

• Initial hypothesis.
• Hypothesis processing — select the hypothesis, which will be tested.
• Technical testing.

Each stage can take several game turns. The invented technologies can be implemented in your enterprises or sold in the form of usage licenses to other participants.

Purchasing of a license

To buy a license click on the «Technologies» tab in the enterprise, the technology level of which has to increase. The licenses can be purchased at auctions.

Purchasing of a technology

Click on the «Technologies» tab in the enterprise of your interest. The buying of technologies is not complicated — just select the needed technology and pay the technology and its implementation price.

• Selling the finished goods
• Managing your sales volumes

Selling the finished goods

The customers of a retail business are computer-generated.  Customers can purchase products in retail stores, and gas stations, buy services in -laundries, hair salons, medical centers, etc. All other customers, who buy raw materials, and finished products are real participants in the simulation.  

Example of the dynamics of sales in the store:

One game turn in Virtonomics equals one week.  The figure shows that the quality of the period increased by almost two times, the price remained the same, but the sales dropped from 1,000 to 500 units. It happened, most likely, because all available products in one game turn are selling out very quickly. Therefore, you need to increase the volumes of supply experiment with increasing the prices.

Managing your sales volumes

You can manage your production sales in factories, warehouses, mines, etc., by setting the selling price, the sales volume per game turn and selecting the conditions of the contract — selling the finished goods only to your company, to particular companies of other participants, sell to any participant or no one at all.

Selling the production of a vertically integrated business

If your goal is to build a company with its own supply chain, from mining to selling the finished goods, strive for the profitability of not only your company as a whole but each subdivision individually.

When selling among the subdivisions of your own company, consider prime costs and selling prices, transport expenses, and taxes.

Try to optimize the whole supply chain, to minimize the expenses and get maximum benefit from the right location and tax policy.

• Production
• Production Management

Production

Production is a very exciting option in Virtonomics. With a vast choice of available industries, you can establish a huge vertically integrated company with its own supply chain.  The finished goods are sold to the enterprises of real participants of the simulation. 

For high-quality production, you will need a high level of technology (see factory’s «Technology» tab), equipment based on the technology requirements (purchase of equipment is done on the homepage of the factory), and employees and appropriate skills. The system will give hints on the required level of equipment and employees. You will also need the right amount of raw materials. If you strive for a successful production business, make sure you have all these requirements met. 

A sample production report:

Take a closer look at the following factors (for example): 

• Before the production processes started there were 55 motorcycles of 5,73 with a prime cost of 839,34 available at the warehouse.  Every game turn the factory produces 5 motorcycles of 2,46 quality with the prime cost of 9222,72. When newly produced motorcycles are transferred to the warehouse for sale, their quality will be the average of the two. It will happen every game turn. Bear in mind the quality of the newly produced goods when setting the selling price.   
• The conditions of the contract state that the motorcycles can be sold to any customer. There are 55 units available for delivery, but the maximum purchase volume, however, is 5 units.  This will ensure the availability of the products in the warehouse. The occupancy of the warehouse is less than 2%, which means that there is enough space at the warehouse, and you will not need to use external warehouses. 

Production Management

Before opening a factory, conduct competition analysis, evaluate their technology level, the quality of manufactured goods, prices, sales volumes and key buyers.

Make sure your factory has enough employees and the right equipment. Pay attention to the wear and tear condition of your equipment and repair it on time.

Keep an eye on the suppliers with the best offers, the changes in the prices and quality, the supply delivery limitations per game turns.

You can order from one supplier or several. You can store some amount of raw materials in case of product delivery failures. But it will put some of your assets on hold.

Improve your production business by selecting business boosters (on the factory‘s homepage.).

Manage your sales volumes — sell only to your own subdivisions, to the companies of particular players or make your products available for purchasing to every participant of the simulation.