Student playing an online business game

Online Business Games for Students

Online business games can be an effective way to capture student interest in learning about business concepts and strategies. By allowing students to interact with these concepts firsthand, they are more likely to remember and retain information. Additionally, by making the learning process engaging, students are more likely to remain focused on the subject matter instead of becoming bored or disinterested. 

 

Business simulations require students to think critically about how best to approach a problem or situation—just like real-life scenarios. Through trial and error, they are able to assess what works best for different types of problems, which ultimately helps them develop strong decision-making skills. This can be invaluable when they enter the workforce because they will already have practice in approaching situations objectively and strategically. 

We have compiled a list of the top Online Business Simulation Games that you can select from for your students, so if you are looking for a list of online business games you have come to the right place!

Startup Wars - Entrepreneurship Business Simulation

Startup Wars provides a unique environment for learning business and entrepreneurship by challenging players to create their own virtual startups and compete against one another within an economy that rewards strategic decision-making. The game includes an integrated grading platform that allows players to track their performance and measure their entrepreneurial success.  Benefits include…

Startup Wars Business Simulations for Entrepreneurship
T-Shirt Company Business Simulation Startup Wars

Benefits Include:

  • Unique art style featuring bright colors, expressive characters, and exciting action sequences.
  • Tutorials make it easy for newcomers to learn the game quickly while still offering complexity as you progress through the game.
  • Specialized for entrepreneurship students with simulations focused on Startup Businesses
  • Utilizes the latest innovative education technology
  • Fast-paced strategic gameplay that rewards careful planning and decision making.

Marketplace Simulations

Marketplace Simulations helps students make important decisions regarding pricing, expenses, supply chain processes and more. Students will be able to read graphs and charts in order to use data in their decision making in order to make their company successful, while also gaining a better understanding of the importance of data analytics when it comes to business management. Additionally, Marketplace Simulations also introduces supply chain management which is vital for learning about the various steps involved in this process.

  • Has been on the market for a few decades
  • Provides reflection of how the real-world economy works in various simulations.
  • Players are able to develop better problem-solving skills and understand more complex economic concepts as they progress through the game.
  • Has advanced simulations for Capstone courses
  • Supports internationalization for various languages

Capsim

Capsim is centered around understanding the fundamentals of business operations by simulating how different departments interact with each other. Players will gain insight into four main departments: research and development, marketing, finance and production. With this simulation, students learn how decisions made in one department can affect the entire company’s performance.

Game Dev Story

Game Dev Story tasks the player to build a loyal fanbase for their video game development company. In addition to creating the games, the player will have to balance managing their staff, fulfilling business contracts, creating advertisement campaigns, and more.

This simulation helps build critical thinking skills as students make business decisions that profoundly impact their company. They have to decide which employees to hire based on the candidate’s skills and even manage the budget for hiring campaigns. This mixture of critical thinking with responsible financial planning will help introduce students to the concept of decision-making as a business owner.

Startup Company

Startup Company puts the player in the seat of the CEO of their own small startup company that aims to create a website. The player will then upgrade the website to meet customer expectations and continue scaling in popularity. This business simulation helps show students the process of scaling a product to increase customer satisfaction.

Completing a product is just the beginning. With increased complexity in financial decisions, such as taking out loans and deciding to budget for payroll, this game shows how a business continues to grow once its product is out the door. By playing this simulation, students will learn what comes after building their product.

Biztopia

Biztopia gives players the goal of supplying their stores with products while managing the supply and demand from wholesalers and customers. The player will set prices for products, manage expenses for maintenance and insurance, and understand the supply chain process. This simulation is an excellent choice for teaching students about running a business that deals with physical products.

One of the most exciting aspects of this game is the analysis features included. Students will be reading graphs and charts to use data in their decision-making to make their company become successful. This feature is impactful since it’ll help establish how vital data is for business management.

The addition of supply chain management also makes this lucrative for business management students since this topic is more challenging to grasp. Having students interact with the supply chain process will help them understand each step and visualize what it would be like in real life.

 

Hipster CEO

Hipster CEO introduces the economic competition of business by allowing players to compete against each other as CEOs of startup companies. Students will be able to create various product types (fitness app, social media, etc.) and decide their target audience. They will then have to compete against other businesses to obtain the highest market share and beat any competitors.

This simulation will help introduce the competitive nature of business and show students how important it is to target market segments appropriately. It’s simply not practical to teach students to dominate a market space through textbooks or static articles. Being able to compete against others directly will help place students in the shoes of a competitive business and give them a head start on this mentality shift.

Business Founder – Startup Manager

Business Founder – Startup Manager tasks the player to recruit an awesome team, expand their office properties, invest in equipment, and upgrade their company’s products. This game is an excellent introductory simulation for first-time business learners, emphasizing business analytics and employee management.

This simulation covers all the basics and even introduces concepts such as profit and loss, supply chains, investors, and more. Students will analyze their company’s profit and loss to help improve operations and review the monthly results about pricing and market share to make better decisions. The unique feature of acquiring finances from banks and investors adds another layer of depth.

Conclusion

Online business games offer a great opportunity for educators looking for engaging ways for their students to learn about business concepts without sacrificing educational value. By providing students with an interactive medium through which they can explore problem-solving techniques and collaborate with their peers, these games can help make learning fun while giving them practical experience that will serve them well in both their academic pursuits and beyond!

5 Online Business Games For Students

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Charlotte Kane
Charlotte Kane Undergraduate Student, The Ohio State University

Startup Wars allowed me to understand everything that goes into starting a business in 90 days.

Darshita Bajoria
Darshita Bajoria Undergraduate Student, The Ohio State University

Startup Wars is an interactive way to learn and hone entrepreneurial skills while being a no-risk outlet. Great tool for those pursuing entrepreneurship.