Games About the Economy and Marketplace

We've been assigned to play an online game to illustrate demand and supply. I chose to play Diner City. In this game, the player selects a business to run. Each day, the player is given options on what to purchase or upgrade with the revenue earned from the previous day in order to bring in more business and increase revenue. I felt that this tied in with my earlier post on production possibilities in that there is a scarcity of resources. If I spent money on more staff, I gave up the opportunity to spend that money on changing the menu or bringing in entertainment for the patrons. I had to gage how well my restaurant was doing as compared to the competition, and observe what they were doing differently, in order to make an informed decision about my next expenditure. It also showed me that when I upgraded my restaurant, I also increased demand in that more customers were coming through, so I then had to increase the number of seats, as well as the number of staff. Staff became more expensive, as did the cost of cleaning. It was a great example of how costs go up as revnue increases. Bonus - the game is fun to play!