How to Play the 1970s Trading Floor Simulation Game

A Beginner's Guide to Investing

This game lets you step into the shoes of a 1970s Wall Street stockbroker, practicing investing the old-school way—without computers or apps. You'll receive stock price quotes, place buy or sell orders, track your trades, manage taxes and dividends, and reflect on how trading has evolved. Here's how it works, focusing purely on the investment experience:

1. Your Starting Point

• You begin with $10,000 in cash to invest in stocks.
• Your goal is to make smart buy and sell decisions to grow your wealth through 10 trades.
• You'll act like a 1970s broker, relying on "phone quotes" and a manual ledger to track everything.

2. Receiving Stock Quotes

• Every 10 seconds, a new stock quote appears (e.g., "AAPL: $15.20" or "IBM: $22.50").
• The quote shows a stock ticker (like AAPL for Apple) and the current price per share.
• In the 1970s, brokers got these quotes via phone calls from the trading floor—this game mimics that process.

3. Making Trades

• Use the Order Form to buy or sell stocks:
  • Ticker: Enter the stock ticker from the latest quote (e.g., AAPL).
  • Quantity: Choose how many shares to buy or sell (e.g., 10 shares).
  • Price: Use the price from the quote (e.g., $15.20).
  • Type: Select "Buy" to purchase shares or "Sell" to sell shares you own.
  • Click Submit Order to complete the trade.
• Buying: You need enough cash to cover the cost (quantity × price). For example, buying 10 shares of AAPL at $15.20 costs $152.
• Selling: You can only sell shares you own. Selling gives you cash (quantity × price).
• If you try to buy without enough cash or sell shares you don't have, you'll get an error.

4. Tracking Your Trades

• Every trade is recorded in a Transaction Ledger, like the paper records brokers used in the 1970s.
• The ledger shows:
  • Date: When you made the trade.
  • Ticker: The stock you traded.
  • Type: Whether it was a buy or sell.
  • Quantity: Number of shares.
  • Price: Price per share.
  • Total: Total cost (for buys) or proceeds (for sells).
  • Tax: If you sell at a profit, a 10% tax is applied (see below).
• Reviewing the ledger helps you see your trading history and learn from your decisions.

5. Managing Your Portfolio

• Your Portfolio shows the stocks you own:
  • Ticker: The stock you hold.
  • Shares: How many shares you own.
  • Average Buy Price: The average price you paid for those shares.
  • Current Value: The value of your shares based on a simulated current price.
• For example, if you buy 10 shares of AAPL at $15 and later buy 10 more at $16, your average buy price is $15.50 for 20 shares.
• The portfolio updates after each trade, showing how your investments are performing.

6. Paying Taxes

• When you sell shares for a profit (selling price higher than your average buy price), you pay a 10% tax on the profit.
• For example:
  • You bought 10 AAPL shares at $15 each ($150 total).
  • You sell them at $20 each ($200 total). Your profit is $200 - $150 = $50.
  • Tax = 10% of $50 = $5, deducted from your cash.
• Taxes are automatically calculated and shown in the ledger, reflecting real-world costs of investing.

7. Receiving Dividends

• Every 30 seconds, there's a chance (30%) that a stock you own pays a dividend of $0.10 per share.
• For example, if you own 20 shares of IBM and it pays a dividend, you get $2 (20 × $0.10), added to your cash.
• Dividends are logged in the Dividends section, mimicking how companies reward shareholders with profits.

8. Ending the Game

• The game ends after you complete 10 trades.
• At the end:
  • You'll see your final cash balance and portfolio.
  • A Reflection section appears, asking: "What have we lost and gained with technology in trading?"
  • Write your thoughts about how manual trading (like this game) compares to modern trading with apps and real-time data.
  • Your answer is saved, and you can review your portfolio and ledger to see how you did.

9. Why This Game Helps You Learn Investing

• Realistic 1970s Experience: You'll feel the challenge of trading without modern tools, relying on quotes and manual record-keeping.
• Practice Key Skills:
  • Decide when to buy or sell based on changing prices.
  • Manage your cash to avoid overspending.
  • Understand taxes and dividends as part of investing.
  • Track your portfolio to see how your investments grow (or shrink).
• Reflection: Thinking about what's changed with technology helps you appreciate how trading has become faster and easier today, but also what might be lost (like the hands-on process of the 1970s).

11. How to Start

1. Open the game in a web browser.
2. Watch for the first stock quote (e.g., "GE: $12.50").
3. Use the order form to make your first trade.
4. Keep trading, tracking your ledger and portfolio, until you reach 10 trades.
5. Answer the reflection question to finish the game.

This game gives you a taste of 1970s Wall Street while teaching you the basics of investing. Have fun trading, and think about how the process has changed with technology! If you need help, ask your instructor.