The universe of startups feeds on chaos. For every successful idea, thousands of other projects end up shattered along the way. And there is always a development that seeks to turn that struggle into a game. That is how we arrive at CEO Simulator: Startup Edition, a creation of Ágoston Török. Your mission, if you decide to accept it, is to reach a minimum viable product and an appropriate level of funds, without accumulating stress or drowning in the waters of technical debt…
If you are thinking of an activity, the most likely thing is that a simulator already exists. We have simulators for driving trucks and building PCs, farm simulators, pressure washer simulators, restaurant and hotel simulators. Mechanics, programming, and of course, startups. Obviously, there are multiple levels of complexity, but I think CEO Simulator: Startup Edition hits the nail on the head by limiting the player's objectives to five fundamental pillars, seasoned with a pinch of randomness.
CEO Simulator: Create a startup… and survive
These five pillars are Team Morale, Technical Debt, CEO Mental Health, MVP (minimum viable product), and Funds. The basic victory condition is to maximize the MVP and funds within the 14 days, while avoiding at the same time the pillars from reaching the bottom. To balance their values you will have to play one card per turn/day, and if necessary, work overtime.
Each card played consumes a specific number of hours per day (out of 8 available). Then, we must choose one of the pillars to optimize its value, and roll the die. If the number exceeds the number of hours remaining in the day, we can avoid the wear, or go to overtime. To successfully overcome the impact of overtime you have to roll the die once more, and if that number is not greater than the overtime hours, the CEO's health deducts a point.
If you are careful, on some turns when one or two hours are left, you can improve two pillars, as long as you are willing to run the risk of overtime. And as if that were not enough, once the MVP and funds reach the maximum, the negative aspects are ignored and the game ends in victory. The average game lasts five minutes. Take advantage!
Official site: Click here
