Stock Market Game

This stock market game is a free, educational trading simulator you can play in your browser. You get $10,000 of pretend cash and a market of eight made-up companies, plus an index fund that owns a slice of all of them. Each turn is one week. Buy and sell whole shares, watch the prices move, react to the headlines, and see whether you can finish ahead of an investor who simply bought the index fund and never touched it. No download or sign-up needed.

It is a game, not a real market. Every company, ticker and headline is fictional, prices come from a random simulation, and the game uses no real market data. It is not financial advice.

How to play

• Pick a game length. Choose 26 weeks for a quick game or 52 weeks for a full simulated year. You start every game with $10,000 in cash.
• Choose a stock. The market list shows each company’s ticker, sector, current price, how much it moved last week, and how many shares you own. Tap a row to see its price chart.
• Trade whole shares. Set the number of shares with -10, -1, +1, +10 or Max, then press Buy or Sell. Each trade costs a 0.1% fee (at least one cent), and the game shows the full cost before you buy.
• Move to the next week. Press Next week and every price updates. The market, each sector and each company all have their own ups and downs.
• Read the news. Some weeks bring a fictional headline: a company launches a hit product or misses its profit forecast, or a heat wave lifts energy stocks. The News tab lists recent headlines, and arrows in the list show which stocks they hit.
• Collect dividends. Some companies pay a small cash dividend every 13 weeks to anyone holding their shares. The fast-growing tech companies pay none.
• Finish the game. After the last week the game values your portfolio and compares it with buying 100 units of the index fund in week 0 and holding them to the end.

The eight companies cover five sectors: tech, energy, consumer goods, health and transport. Tech and solar stocks swing hardest in both directions. The cookie maker and the health company move more slowly. The index fund tracks the average weekly move of all eight, so it is the natural benchmark to beat.

Your top five results for each game length are saved in your browser, and a game in progress is saved every turn so you can continue later.

Playing in a classroom

Every market is built from a market code. Leave it blank for a random market, or type the same code on every computer so a whole class trades the exact same prices and headlines. The prices do not depend on what anyone buys, so students can compare strategies fairly at the end. The Replay this market button on the results screen lets you try the same market again with a different plan.

Tips

• Diversify. Spreading your money across several companies and sectors means one bad headline only hurts part of your portfolio.
• Respect the index. Beating a buy-and-hold index fund is harder than it sounds. If you make a big bet on one company, you might win big, but you might also finish well behind.
• Watch your fees. A 0.1% fee looks tiny, but buying and selling every week adds up. Check the Portfolio tab to see the total you have paid.
• News moves prices the week it appears. By the time you read a headline, the price has already jumped or dropped. Chasing yesterday’s news is a common way to buy high and sell low.
• Use the chart. The dashed blue line shows the index scaled to the same starting price, so you can see at a glance whether a stock is beating the market. Drag across the chart to read any past week’s price.

FAQ

Is this stock market game free?

Yes. It is free, with no account, no install and no real money involved. It works on desktop, Chromebook and phone.

Are the companies real?

No. All eight companies, their tickers and every headline are fictional. Prices come from a random simulation with sector trends, not from any real exchange, and the game uses no real market data.

What is an index fund in the game?

It is a fund that owns an equal slice of all eight companies. Its price moves by the average of their weekly moves, and it pays the average of their dividends. You can trade it like any stock.

How is my score worked out?

Your result is your total value at the end: cash plus the value of every share you own at final prices. The results screen shows your percentage return and the difference between your total and the buy-and-hold index result.

Enjoy running a business too? Try the Lemonade Stand game or build an empire in our Tycoon Game.