Even if your child decides not to start a business, understanding the principles behind running a successful business would be useful to him or her. Besides, employers value candidates with strong business acumen – just as they value candidates with high emotional intelligence.
This post discusses top business games for kids that will help them develop strong business acumen. The games provide an opportunity for kids to virtually explore the business world and understand the concept of pricing, profit and loss, as well as marketing and sales.
Top 9 Business Games for Kids
#1. Lemonade Stand
The first game on this list of business games for kids is Lemonade Stand. In the game, your child will be tasked with running a lemonade business, and he or she is required to make as much money as possible within 30 days. The game allows total control of the virtual business, and your child will be in charge of pricing, quality control, inventory control, and purchasing supplies.
For a lemonade business, the weather is a big factor that affects demand. When it is hot, the product receives a lot of demand and a higher price can be charged. On the other hand, when there is rain or the weather is cloudy, demand drops – and customers aren’t willing to pay a higher price.
These changes in demand teach your child the principle of demand and supply in correlation to price.
As your child is selling the product, customers will also decide whether or not they like it. When sales are made, a speech bubble that shows the comments of customers will appear over their heads. Your child is expected to monitor these so as to measure customer satisfaction of the product. And with good customer service, the lemonade business becomes popular as customers start telling friends and neighbours the good news about the product.
Through the game, your child will learn how to build a business and understand the rationale behind why real-life businesses charge a higher price for a quality product that customers enjoy.
Lemonade Stand runs on Windows computers, and to be able to run it smoothly, make sure you have the newest Java Runtime Environment installed. Learn more about the game here.
#2. Rollercoaster Tycoon
The second game that we will discuss on this list of business games for kids is Rollercoaster Tycoon. The game is about building and managing a unique theme park. As a player, your child is responsible for creating, operating, and managing the park.
To play the game, your child will have to complete some fun puzzles. There is a daily reward for playing the game, and your child can compete with other players of the game across the globe.
Rollercoaster Tycoon runs on iOS and Android devices. Learn more about the game here.
#3. Zoo Tycoon
It can be deduced from its name that Zoo Tycoon is a game about managing a virtual zoo. As one of the top business games for kids, it teaches kids about cash flow, inventory, marketing, sales, and business planning.
Your child will start the game by making fences for the zoo, then stock animals, and give them toys, foliage, and other provisions. To make money, visitors must visit the zoo, and to accommodate them, your child will have to lay down paths around the zoo. He or she would also have to set up food stands, amusement rides, maps, trash cans and other things expected in a standard zoo.
Like Lemonade Stand, Zoo Tycoon runs on Windows computers, and more information about it can be gotten here. Your child would love the game if he or she is an animal lover or loves visiting zoos.
#4. Coffee Shop
The next game on this list of business games for kids is Coffee Shop. The model of the game is similar to Lemonade Stand but with little differences. Your kid would launch the business with what is called a “seed money,” and he or she designs the coffee recipe and sets the price.
The interesting thing about this game is that at the end of each business day, your child would be notified of the number of cups of coffee sold and customers’ feedback about the product. Some customers would think the price is too high, and some would think the coffee doesn’t have enough milk.
Your child would need to pay attention to what customers think about the product and use the information to make a business decision that would increase sales and customer satisfaction. Through the game, your child would learn about the importance of customer satisfaction in business and how it helps move a business forward.
Coffee Shop is a flash game that can be played on a computer. Learn more about the game here.
#5. Cookie Tycoon
Cookie Tycoon is more advanced than the other business games for kids in this post. Your child will not only be responsible for production, marketing, and sales; he or she would also be responsible for staff management, as he or she needs to fire and hire employees for the business.
Playing the game is very easy. Your child will see how customers enter the cookie store and buy items, but he or she would need to keep a close eye on their feedback on how good the cookies are.
Generally, the cost incurred in the Cookie Tycoon game is beyond production cost because staff management is involved. At the end of each sales day, your child would get a report on the cost of making the cookies and the overhead (employees) cost. The report also includes the total sales and profits made.
As your child makes more profits from sales, he or she can invest in the shop; he or she can make the shop bigger and more appealing to the customers. With time, the chef and employees also gain more experience, and everything works together to increase sales and bring more profits to the business.
Cookie Tycoon is a flash game that can be played on the computer. Learn more about it here.
#6. Monopoly
A list of top business games for kids wouldn’t be complete if Monopoly isn’t included. The game has been around for several decades, and it is now available on major digital platforms. As you already know, the intention of the game is for players to gather as many real estates as possible and charge rent on them.
Your child would learn a lot about business from it. Learn more about the game here.
#7. Zapitalism
As one of the top business games for kids, Zapitalism teaches kids about product pricing and profit-making. The game accommodates a maximum of six players, and its objective is that one of the players would become the richest in the fictitious island.
If your child is the only one playing the game, the other 5 slots would be taken up by the computer. The game is turn-based, and your child would be given 50,000 zables to start a business on the island. With the money, he or she would buy items in wholesale and stock up his or her shelves.
He or she would then set the price for the products and make profits from sales. If the price is too high, customers wouldn’t buy; if the price is also too low, the business would be at a loss. So, your child would need to learn how to come up with a price affordable for the customer and profitable for the business.
As your child runs the business, he or she has an option to take a loan to expand the business, or use the money to pay employee salaries and taxes. Out of the six players of the game, the first to make 5,000,000 zables is the winner. (salemchamber.org)
To learn more about the game, go here.
#8. Gazillionaire
Like Zapitalism, this top business game for kids allows up to six players. In the game, your child is expected to start a small business and manage it until it becomes very big and successful.
At the beginning of the game, your child would need to take a loan of 4% interest rate, and the money would be used to buy a ship. Using the ship, your child would travel around the world, buying cargos at low prices and selling them for profit.
Aside from learning about trading from the game, your child would also have to decide whether or not pay for insurance; this teaches risk-taking and the role of insurance in a business.
To make the game more interesting, you can invite your kids’ friends to join. Learn more about Gazillionaire here.
#9. CA$HFLOW for Kids
The last game on this list of business games for kids is CA$HFLOW for Kids. The game was designed by Robert Kiyosaki, based on his famous Rich Dad, Poor Dad book. Through the game, your child would learn about the importance of building assets and limiting liabilities.
He or she would also learn about the relationship between the balance sheet and income statement. Most importantly, CA$HFLOW for Kids encourages kids to take up side hustles and passive income when they grow up.
Learn more about the game here.
It isn’t too early to make your child understand the business world. If your child attends a school that provides a well-rounded education, he or she will most likely get trained on entrepreneurship, which will aid the acquisition of some skills in business administration.
Whether your child attends such a school or not, the business games for kids discussed in this post would help him or her to understand what it takes to run a successful business.
