Someone probably was paid large dollars to come up with this tricky title. Baron: The Real Estate Simulation, is (drum roll) a real estate sales simulation. The game was released in the late eighties and is an entirely text-based simulation of the real estate market. There are very few simulations that put the user in the shoes of a real estate investor. That fact, combined with the fact that Baron: The Real Estate Simulation is actually very good, explains why the game has been able to stand the test of time.
Baron: The Real Estate Simulation focuses on a very narrow subject matter. These games were very popular in Asia, especially Japan, but very few ever caught on outside of these venues, mostly because of the very narrow subject. The user is not a developer. He does not rent houses or build huge housing developments to attract people to a city, and so forth. Instead, he is a speculator, purchasing properties as investments and selling at the right times to the right buyers in order to make profits from his investments.
The game has definitive upside. Because the user only has one goal and one basic job to do to accomplish this goal (making money) the gamer can really focus on the accurate model Baron: The Real
Estate Simulation presents of the real estate market. The user has to be thoughtful and savvy. He begins with nothing in his property portfolio at all, but he does have about a quarter of a million dollars in his bank account. This sounds like a lot, especially in the eighties, but when it comes to buying properties, it is not so much.
The user receives a list of all of the properties that are for sale. Some will be more attractive, for various reasons, to the buyer. With the list of available properties comes all of the information the user will need to make an informed purchase. The property description will include the type of property, its location and the asking price. It will also include information such as annual tax fees and operating or upkeep costs. Mortgage rates for this particular purchase will be available, as will the amount of down payment that will be required in order to secure a loan. Aside from purchasing and selling properties, the user is also able to make money by partnering with his Uncle Herman in the secondary mortgage business.
Basically, the goal of the game is to progress from Broker to Baron. The game is turn based, with each turn of the game representing a month in time. It is fun to watch the portfolio change with purchases, sales and economic fluctuations. This is a great and unusual simulation. Give it a try.
