Sim Companies - One Beginner's Experience

Big Oil

James, the CEO of Big Oil, has written up his experience with Sim Companies.

I have been playing Sim Companies for one month now and thought I'd share some of my experiences. Some of this may help new players.

FAIR WARNING! When my Branding and Marketing people caught on they insisted on editing the final copy. See if you can spot their additions.

I love "build" games, so finding a simple, yet engaging online business/companysimulation caught my interest. Starting out, the game puts you into food production which is a good way to get started.

I learned the basics of production, soon having farms and a plantation plus grocery stores to sell my produce. This taught me the basics, but then I began to discover the other directions the game allows you to go. I realized there are really nine area of focus currently for your new company. Three general industries - food, energy, and electronics – then for each you could focus on being a supplier, a front end seller, or take a balanced approach and do both. Of course, a company can just "dabble" in multiple industries but seems less efficient and to me less fun.

I chose to focus on energy and renamed my corporation to "Big Oil". Since you recover every dollar you invest in level 1 and 2 buildings, this type of industry jumping is easy and excellent for allowing us to try new directions. I started selling off my farms, but kept a couple of grocery stores as they do make a modest steady income.

I began drilling for oil and entered the crude oil market. The quality of each oil rig (the percent efficiency) is quite significant to the cost of production, plus they degrade over time and need to be replaced. As I added more oil rigs I dedicated one building slot to speculation. Now I have three oil rigs going and a fourth which exists only so that I can always be improving the least efficient well. I also decided to create my own power plant to help run my oil rigs at lower cost. Big Oil - your personal well for reliable energy.

The other important thing I did was purchase some Sim Boosts for two reasons:

1. The developers of a quality game deserve to be rewarded for their work!
2. Being able to gain up to an extra 10k per day is a nice aid in growth. I equate this to having outside investors.

NOTE: Please don't take this as a criticism of those who are enjoying this game and do NOT have the means to make a purchase. Simply being part of a game community and an active player helps it succeed.

Continued expansion as a producer relies on being able to consistently sell your product on the market. This requires transportation and competitive pricing. I'm relying on other companies for my transportation needs – you can't cover everything yourself. I found the market is competitive which drives prices down and tightens profits for the suppliers. At Big Oil, we always price for you, our customer.

Contrary to advice I kept hearing, I decided it was worth investing in research early to be able to produce one star crude. This is a market differential and helps sales. I do agree, however, that researching to level 2+ products can wait until the company is much bigger. Of course, at Big Oil, we dig deep to always provide the highest quality energy products to our valued customers. (more details about research)

Other general tips I've learned so far:

1. Be careful not to let your cash dip too low. You always want to be able to take advantage of a deal you find on the market, and you need money to produce. I recommend waiting until you have 10-20k more than you need before investing in a new building or you may find your buildings sitting idle or get stuck waiting on a market sale before continuing operations.
2. The market is a true market! You are not buying from each specific company, but are buying from the market itself. So there is no need to agonize over buying an odd quantity of something because that's the number offered at the lowest price. If you need 1000, just order 1000 and your price will be the composite of the lowest priced suppliers. Get what you need and keep producing and selling!
3. When selling from one of your stores find the lowest price that generates the most profit per item. As you raise the price you will eventually see the profit per item go DOWN due to labor costs. This has been highlighted before by Patrik, but I mention it again as it's an important tip for new players. (more details about selling)

Going forward I plan to expand into refining and building gas stations to sell petrol and diesel and explore the possibility of contracts. Remember, at Big Oil, our commitment to you is fueled by our commitment to a healthy global environment.

I look forward to seeing this game grow and see what is in store.

James
CEO "Big Oil"