It's Only A Game

Entrepreneur, March, 2001 by Megan Reilly

On second thought, maybe it's better to just play dotcom.

It's not exactly fun and games these days in Silicon Valley, but that doesn't mean you can't have fun with some New Economy-style entertainment.

* Dot-Com Survivor, an online trivia game, pits you against other dotcom gurus in real time. First, choose your game piece: Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Meg Whitman or Shawn Fanning. Then maneuver around the board, landing on squares that contain multiple choice questions in a variety of categories. (Beware: The game doesn't tell you the correct answer if you guess wrong.) Available from Gamelet.com at http://gtime.gamelet.com/survivor.

* How much impact do start-ups really have on Silicon Valley? You can experience it firsthand when you play Is. [C.sup.3], an interactive simulator that puts you in the hot seat. In the game, you're in charge of a Valley foundation and your decisions affect the area's culture. The game is available for $40 from Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley at www.arts4sv.org.

* We're all for a twist on an old favorite, like Hasbro's Monopoly--The .com Edition. Now you pass Go and collect $200 million, acquire Yahoo! Instead of Park Place, and choose from playing pieces that include a computer mouse instead of that old shoe.