Mastering Markstrat
So you've got to play Markstrat and you haven't got a clue what a Vodite is? Well, you have come to the right place. When I played Markstrat during my Master studies at the French ESCP-EAP business school in 2004, I couldn't find any useful information on the Internet. That's why I decided to create this little guide. But be aware: having won the challenge doesn't make me an expert though. You should follow your own intuition too.
About Markstrat
Markstrat is a computer simulation where different student groups play against each other under realistic market conditions in an artificial world. Players can develop their existing products and launch new ones in 2 different markets in this turn based game. Usually the game runs for 7-12 turns and the winner is the team who has had the best performance. End-game strategies that would endanger the company's future after the final round (like not investing anymore in market research or advertising) to artificially increase the capital or stock price are prohibited.
The game features two markets: one for an established product type, with precisely defined consumer groups (blue collar, professional, etc...) and another market which will be available later in the game and concerns a new product type which has to be developed first. In the latter market the consumer groups are the innovators, early adopters, early majority, and so on.
Challenges
In Markstrat you're going to face 3 major challenges:
- Information overflow
There is just too much information. You will be drowned in a sea of information and the game tends to get extremely complex over time. - Limited resources
Your resources are utterly sparse. You cannot launch every product you'd like, considering you have barely enough money to pay for your existing products. - Team organization
Too many cooks spoil the broth.
Getting your team to work together as a unit is tough. Sometimes several options are equally good, and your different team members have different opinions. Internal personal conflicts will make your company crash quicker than you can image.