Candidate: COE
Sixteen years of age I started my adventure in the Miniconomy world. It was my brother who dragged me into my first Miniconomy experience. This first encounter lasted for only a few trading periods since I didn’t understand how to trade products. Half a year later I returned for my second experience. Although I still ranked around the 1000th place at the end of a trading period something else triggered me. And Miniconomy became my red rubber bal.
That ‘something else’ was the social component of the game. Not only trading skills (the games basic gameplay) are important. By social interaction players can earn their spot in the driver’s seat of the game. Once you are in the driver’s seat you literally have the capability to change the game. Inhabitants of the Federation can change the rules of the game and – to some extent – even introduce new game features. In my experience this feature makes the game unique.
Why than is Miniconomy my ‘ red rubber ball’? I borrowed the expression ‘red rubber ball’ from bestselling author Kevin Carroll. He explained in his book ‘The Red rubber ball at work‘ that play is not just having fun but that it is serious business (in everyone’s daily life, including work situations). Research has shown that play is a powerful force in human development. Miniconomy was a powerful force in my own development. It gave me the opportunity to participate in debates and the political decision making process. I increase my writing skills by publishing articles in TMC and on the Newsfeed.
Almost then years later my in game experience to some extent even resulted in my current enrollment in law college at the university level. And after a while I even learned how to trade. Ok, to be honest it almost took me 100 trading periods to win one. But who knows I will learn next? In Miniconomy almost anything is possible.