Abstract:
A method of carrying out an options trading game is disclosed including the steps of presenting the players with a real life example of historical trading information for a particular stock, the trading information relating to a first point in time; allowing the players to make orders for call or put options based on the historical trading information; and presenting the players with updated trading information; the updated trading information relating to a subsequent point in time and allowing assessment of the trading performance of each player.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0001]     This invention relates to an educational options trading game.  
       BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     It has been tried to provide options trading games. However, to date the prior art options trading games have been primarily intended for amusement purposes only and do not accurately reflect real life trading. For this reason, they do not serve as useful educational aids to options trading.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     In a first aspect the present invention provides a method of carrying out an options trading game including the steps of: 
    a) presenting the players with a real life example of historical trading information for a particular stock, the trading information relating to a first point in time;     b) allowing the players to make orders for call or put options based on the historical trading information; and     c) presenting the players with updated trading information; the updated trading information relating to a subsequent point in time and allowing assessment of the trading performance of each player.    
 
         [0007]     The trading information may be presented as a chart.  
         [0008]     The method may further include the step of repeating steps b) and c) until a pre-determined criteria is met.  
         [0009]     The predetermined criteria may include that a player has made a certain amount of profit or loss.  
         [0010]     The predetermined criteria may include that a pre-determined number of repetitions have been made.  
         [0011]     The method may further include providing player tokens and a game board and the player tokens are moved in relation to the board based on trading performance of the players.  
         [0012]     In a second aspect the present invention provides an apparatus for playing an options trading game including: 
    a) means for presenting the players with a real life example of historical trading information for a particular stock, the trading information relating to a first point in time;     b) means for allowing the players to make orders for call or put options based on the historical trading information; and     c) means for presenting the players with updated trading information; the updated trading information relating to a subsequent point in time and allowing assessment of the trading performance of each player.    
 
         [0016]     The means for presenting may be provided in the form of a display screen.  
         [0017]     The trading information may be stored in an electronic format. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]     An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0019]      FIG. 1  depicts a game board of an embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0020]      FIG. 2  depicts a calculation sheet used in an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0021]      FIG. 3  depicts a trading diary sheet used in an embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0022]      FIGS. 4, 5  and  6  depict historical trade charts used in an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0023]     Equipment  
         [0024]     The trading options game of this embodiment includes the following materials: 
    1. A game board     2. 1-6 Player pieces     3. A pack of trade cards. Each trade card identifying a particular stock.     4. A DVD including historical trade charts for the stocks identified in the trade cards.     5. A trading diary pad     6. A calculations pad     7. An educational DVD explaining the mechanics of options trading and also explaining how to play the game. 
 
 Aim 
   
 
         [0032]     The aim of the game is to be the first player to turn their starting capital into $1,000,000.  
         [0000]     Set Up  
         [0033]     Each player is assigned $10,000 starting capital and a player piece. Each player puts their piece at the point marked “START” on the game board of  FIG. 1 . The trade cards are shuffled and placed in a stack face down at the point marked “TRADE CARDS” on the game board of  FIG. 1 . The DVD is inserted into a DVD player and connected to a presentation means in the form of a television display or computer display.  
         [0000]     Play  
         [0034]     Play commences by one player drawing the top card from the pile of trade cards and reading out which stock is identified on the trade card. Each stock is also identified by a number which corresponds to an index of the DVD. The DVD is accessed at the point identified by the number on the trade card to present a real life example of historical trading information in the form of a stock chart. The players are then allowed to decide whether they wish to trade a call option or a put option. Once they have made their decision, they perform their money management calculations on the calculations sheet of  FIG. 2  and then submit their orders on their trading sheet of  FIG. 3 .  
         [0035]     Once all players have completed trading, the DVD is then advanced to present the next real life trading chart. The next chart relates to the day of trading subsequent to the day of the chart previously presented to the players. The players can determine from this chart their trading performance in terms of profit and loss. The players then make further trading decisions relating to their existing holdings, and decide whether to hold, sell or buy more options. The chart is then advanced another day.  
         [0036]     Play continues until the trade comes to a close (usually after 10 or 20 charts). Once the trade is finished, players assess their final scores. If they have made a profit, then they move their game piece forward on the board to the approximate amount of their total capital. For example, if they have started with $10,000 and have now made a $2,000 profit, their total capital would be $12,000. Therefore, they now move their playing piece forward to the $12,000 mark.  
         [0037]     If they have made a loss, then they move their playing piece backwards on the board. For example, if they have started with $10,000 and made a loss of $3,300, then they now have a total capital base of $6,700. Therefore, they would move their piece to the $6,000 mark, being the closest amount to their actual capital. The dollar amounts on the board represent their total capital.  
         [0038]     A new trade card is then drawn and the play continues as above until a player is at the point on the board “$1,000,000”.  
         [0039]     Players have a quick reference sheet available to them to review option trading techniques.  
         [0040]     Every trade example included in the game is of an actual stock, and all stock prices are accurate.  FIGS. 4, 5  &amp;  6  depict historical trade charts from three consecutive days of trading being 11 th , 12 th and  13 th  February respectively. It can be seen how the stock and options prices and the chart changes from day to day.  
         [0041]     The option prices shown in the charts are accurate, but are approximate “snap shot” prices from the day&#39;s trading. By way of explanation, actual open, high, low, and closing stock prices are recorded each day for a real life stock. In the real world, option prices are constantly changing during the day on a second to second basis. The option prices presented in the game are an average of the option prices from that day. By using real life trading charts, if a player trades well in the game, they could have traded well in real life trading.  
         [0042]     The game includes a 2 hour training DVD, teaching players about the US options market, trading tactics, and strategy, thus making the game suitable for beginner and experienced option traders.  
         [0043]     The game allows players to experience the emotions of trading and thus gain a great deal of option trading experience in a very short time period and at no financial risk.  
         [0044]     As an alternative to a game board the game may be carried out as a computer game. In this case, a display screen is used for presenting information to the players including the current positions of all players. The stock chart may also be presented on the same screen. In this version, the stock chart information would form part of the computer game code and a separate DVD including the historical trading information would not be required.  
         [0045]     Any reference to prior art contained herein is not to be taken as an admission that the information is common general knowledge, unless otherwise indicated.  
         [0046]     Finally, it is to be appreciated that various alterations or additions may be made to the parts previously described without departing from the spirit or ambit of the present invention.