SillyCoin Valley is an investment simulator designed by an investment platform called Own

The delightfully named SillyCoin Valley is an investment simulator created by a real investment company called Own. It aims to educate folks on the art of investing through the medium of gaming. It's available now on the App Store and Google Play.

The game was recently shown at Gamescom where the developers say it was received well. This probably isn't surprising given how popular simulators are in Germany, the success of Farming Simulator is a testament to that. Players will create their own business and decide how it's run on a day-to-day basis. As it grows you'll have to employ more staff and expand your product range to earn even more SillyCoins, the game's currency.

As your business grows, new ones will open in the area. You'll have to decide which ones are worth investing in to increase your portfolio's value even further. There will be an endpoint for the game where your final score will be posted on the leaderboard, where a good performance will see players win Own merchandise, so there's an incentive if you've always wanted investment company merch.

Own say they want the game to give people the confidence to try investing for real and further down the line they plan to incorporate elements of their investment platform into the game. They also hope the game will show that investment needn't be as boring as people would often assume.

So it's effectively an advert for Own's investment platform in game form then. But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy trying your hand at the trade without any real financial commitment. I'm known to be terrible with money so an opportunity to be bad with money where I don't lose any is a bonus.

SillyCoin Valley is available now the App Store and Google Play. It's a completely free-to-play game, without any in-app purchases at present.