Mikesbikes Multiplayer Experience: Rollovers and Gameplay Summary

This article discusses the multiplayer experience of Mikesbikes business simulation game through rollovers and gameplay summary. It highlights the importance of branding, distribution, production capacity, and efficiency level. The article also provides important points to be noted during the multiplayer group activity.

Title Page
Name and ID

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Multiplayer Experience..............................................................................................................2
1st Rollover.............................................................................................................................2
2nd Rollover............................................................................................................................3
3rd Rollover.............................................................................................................................4
4th Rollover.............................................................................................................................5
5th Rollover.............................................................................................................................6
6th Rollover.............................................................................................................................7
7th Rollover.............................................................................................................................8
8th Rollover.............................................................................................................................9
The Summary of Gameplay.....................................................................................................11
Important Points.......................................................................................................................12
Conclusion................................................................................................................................13
Page 1

Introduction
One of the benefits of a business simulation game is that it assists the users in understanding
the real business world by evaluating all the appropriate theories and by conducting
accounting calculations. The users of the game are able to apply the information that they
collect from the game to the real business world. Mikesbikes is a virtual business world
game, and it includes different factors relating to a real business world such as advertising
allocation, equity control, distribution debt, different segments and others. In Mikesbikes
virtual game, there are two simulations for users which include single play and multiplayer
mode. The game provides its users a real-world business environment feeling and its intro
Multiplay by Smartsims is very helpful which assist its users in learning the strategies easily.
Multiplayer Experience
1st Rollover
Our primary focus was to change the name of the corporation, and I named it Bikes. Later in
the year, I collected general information about the market and learn about necessary steps
which might assist in making business decisions. Based on such strategy, we decided to adopt
moderate price and advertise our product, especially in the magazine and manufacture the
game more than required in order to avoid loss of sale. We tried to raise our prices to a much
higher level such as $700 by making changes in advertisement and PR strategy. The result
was not impressive because the SHV dropped or increased by $11.
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2nd Rollover
In the second week, I started to understand the basic idea regarding the simulation, and I was
making better decisions in the beginning few years than compared to last week. During the
gameplay, recordings were made, and I begin to understand the importance of advertisement
after discussing with the respected tutor. In the year, branding and distribution margin were
consists, and I decided to reduce the price of the product from $710 to $705 in order to boost
sales.
The evaluation of the market research made me realise that I must focus on high awareness
and production based on which I expanded the production along with forecast sales. After
which I decided to increase the awareness budget from 250,000 to 700,000. We also decided
to reinforce distributor channels in order to focus on 60 sports stores which were giving a
margin of 25 percent margin on sales. Following result was present after the rollover.
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Based on comparing the result to the time spent on the simulation, the results were promising,
and I realised that the decision of increase in awareness and PR was beneficial. The share
prices rise, and there was no loss of sales. Although brand spending was crucial, however, I
did reach enough distributors due to which I was lagging. Until this point, there were
substantially low closing stocks which occurred due to effective controlling of capacity level
which assisted in reducing the costs of storage.
3rd Rollover
For the year 2021, the decision planning was complying with the instructions, and I ensured
that I comply with principles underline there. I decided to increase retail prince a bit while at
the same time increasing spending on PR and advertisement campaign. The branding budget
was adequate in my understanding, therefore, I did not change it, however, I saw a reduction
in forecasted quality level. Thus, I raised the budget for quality level by 80 percent along with
increasing production to maintain the growth in sales and market share as shown in the
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previous reports. Furthermore, more support was given to sports store, discounts and bike
shops; however, sports stores were the main focus. Following was the result of the rollover.
4th Rollover
In the fourth year, a new product was introduced in multiplayer mode. Clear instructions were
given which was critical information which helps in developing adequate strategies and
decisions.
 The new product launch cost was $1 million.
 The cost of specification improvements was $1 million.
 Around $1 million required to reduce costs.
 To reduce costs and improve specification, $2 million is required.
I decided to launch a product of a youth bike after considering my income level and during
the launch I increased the support of discount shops which were in distribution channels. I
also set PR and advertisement as provided in the report. As most buyers reach through
television, I equally spent on advertisement and PR campaign and results were outstanding.
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For 2022, the outcome was inspiring as shareholder value increased which happened due to
effective distribution strategy. However, due to under products, sales of youth bikes were
lost. Thus, I will focus on maintaining an adequate production level in the next year.
5th Rollover
Next year I decided to make a vague decision of distribution dividend and buying back
shares. With a price of $2,100, I decided to launch bike with a production capacity of 50,000.
The production capacity was aligned with the production capacity of youth and mountain
bike which were both 25,000. I also raised the price of mountain and youth bike. I also made
the decision of $0 dividend with maximum shares buyback. Results were tremendous because
shareholders value increased dramatically.
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Compared with previous year, I performed better this year. Although, more focus on financial
field is required. For the past two years, results were good with growth in SHV however I
was still far from touching the competitive target. I was lacking in term of shareholdings,
despite being a market leader in three categories of bikes.
6th Rollover
In the sixth year, we were controlling the game and we decided to increase the capacity and
we paid substantial money for increasing quality and brand awareness. The equity that was
brought back by us resulted in increasing our shareholder value due to which we paid a high
rate of dividend. In the same year, we improved the quality of all our bikes which costs
around $4 million. After improving our products, we raised our product prices and the road
bike was the most expensive product. Based on the market reports, it was found that the road
bike is the king of quality and we spend a lot in PR. Although there was an extra slot for
launching another product, however, we decided that launching a new product is not the right
move now because we already have products in all product segments. In case we decided to
launch new product, then it would be same as our other products and we would be competing
with our already exist three products in the market. Following result proves the efficiency of
our decision.
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7th Rollover
As compared to the sixth year, the seventh year was relatively average. We decided to stop
investing millions of dollars in improvement and launching of new products. We evaluated
the market reports based on which we found that it is okay for us to continue with current
product and the budget that we had made before for PR and advertising. We also bought all
80,000 shares from the market due to which we distributed a high rate of dividend to our
shareholders. Following are the results of industry benchmark.
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8th Rollover
In the eight-year, we followed the strategy that we used for the previous year. In the eight-
year, we stopped investing in improving the quality of our product and in order to maintain a
stable rate of sales we reduced our sales prices. In the same year, we paid a dividend to out
shareholder as high as we could give them in order to increase their value. In the seventh
year, we did not make any decisions but in this year be we decided to reduce the prices of our
products in order to maintain a stable sales rate. We also decided to decrease the capacity and
maintain the efficiency of the product along with a quality index of 90 percent to 95 percent.
Our products were sold well in the simulation of last year.
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Page 10

The Summary of Gameplay
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Important Points
By using the simulation, I learned a lot, and I also noted few significant points which are
beneficial during the multiplayer group activity. Following are the points to be noted:
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1. A strong awareness regarding the brand was increased by increasing the investment in
advertisement and PR campaign. It is necessary to understand which media target to
target in order to achieve the best results.
2. A distribution plan which is powerful enough to cover the target market should be
established, and it should align with the previous year’s market research reports.
3. Focus on maintenance of production capacity that is capable of supplying adequate
quantity of products is a must. A balance should be maintained regarding production
capacity in order to ensure low idle time.
4. As per the suggestions made by the market research, it is necessary to maintain an
efficiency level up to the suggestion. The operating expenses along with various other
costs can be reduced by a productive efficiency level that may penalise the factory.
5. After capturing over 50 percent of the market, we decided to increase the price of our
products because people started to recognise our brand and products. However, the
requirement of powerful branding and distribution strategy is a must to ensure
maximum sales.
Conclusion
While using the simulation, I enjoyed the game, and I also learnt many things from the
multiplayer. During the game, I got many realistic experiences which assist me in taking
strategies which made customers and shareholders happy with the company’s performance. It
also assists me in understanding the important decision which I had taken especially in
critical years. In think that Mikesbikes business simulation game is a great way of learning
about different situations in a business and it also teaches the players to learn from their
mistakes and improve their performance.
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