Gazillionaire by LavaMind is a quirky, turn-based business simulation involving interplanetary travel and basic economic principles such as supply and demand. Each turn involves buying and selling cargo, advertising your services, and managing cash flow. You'll also need to keep an eye on your competition. Other companies are after the same customers.

Emperor Dred Nicolson has granted permission to a handful of trading companies to trade within the seven Kukubian colonies. Mr. Zinn offers to provide startup capital for the purchase of a tradeship, but you'll owe 5% interest for each week you take to pay back the loan. There are six other companies, and each of you are trying to reach 1,000,000 Kubars first. To do so, you will upgrade your ship and warehouses, trade stock, purchase and sell cargo, keep your gas tank full, purchase planetary facilities, and advertise in newspapers and television to keep the customers focused on your offerings. Reaching a million Kubars first will be a great honor and bring you the esteem of the empire. Going bankrupt, on the other hand, will only bring shame.

The tutorial is a great way to introduce yourself to the game since it eliminates everything except the basics. All you can do at first is purchase and sell goods at the marketplace and leave for other planets. After your second turn, the game introduces a new feature every week or so. One feature is the ability to pay back the loan to Mr. Zimm, while another allows you to take out loans from the Trade Union. Previously you were concentrating on buying and selling, but each feature complicates the logistics. I didn't think it would be fun at first. After all, what fun is it to micromanage the details? Surprisingly I never felt bogged down in them. It's also surprising how fun it can be just keeping an eye on the gas tank, the staff's morale and payroll, the loan interest rates and credit limits, the advertising budget, the going rate of Umbrellas or Whip Cream, and insurance costs. When making purchases, you need to determine how much you are willing to go into debt if you can't afford them. In real life, taking on a huge loan to pay for a television isn't too wise, but in business, loans can be necessary to keep up with the competition.

Some planets offer special services. Nosh offers a good deal on fuel, allowing you to fill your tank while mitigating costs. It's great to travel to the planet when there is a fuel shortage. There is a mechanic on Xeen who can expand your ship's cargo, fuel, or passenger capacity for a small fee. Visiting Pyke, you can purchase upgraded engines to allow you to travel faster. Getting to a planet before the competition allows you to purchase all of the goods you can handle, but if other trading companies get there first, you can expect to beg for scraps while they make off with the good deals of the week. Some planets are home to the various banks and companies that you will make use of throughout the game. For example, you can travel to Stye to try to get your bank's interest rate raised or your credit limit increased.

You can also check the weather and news reports. While you can ignore them, it can be helpful to know if you should avoid a certain planet or head to another as quickly as possible. Rather than run into raiders or meteor showers, you can plan your trips around dangerous planets. You can also decide to purchase insurance if you do need to head to certain areas. The worst that can happen is that you will be slowed down, but you will not have to worry about paying for repairs. If a planet is flooded with goods, you may want to head there to make your purchases cheaply, but you'll obviously want to steer clear if you are looking to sell.

I found that upgrading your ship's speed and capacity goes a long way towards increasing your profits. When you can stock your vessel with hundreds of tons of cargo, each stop can result in hundreds of thousands of Kubars that you can use to pay wages and expenses as well as loans. When I first played the game, it was tough to get out of debt, let alone last place, but once I learned a few strategies, such as paying down my debts quickly, I found I could get to the top of the pack and have a lead of over 500,000 Kubars before the next competitor got out of the red. Even after you get to 1,000,000 Kubars, you can choose to continue playing. The full version allows you to play until one billion Kubars, and it won't be surprising if you find yourself playing long enough to get there.

Graphics: -
This game was made in 1996, and the graphics show. While there is a variety of planets, characters, and images, and the theme is quite humorous, the graphics could use an update.

Sound: -
There is no background music, although you get fanfare for accomplishing certain goals. The sound effects range from funny to annoying. If you buy and sell Lava Lamps many times throughout a game, you'll have to endure the "YAH YAH YAH!" cry each time you click on the category. The first time is kind of funny, but afterwards you start to look for goods that aren't quite so irritating. I found it more enjoyable to listen to music or play silently, although some people might like to hear the variety of weird sound effects.

Game Play: +
The game is fairly simple to play. You make choices each week based on your cashflow. In business, cashflow is what makes or tanks a company, and Gazillionaire operates on this principle as well. Sometimes the decisions are difficult, especially early in the game. Do you pay your crew's wages and forego insurance for this week's voyage? Do you think you can make it to the next planet, or you should buy gas and leave taxes until next week? After you start making large sums of money, you won't have to worry about these decisions as much. If you have enough cash on hand to fund your advertising budget, your crew's wages, your taxes, and your insurance premiums and still put some in the bank, you can concentrate on trying to make more money than your competition. Should you travel to Xeen to upgrade your ship's capacity, or head to Mira to sell the Frog Legs you have for a great price? Is everyone else upgrading their engines, leaving you behind? How will the labor union feel if you replace a crew member with an android?

Value: +
There are multiple difficulty settings available, and you can adjust the intelligence of your computer opponents. Alternatively, you can play against other humans. Unfortunately the only network play available is play-by-email, which means you're more likely to play multiplayer games when you have your friends and family in front of the same computer.

Concept: +
LavaMind describes Gazillionaire as "a cross between Monopoly set in outer space and Wall Street in wonderland", and I'm inclined to agree. With each turn you can go further and further into debt or find yourself on top of the galaxy. Buy low, sell high, and maybe sneak in some sabotage while you're at it. You can play it safe or risk it all, and each week gives you a chance to gain it all back.

Fun: +
Running a tight ship or sparing no expense, your play style will have an impact on how well you compete with other trading companies. You'll also gain a reputation which can help or hurt you in negotiations. Accidents can happen, and sometimes multiple expenditures are needed all at once. Your decisions will determine the fate of your trading company. It's a blast to take a company from last place to number one by making some shrewd moves, and it can get exciting if your competition is right behind you.

Overall: TRY
One of the things I didn't like about the game is that it would constantly load from the CD. It wouldn't normally be so bad, but it can sometimes take up to a few seconds to get to the next screen. Hard drive capacity has gotten large enough that this game should come with a full install option. The game crashed once, but otherwise I didn't have troubles with it so it seems fairly solid. While this game was made around ten years ago, it is still a lot of fun to play. I'd suggest trying it out to see how you like it, and you might find the nostalgia to be worth the trip.