Beginner tips for Towndom: learn the basics by playing

Before you start: this is a game, not investment advice

Towndom’s prices follow the game’s own rules, and your €2,000 is fictional. What you learn here can help you get used to words and ideas, such as portfolio, position or time horizon. It does not make you a better investor, and nothing in this guide predicts or recommends anything for real markets.

With that said, the game is a good place to try things without any cost, and these tips are meant to make those first tries more interesting.

Should you put everything in one town?

You can, but you will see the downside quickly. A single event, say a strike or a closed road, can move one town’s price noticeably. If your whole treasury sits there, one story decides your week.

The game nudges you to spread out: you can put at most €2,000 in a playable town and €1,000 in a limited-stake one. Try holding three or four towns instead of one, and compare how your gain moves from one day to the next. That difference is the idea behind diversifying.

How should you use the “Why?” screen?

Before you act on a move, open “Why did it move?” and read it. It tells you what happened, where the information came from and how fresh it is. A festival and a road closure do not have the same weight or the same lifespan.

This is the best way to learn that prices react to news, and that a reaction is not always lasting. Make it a habit: read first, decide after. The guide to the “Why?” screen shows what each part means.

What time frame should you play on?

Towndom gives you three different clocks, which is a nice way to feel the idea of a time horizon:

The same pick can look very different over a day, a week and a month. The charts let you switch ranges from one hour to three months, so you can see for yourself how a wobble becomes a trend, or fades.

• The week: leagues reset every Sunday night. A short horizon means quick reactions.
• The month: the season starts over on the first. A longer horizon lets you build a board and collect rent.
• No clock: chill mode never resets and has no ranking. It is a place to try patient play.

What small habits help, and what should you avoid?

Open the daily chest every day: it grows over 7 days and resets if you skip one. Do the daily missions, which give XP at no risk. Try a few Flair predictions, quick yes-or-no questions on the news that pay XP and never stake any money, a good way to train your reading of events.

Start with towns you know. You will understand the news around them faster, and that makes the first moves less abstract. Then branch out into other departments and fill your board.

Remember that the money the game gives you, such as the chest, rent and ad rewards, does not count in your percentage gain or in the leagues. Do not judge your play by your treasury alone: look at your gain.

A few habits make the game less interesting, even though none is fatal with play money. One is chasing every move without reading why it happened. Another is putting your entire treasury in one town. A third is treating the game as a guide to real markets, which it is not.

What could a first week look like?

A first week is easiest when you keep it simple. This is one way to find your feet, not a recipe for results, and you can reshuffle the days however you like:

• Day 1: pick a town you know, read its “Why?” screen, make a first purchase and open the chest.
• Days 2 and 3: add two towns from other departments and watch how each one reacts to its own news.
• Mid-week: check your league zone, and look for a small town where you are close to the mayor’s sash.
• Monday: read last week’s recap, then decide whether to keep playing weekly or to spend some time in chill mode.

How do you add a goal beyond the numbers?

Once you are comfortable, give yourself a second target. Try to become the mayor of a small town, with the mayor guide. Aim for promotion in the weekly leagues. Or collect departments in chill mode.

Whichever you pick, you are playing with play money, so the cost of a mistake is a lesson and nothing else. That is the real value of a game like this. When you want to try it, Towndom is a free download for iPhone, and the app is in French for now.

Frequently asked questions

Will Towndom make me a better investor?

No promise on that. The game can familiarize you with ideas such as spreading your holdings, thinking about time horizon and seeing prices react to news, but it is a game with its own rules, not training and not investment advice.

How many towns should I hold?

There is no right number. Holding several towns instead of one is a good experiment to see how spreading changes your daily results. The game limits your stake per town to €2,000 at most.

What should I do on my first day?

Pick a town you know, read its “Why?” screen, buy a first stake, open your daily chest and try a mission. You start with €2,000 in play money.

Can I try the game without competing?

Yes. Chill mode is a separate board that never resets and has no rankings or rivals.