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About Margin Call — Free Stock Market Trading Simulator

BETA
[OK] System[OK] Markets[OK] AI[OK] M&A[OK] Economy[OK] Regulatory█
ABOUT MARGIN CALL

Margin Call is a browser-based financial simulation terminal. It models a complete economy — stocks, bonds, options, crypto, central banking, politics, and corporate governance — running entirely in your browser.

No account required. No server. No data collection. Just you against the market.

CAPABILITIES
▸ Trade stocks, options, and bonds
▸ Trade 16 crypto assets 24/7
▸ Trade forex — 10 currency pairs with leverage
▸ Prediction markets — bet on game events
▸ Short sell and use margin
▸ Found and IPO your own company
▸ Launch corporate takeovers
▸ Navigate economic cycles
▸ Lobby politicians and bribe officials
▸ Acquire lifestyle assets
▸ Trade on insider tips (at your peril)
▸ Manage regulatory heat from the SEC
▸ Prestige system — New Game+ with stacking bonuses
▸ Compete against 8 AI opponent archetypes
SIMULATION FEATURES
108 companies across 12 sectors with quarterly earnings and bankruptcy risk
Macro economy — GDP, inflation, unemployment, Fed interest rate via Taylor Rule
Political system — elections, legislation, lobbying, corruption, and disasters
Options pricing — Black-Scholes with Greeks and dynamic implied volatility from VIX
Bond market — yield curve, coupon payments, duration-weighted Fed shocks
Crypto ecosystem — 16 assets trading 24/7, BTC halvings, altseasons, exchange insolvency, DeFi yields
Lifestyle assets — sports teams, art, real estate, yachts, and vehicles
Founder mode — found companies from scratch, hire, raise funding, and take them to IPO
Insider trading — act on tips, navigate blackout windows, and manage SEC heat
AI opponents — 8 archetypes with cycle-aware, VIX-reactive strategies competing against you
Prestige system — New Game+ with 3 levels, stacking bonuses, and difficulty unlocks
GARCH volatility — realistic volatility clustering and shared factor model
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
> What is Margin Call?
Margin Call is a free, browser-based stock market trading simulator. It features 108 companies across 12 sectors, a fully simulated macro economy with GDP, inflation, and Fed policy, plus options, crypto, bonds, and company founding mechanics.
> Is Margin Call free to play?
Yes, Margin Call is completely free. No account, download, or payment is required. The entire simulation runs in your browser.
> How realistic is the simulation?
Margin Call uses a 14-factor stock price model with GARCH volatility, a macro economy driven by Phillips Curve inflation, Okun's Law unemployment, and Fed Taylor Rule interest rates, plus Merton distance-to-default for bankruptcy modeling. All subsystems are interconnected in a realistic feedback graph.
> What can you trade in Margin Call?
You can trade stocks (108 companies across 12 sectors), stock options with real Black-Scholes pricing, corporate bonds, and 16 cryptocurrencies. You can also found your own companies, take them through IPO, and manage lifestyle assets like sports teams and real estate.
> Do I need to create an account?
No. Margin Call runs entirely in your browser with no server-side account. Your game saves automatically to local storage. An optional global leaderboard is available but not required.
> Do you retain any of my data?
No. Margin Call runs entirely in your browser. We do not capture, store, or transmit any of your data. There are no accounts, no analytics tracking your gameplay, and no server-side storage. Everything stays on your device.
> Does Margin Call work on mobile?
Yes. Margin Call has a dedicated mobile interface with touch-optimized controls, a 5-step tutorial for new players, and access to all major features. It works on any modern mobile browser — no app download required.
> Is Margin Call multiplayer?
Margin Call is single-player with 8 AI opponents competing against you. There is an optional global leaderboard where you can compare your final score with other players. Real-time multiplayer is not currently supported.
> How is Margin Call different from other trading simulators?
Most trading simulators use simplified random price movements. Margin Call simulates a full interconnected economy — GDP, inflation, Fed interest rate policy, business cycles, political events, and corporate earnings all feed into a 14-factor stock price model. Options use real Black-Scholes pricing with Greeks. You can also found companies, run hedge funds, build dynasties, and trade insider tips. Everything runs in your browser with no account needed.
> Can I use Margin Call to learn real trading?
Margin Call is designed to teach real market concepts — reading charts, understanding options Greeks, managing risk, portfolio diversification, and how macroeconomic events affect asset prices. The mechanics mirror real markets closely enough that the lessons transfer, but it is a simulation and not a substitute for professional financial advice.
> What browsers and devices does Margin Call support?
Margin Call runs in any modern browser — Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge — on desktop, tablet, or mobile. It uses WebAssembly for performance-critical calculations, which is supported by all major browsers. No plugins or downloads are required.
RELEASE NOTES
v0.8.0— May 2026
+ News-as-cinema — full-screen typewriter takeovers for major / epic / historic events
+ Chapter system — 9 named narrative beats from First Light to Legend, tied to economy + wealth + day
+ AI rivals with personalities — 12 named characters (Vince "The Vault" Vargas, Crypto Carla, Dao Wen, ...) with their own dialogue lines
+ Quarterly newsletter — "MARGIN CALL FUND TIMES" profiles you as a fund manager every quarter
+ Daily hot takes — submit a 120-char one-liner with your daily-leaderboard score
+ Command palette (Cmd/Ctrl+K) — fuzzy-search 19 commands across 6 categories
+ 3 new themes — amber VT220, high-contrast WCAG AAA, colorblind-safe blue/orange
+ Trader avatars — deterministic SVG pixel-art generated from your name, in chat / leaderboard / rankings
+ Run replay — equity curve playhead with marker dots for top wins, losses, milestones, and chapters
+ Achievement showcase wall — vanity grid with rarity bands, share cards, and progression tree placeholders
+ Daily challenge stats + streak — personal home page, last-30 history, score-vs-average chart, animated flame badge
+ Onboarding coach — 12 contextual tips during your first ~10 game-minutes (with permanent dismiss)
+ Live floating stats widget — draggable VIX/Fed/cycle/regime/P&L/rank panel
+ Drag-and-drop trades, page transitions, animated favicon, particles, ambient pulses, idle-pause overlay
+ Web Audio sound library — 10 synthesized cues + 5-channel mix panel + Web Speech narration
+ Composite-score formula rebuilt — Sharpe-aware, drawdown-penalized, consistency-weighted (skill beats luck)
+ Per-difficulty achievements + progression tree + VIX history per transaction (fixes 4 broken-impl achievements)
+ Saved-game export/import + custom 404 + custom 500 + dynasty heritage tree + lifestyle visual treatment + portfolio analytics deep dive
v0.7.0— May 2026
+ Daily leaderboard challenges — same seeded scenario for everyone, keep-best-score, daily resets at 00:05 UTC
+ Scripted 20-day tutorial — earnings beats, Fed rate hikes, OPEC+ shocks, an INTC bankruptcy you can short
+ Difficulty preview cards — see capital, AI count, and economy phase before you commit. Hard/Expert unlock with progress.
+ Storyline archive at /storylines — every arc you have lived through, with outcomes and sentiment
+ Quarterly challenge widget on the dashboard with cash + XP rewards on completion
+ Storyline phase toasts — slide-in notification each time a multi-day arc advances a phase
+ Trade-fill flash + chime — net worth pulses green/red on every order fill
+ First-trade card on dashboard for new players — guided buttons for buy / browse / news
+ Bankruptcy warning ladder — 20% / 10% / 5% net-worth alerts before liquidation
+ Tutorial onboarding fixes — sim auto-starts, default ticker auto-selects, Easy default for first-timers, replay tutorial anytime
+ Sidebar widened with full-word labels; added Screener, Orders, Sectors, Storylines
+ /help is now public (no game-state required) and the keyboard shortcut hint is a [?] popover
+ 161 new unit tests, security-hardened daily-challenge backend (race-free RPC, timing-safe cron auth, rate-limited submit)
v0.6.0— April 2026
+ Engine realism — circuit breaker ±25%, VIX cap 80, persistent crises, earnings IV crush
+ Taylor Rule rewrite — textbook formula with 2% neutral rate floor
+ Interest rate transmission — leveraged companies lose EPS when rates rise
+ Correlation spike — diversification fails during crises (VIX > 40)
+ Scenario mode — special rules now enforced (shorts-only, options-only, etc.)
+ Skill bonuses wired — crisis management, wall street, timing, fundamentals, insider detection
+ Wealth-based difficulty — SEC heat scales at $100M+, AI aggression at $500M+
+ Achievement toast notifications — CRT-styled, rarity-colored, mid-game unlocks
+ Forex trading page — 10 pairs, leverage 1-50x, carry trade, positions with P/L
+ Storylines viewer — active multi-phase storylines with progress and impacts
+ Mobile tutorial — 5-step guided onboarding for mobile players
+ Dynasty and lifestyle bonuses wired — network bonus to IPO, legacy +5% per gen
+ Founder mode balanced — 4-month dissolution, 3% events, additive IPO bonus
+ Expansion phases up to 60 months — decade-long bull markets possible
+ Next.js 15 — 0 npm vulnerabilities, GitHub Actions CI, security headers
+ Performance — shared companyMap, incremental chart updates, ring buffers
+ Architecture — gameStore decomposed, WASM bridge consolidated, dual Maps removed
+ Accessibility — focus traps, skip-to-content, prefers-reduced-motion, WCAG contrast
+ 231 new tests, AI code tells removed across 175 files
v0.5.0— March 2026
+ Market order commissions now calculated correctly on actual price
+ Founded companies dissolve after 2 months negative cash
+ Stronger PE mean-reversion — hard caps prevent runaway valuations
+ Geopolitical crises persist longer with realistic escalation
+ Founder morale affected by macro stress (unemployment, VIX, GDP)
+ Gold now properly hedges inflation, VIX reacts same-day to drops
+ Inflation mean-reverts faster via stronger Phillips Curve
+ Bills resolve faster, sector modifier effects 6x stronger
+ Funding rounds freeze in crisis (VIX > 40 = near-zero success)
+ Credit spreads widen 3-4x in recessions (was 2.3x)
+ Stablecoin volatility capped — USDT stays near $1.00
+ More bankruptcies in distressed markets (target 1-5 per 3yr)
+ AI player trades now recorded in transaction history
+ Options chain guarantees 4+ expiry dates from day 1
+ Volume U-shape more pronounced (3x open, 2.4x close)
+ Price alert sound + toast notification when alerts trigger
+ Expandable data panel on terminal (▲/▼ toggle)
+ Dashboard net worth shows exact dollars
+ News leak requires 1%+ ownership of outstanding shares
v0.4.0— March 2026
+ Candlestick charts — OHLC view for 5M/1H/1D timeframes with toggle
+ Market impact — large orders move prices, low-volume stocks more sensitive
+ Stop-loss cascades — waterfall selling at -3%/-5%/-7% drop levels
+ News leak manipulation — spend $50K to leak news and move stock prices
+ Forex trading — 10 currency pairs with leverage up to 50x, carry trade interest
+ Prediction markets — bet on game events (market levels, Fed decisions, earnings, bills)
+ Tutorial system — 15-step guided walkthrough with spotlight targeting
+ Politics overhaul — corruption action cards, live success rates, world events tab
+ Geopolitical situations now escalate/de-escalate with sector price impact
+ Pandemic sector modifiers (healthcare up, transport down)
+ Dashboard AI rankings — see your rank vs opponents
+ Options fix — can now close short positions (buy-to-close)
+ Order risk warnings for concentrated positions
+ Typography overhaul — larger, more readable text across all screens
+ Sidebar labels — full words instead of abbreviations
v0.3.0— March 2026
+ SEO optimization — OG images, meta descriptions, structured data
+ Storyline system — 20 multi-phase archetypes affecting companies
+ CEO decisions for post-IPO founder companies
+ Procedural headline generation (200+ combos)
+ Seasonal quarterly challenges
+ Dividend calendar
v0.2.0— March 2026
+ WASM acceleration — Rust/WASM for options, GARCH, bonds, economy
+ Tick engine split into 17 domain modules
+ Options trading with Black-Scholes, Greeks, and strategy detection
+ Crypto UI — full market/portfolio/staking tabs
+ Politics UI — bills, elections, lobbyists, corruption
+ Short squeeze mechanics (14th price factor)
+ Economic shocks — flash crash, rate cut, geopolitical, credit events
+ 8 AI opponent archetypes with VIX-reactive strategies
v0.1.0— March 2026
+ Initial release — 108 companies, 12 sectors, full macro economy
+ 14-factor stock price model with GARCH(1,1) volatility
+ Founder mode — found companies, R&D, hire, fundraise, IPO
+ Bond market with yield curve
+ Prestige system (New Game+)
+ CRT terminal aesthetic
DISCLAIMER

Margin Call is a simulation for entertainment and education only. It does not constitute financial advice, investment recommendations, or solicitation to trade real securities. All companies, prices, and economic data are simulated. Past simulated performance does not predict real-world outcomes.