Stock Market: Invest, Diversify and Earn Passive Income

The Stock Market is your passive investment layer on top of the regular BELLOCCO economy. Instead of leaving cash in your pocket, you invest part of your bank balance in fictional Bellocco companies and profit (or lose) along with their price movements. No minigame, no timing bar: just buy, hold, diversify and sell at the right moment.

Invest from your bank balance, not your pocket cash

Good to know: the Stock Market works with your bank, not with the cash you carry. Money you invest is taken from your bank, and the proceeds of a sale go back to your bank as well. So make sure you have moved your money to the bank before you start investing.

How do you buy and sell shares?

You do not buy "whole" shares like on a real stock exchange, but a fraction of a share: exactly as much as your amount is worth at the current price. Simply enter an amount in euros and you receive a proportional number of (fractional) shares. Selling works the other way around: you choose how many shares to sell (or all of them at once), and the proceeds are credited to your bank in whole euros.

• Buy: enter an amount, it is deducted from your bank, and you receive the matching (fractional) shares at the current price.
• Sell: sell part or all of your shares in a company; the proceeds (rounded down to whole euros) go to your bank.
• Watchlist: follow a company without investing in it, so you can keep an eye on the price before you buy in.

How do prices move?

Prices do not just jump around at random: every company has its own trend that lasts for a while (just like a real market, a price can keep moving in the same direction for several ticks in a row), combined with small, gentle fluctuations. Now and then a "news event" causes a bigger price jump, adding some extra drama and opportunity. There is a deliberate hard cap on how much a price can change in one move (at most 8% per tick), so the market stays exciting without becoming completely unpredictable. A price can also never drop all the way to zero.

The market "ticks" periodically: at fixed intervals a new price is calculated for every company. On the Stock Market page you see a countdown to the next price move, plus a price chart for each company so you can look back at recent history.

The price is not only driven by the automatic tick, though: every buy or sell order from players also pushes the price, just like supply and demand on a real exchange. Buying pushes the price up for the next buyer, selling pushes it down for the next seller. The bigger your order, the bigger the impact, with a cap per order so no single player can make the market explode or crash on their own.

Why you cannot put everything on one company

To stop a player from betting their entire fortune on a single company, there is a max position: you can hold at most a fixed percentage of your own net worth (bank balance plus the value of what you already own in that company) in any one company, 40% by default. That percentage is the same for everyone, but because it is calculated over your own net worth, the maximum amount in euros scales automatically: the richer you are, the higher your ceiling in that one company in absolute euros, while the ratio stays equal for everyone. This pushes big and small players alike to diversify across the fourteen available companies instead of going all in on one. There is also a minimum amount, so even a new player with a modest bank balance can still invest a meaningful sum.

Sectors & companies

The Stock Market has fourteen fictional Bellocco companies, spread over eight sectors, each with its own feel and risk profile:

• Construction & Real Estate: construction firms and property empires.
• Transport & Logistics: freight and shipping, and do not always ask what is inside the containers.
• Hospitality & Entertainment: casinos and restaurant chains.
• Security & Weapons: security companies and arms manufacturers.
• Media & Tech: newspapers, radio and game studios.
• Financial: discreet bankers, usually the most stable (least volatile) choice.
• Consumer & Luxury: distilleries and cigar importers.
• Fashion & Luxury: luxury fashion houses.

Every company has its own ticker, price and volatility: some move calmly and predictably, others far more erratically. Check each company's price history and your own transactions before you buy in.

Portfolio & transaction history

On the Stock Market page you see your total portfolio value at a glance, your profit or loss per position compared to what you put in, and a full history of all your own buys and sells per company.

Price alerts & auto orders

Do not want to stare at prices all day? Set a price alert on a company's detail page: choose whether the price should rise above or fall below an amount you pick, and what should happen then.

• Send me a message: you get a message in your inbox as soon as the threshold is reached, so you can decide what to do yourself.
• Automatically sell all my shares: a real stop order. As soon as the threshold is reached, BELLOCCO automatically sells your entire position in that company and you get a confirmation in your inbox.

You can find all your active alerts and orders under the Price alerts & auto orders tab on the Stock Market page, where you can also cancel them. Note: you can have at most 1 active alert or order per company at a time, so cancel the existing one first if you want to change it.

Tips & strategy

• Diversify your money. The max position rule enforces it anyway, so make it a habit: spread your investment across several sectors instead of putting everything on your favourite company.
• Use the watchlist. Follow a few companies for a while before you buy in, so you get a feel for their volatility and trend.
• Think in trends, not ticks. One red tick says little: the underlying trend lasts several ticks. Do not panic sell at the first dip.
• Combine it with bank interest. Money you do not invest simply stays in your bank and earns interest there: the Stock Market is an addition, not a replacement.

Frequently asked questions

Do I invest with cash or with bank money?
With your bank balance. Make sure you have moved your money to the bank before you buy: the cash in your pocket is not touched.

Can I sell part of my shares?
Yes, you choose how many shares to sell, or you sell your entire position in a company at once.

Why can I not buy more of one company?
You have probably hit your max position: 40% of your own net worth by default. Spread your money over other companies to keep investing.

How often do prices move?
At a fixed, periodic tick interval. The page shows a countdown to the next price move.

Can I sell automatically when the price hits a certain point?
Yes, set a price alert with the action "Automatically sell all my shares" on that company's detail page. You can have at most 1 active alert or order per company at a time.

Ready to take your first position? Head to the Stock Market and start investing.