Executive Suite

I'm sitting in a chair with the company logo, a computer with seven-bit characters blinking on my desk, and I have a team of salespeople behind me that I need to command. Executive Suite is a business management simulator from 1982 where your only weapon is a spreadsheet and common sense.

The game puts you in the position of chief executive officer and every quarter you have to make decisions: what are the sales, how many employees do you need, do you invest in development or advertising, do you raise salaries or cut costs. The goal is to keep the company profitable, growing, and at the same time focus on three key areas: sales, development, and public relations. One wrong move — like aggressive wage cuts — and you have unrest in your team. Without development you'll fall behind the competition. Without PR nobody knows you exist.

Playing is pure management: reading reports, issuing orders, waiting for next quarter's results. No action, no graphics, no drama. The screen consists of status reports, tables, and a simple menu. Controls are intuitive — I'd be surprised if it were any more complex. The appeal lies in the fact that you have to understand how the company works: investments pay off with a time delay, reputation builds slowly but is lost quickly. There's no trick here, just logic and experience.

Fifty years later it looks like an archaeologist in an office, but that's exactly where the magic is. No fireworks, no multiplayer drama — just you and your decisions. The game teaches you what happens when a business manager ignores quality or lets people slip through their fingers. Modern business simulators talk about it predictively — Executive Suite just waits to see what you'll do.

Playing it today in a browser — in an emulator or via DOSBox — is like looking at how business was explained to gamers in the eighties. It's not about fun in the traditional sense, it's about understanding. It's not a game for everyone, but for those who love spreadsheets and strategy without the bells and whistles — this is exactly your thing.