Drug Wars: A Game Based on the New York Drug Market

A text-based gameDrug Wars is a game where the player takes on the role of a street drug dealer in New York. The player character owes the local loan shark $5,500, but unfortunately only has $2,000. He has one month to earn money by selling drugs and repay the debt. The area of commerce where the player may buy or sell drugs consists of six regions in New York: the Bronx (home town), Ghetto, Central Park, Manhattan, Coney Island, and Brooklyn. The identified drugs are (from most to least expensive): cocaine, heroin, acid, weed, speed, and ludes. Additional features are banks (only in the Bronx) to stash cash in case the player gets mugged in the subway, the loan shark to pay off or borrow fresh funds from, and a place to stash surplus drugs (only in the Bronx). Random important features include someone offering the player to buy guns, a trench coat (more pockets to carry drugs), etc.

one month, the player will have to pay off the debt and make as much money as possible. Time passes in a turn-based fashion, moving forward when the player travels from one area to another. Each time the player travels, a random event may occur (e.g. Mom borrows some weed to makes brownies). Each movement also triggers a price change for each drug, making their prices more difficult to predict when the player goes to a different area. Additionally, if the player carries too much merchandise, they may attract the attention of the police, which may provoke a gun fight (if the player bought guns) or force the player to run away to avoid being caught.