Show HN: CEO Simulator – Run a company. Make decisions. Get fired
ceosimulator.app
I built CEO Simulator over the past few weeks. It's a text-based game where you run a startup as CEO and make quarterly decisions. There are 13 possible endings. Only one is good (IPO). The rest range from getting fired by the board to burning out to becoming a zombie company.
The game was inspired by the gap between how founder life is portrayed (hustle! growth! disruption!) versus how it actually feels (anxiety, impossible tradeoffs, and a board that's never happy).
Technical details: - Next.js + TypeScript - Deployed on Vercel - No backend - everything runs client-side - Daily mode uses deterministic seeding so everyone gets the same challenge - Stats stored in localStorage
A few interesting design decisions: - No tutorials or explanations. You figure out what metrics matter by watching them move. - The "biggest sin" system tracks narrative debt (Trust Debt, Tech Debt, etc.) and surfaces it at the end. - Endings are checked in priority order, so more dramatic endings override "survived."
Happy to answer questions about the game design, technical implementation, or the content writing process (there are ~50 unique quote lines).
Would love feedback from anyone who's actually been a startup CEO - curious if it resonates or feels off.