Excellent points, Michael.

Prior to visiting Las Vegas for a weeklong conference a couple years ago, I bought a Casino CD that simulated the major games played - craps, roulette, blackjack, etc. I learned the rules and odds against me through some fun practice, even testing a "surething" craps system - didn't try it for real as the simulation had me $5000 down before finally winning it back plus $20!!

Re investing games, Robert Kiyosaki (of Rich Dad/Poor Dad fame) has a couple of board games out called Cashflow I & II that teach basic and advanced investing, money management, options, etc. The commodity trader's coach Van Tharp uses them in his trader training programs.

Simulations are a great way to at least learn the framework of a situation so when the realworld unexpected situations hit, you can cover the basics without thinking and innovate from there to handle the unexpected.
Regards,
Bob