• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Dan's Daily

  • Blog
  • About
  • Show Search
Hide Search
You are here: Home / Blog / Factorio

Factorio

Dan Cullum · Oct 18, 2021 ·

“It’s the one game you can expense at Shopify,” says its CEO, Tobi Lütke.

Factorio is a real-time strategy game that follows an engineer who crash-lands on an alien planet and must harvest resources and create industry to build a rocket to escape.

The reason why Lütke allows Shopify employees to expense the game—and is a big advocate of video games in general—is because it simulates business decision making in a low pressure environment. Players have to employ systems thinking and constantly trade off between short and long term outcomes.

Unlike in the business world where people only get to make a few bets per year, strategy video games allow players to make many bets, many mistakes, and allows for many iterations in a short amount of time.

Video games can help players develop an intuitive feeling for strategic decisions, which then leaves more mental energy for solving complex, human challenges in the real world (i.e., if we know what the right strategic choice is, how do we convince and influence others to buy into that vision?).

Video games can be good!

H/T: Aaron Edelheit’s article on video gaming and it’s benefits for business and investing.

Blog

Primary Sidebar

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up via Email

Recent Posts

  • It’s not learning unless…
  • Go easy on your first draft
  • Above and beyond
  • The future train driver
  • Everything in one place

Archives

  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • January 2019

© 2025 Dan Cullum · Log in