The simulators are part of school plans, but if you subscribe to Intertwined Solo you can try each one free for 14 days. The trials are designed for teaching a real unit: you choose when each clock starts, every simulator has its own trial, and your students play during it the same way they would on a school plan. This article covers who can start a trial, how to start one, what happens when it ends, and how to time it so you get the most out of it.
Available on: Intertwined Solo, including during your Solo free trial. Not available on the Free plan, or to teachers whose school or district covers them (your school's plan decides which simulators you have).
How simulator trials work
One trial per simulator. The Personal Budget Simulator, Economy Simulator, Investing Simulator, Startup Simulator and Business Simulator each have their own trial. Starting one doesn't use up the others, so you can try the Budget Simulator in September and the Investing Simulator in spring.
14 days from the moment you start it. Nothing starts a trial for you. The clock begins only when you click the button.
Once, ever. Each simulator's trial can be used one time per account. Waiting or canceling doesn't reset it.
It covers all your classes. The trial belongs to you, so you can set the simulator up in any of your classes while it runs, and the students in those classes can play.
This is separate from the 14-day free trial of Solo itself, which you get the first time you subscribe (see Subscribing to Intertwined Solo and managing your subscription).
Start a trial
Open Classrooms and the class you want to use the simulator with.
Click the Simulators tab and choose the simulator from the picker. Simulators your plan doesn't include show a padlock.
You'll see a card with the simulator's name and what it does. Click Start a 14-day trial.
A message confirms the simulator is unlocked for 14 days, and the card is replaced by the simulator's setup.
You can also start trials from the Onboarding page in the sidebar: each simulator under Run a simulation has its own Start a 14-day trial button. Once a trial is running, set the simulator up for your class as usual (see The Simulators tab in your classroom).
While the trial runs
A banner above the simulator in your class shows how many days are left. It turns amber in the last three days so the end never comes as a surprise in the middle of a lesson.
The Onboarding page shows "Trial:" and the days left beside that simulator.
Your students play the simulator from their Simulators page exactly as they would on a school plan. They don't see anything about a trial.
When the trial ends
On day 15 the simulator locks again, for you and for your students.
You see the simulator's card again with "Your simulator name trial has ended." and the school plan it comes with: Intertwined Core for the Budget and Economy Simulators, Intertwined Plus for the Investing Simulator, and Intertwined Pro for the Startup and Business Simulators. Ask about it for your school opens our quote request page in a new tab.
Your students see the simulator marked Not in your class, with a note that their class doesn't include it right now and to ask their teacher. They're never shown plans or prices.
Your students' games aren't deleted. If your school later gets a plan that includes the simulator, their work is still there.
Simulator trials sit on top of Solo, so if your Solo subscription ends while a trial is running, the trial ends with it.
Plan the timing
Fourteen days is roughly two school weeks, enough for one unit if you're ready on day one. Before you click the button:
Read about the simulator first. Clicking it under Simulators in the sidebar shows what students do, what you control and what it teaches, and The simulators at a glance compares them all.
Read the teacher guide so setup takes minutes, not a class period: Personal Budget Simulator, Investing Simulator, Startup Simulator, Economy Simulator, Business Simulator.
Look at what students will see (see Previewing a simulator before your students do).
Start the trial on the day you introduce the unit, set it up, and launch it the same day.
Tips
Simulators that you move forward yourself, like the Economy Simulator's rounds and the Business Simulator's days, fit a 14-day window best when you plan which day each round or business day happens.
For the Investing Simulator, choose a trading window that ends before the trial does, so the class sees final results.
Save a few minutes at the end for a debrief and screenshots of the class results. They make a strong case if you ask your school for a plan.
If you teach the same simulator to several periods, set it up in each class during the same trial.
Common questions
I'm on the Free plan. Why don't I see a trial button?
Simulator trials come with Intertwined Solo. On Free, the simulator cards offer See plans (for Solo) and Talk to us about your school instead. See Intertwined plans explained.
My school covers me. Can I trial a simulator my school's plan doesn't include?
No. Trials are for Solo subscribers. The card tells you that your school's plan doesn't include it and that your district administrator can add it.
It says "That trial has already been used."
You've already started that simulator's trial before, possibly in another tab. Each simulator's trial can be used once.
Can I pause or extend a trial?
No. The clock runs for 14 days from the moment you start it. If you need longer, a school plan is the way to keep the simulator; request a quote and we'll help.