@ChuckMcM, your assignment on market theory is nicely put.
I particularly like the idea of the sudoku part as a way to get raw materials. Get some crypto there and here and gateways with the "real" economy, and... you know what I mean ;)
The sudoku idea is a game version of Bitcoin, some sort of proof-of-work to get raw materials (mine). There have been some great write-ups of in game economies and since you want a simple one as a programming project it seemed like a reasonable stand in.
I particularly like the idea of the sudoku part as a way to get raw materials. Get some crypto there and here and gateways with the "real" economy, and... you know what I mean ;)