{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/economy-exchange--t092","type":"mechanic","id":"economy-exchange--t092","lang":"en","title":"Budgets, debt and investment in a game world","summary":"An in-game budget limits current spending while debt and investment redistribute options between present and future turns.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/economy-exchange--t092/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/economy-exchange--t092.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/economy-exchange--t092.md","aliases":["Budgets, debt and investment"],"tags":["Economy and exchange","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-96be186d8ada50a0","source-c5cfb02375225753"],"sources":[{"id":"source-96be186d8ada50a0","title":"Factorio: Content","url":"https://www.factorio.com/game/content","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-c5cfb02375225753","title":"Offworld Trading Company","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/271240/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"An in-game budget limits current spending while debt and investment redistribute options between present and future turns."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t092-variants\"></a>\n\n- Upkeep creates a recurring commitment. <a id=\"t092-v1\"></a>\n- Borrowing adds funds and a future repayment. <a id=\"t092-v2\"></a>\n- Projects delay income until completion. <a id=\"t092-v3\"></a>\n- Reserves absorb a temporary revenue shortfall. <a id=\"t092-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"A city borrows for a bridge but must fund transport upkeep until the crossing opens.\n\nPrototype check: Check the cash-flow forecast, especially several in-game commitments falling due together."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"Economic rules connect production, allocation, commitments and exchange; prices should communicate scarcity and available alternatives. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"economy-exchange","id":"t092","title":"Economy and exchange","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/economy-exchange/#t092","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Budgets, debt and investment","description":"An in-game budget limits current spending while debt and investment redistribute options between present and future turns.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/priority-offworld-trading-00.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"crop":{"x":0,"y":0,"width":675,"height":600},"game":"Offworld Trading Company","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/271240/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/271240/ss_fdb1d1301e763bd7cdbed153a2e83a2801bbdc67.1920x1080.jpg?t=1790866876","credit":"Mohawk Games / Stardock Entertainment","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"Available cash and accumulated debt","alt":"Available cash and accumulated debt","markers":[{"x":15,"y":4,"label":"Available cash and debt amount"}]},"tips":["Separate current cash from income per turn and future obligations."],"examples":[{"title":"Offworld Trading Company","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/271240/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/economy-exchange"}}