{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/economy-exchange--t095","type":"mechanic","id":"economy-exchange--t095","lang":"en","title":"Scarcity, inflation and resource sinks","summary":"Supply limits and resource removal regulate value while currency growth changes access to in-game purchases.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/economy-exchange--t095/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/economy-exchange--t095.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/economy-exchange--t095.md","aliases":["Scarcity and resource sinks"],"tags":["Economy and exchange","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-96be186d8ada50a0","source-7f09c8a736762f4f"],"sources":[{"id":"source-96be186d8ada50a0","title":"Factorio: Content","url":"https://www.factorio.com/game/content","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-7f09c8a736762f4f","title":"Slay the Spire","url":"https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Supply limits and resource removal regulate value while currency growth changes access to in-game purchases."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t095-variants\"></a>\n\n- Repair removes some currency from circulation. <a id=\"t095-v1\"></a>\n- Spoilage limits indefinite inventory hoarding. <a id=\"t095-v2\"></a>\n- Transaction fees raise the cost of repeated exchange. <a id=\"t095-v3\"></a>\n- Source caps prevent unlimited extraction growth. <a id=\"t095-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"Cheap mass production raises income while machine maintenance grows with the installed fleet.\n\nPrototype check: Test many long economic cycles, measuring the creation and removal of each resource separately."},{"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":"t095","title":"Economy and exchange","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/economy-exchange/#t095","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Scarcity and resource sinks","description":"Supply limits and resource removal regulate value while currency growth changes access to in-game purchases.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/slay-the-spire-shop.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"Slay the Spire","sourceUrl":"https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/","originalUrl":"https://www.megacrit.com/images/ss4.jpg","credit":"Mega Crit","rights":"© Mega Crit. All rights reserved.","caption":"Purchases exchange gold for limited offers","alt":"Purchases exchange gold for limited offers","markers":[{"x":84,"y":80,"label":"Removing a card spends gold"}]},"tips":["Balance currency sources with sinks that preserve meaningful choices."],"examples":[{"title":"Slay the Spire","url":"https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/"}]}},"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"}}