Coin Assistant

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Hello! This utility will walk you through some decision points to help you determine how many of each kind of coin your game will need. We'll be assuming the coins at your disposal come in denominations of 1, 5 and 10. For the sake of convenience, we will refer to these as Pennies (value 1 coins), Nickels (value 5 coins), and Dimes (value 10 coins) So, first things first: what is the maximum number of players you plan to support? <<numberbox "$maxPlayers" 5>> And what is the typical number of players you expect? <<numberbox "$normPlayers" 3>> [[Continue|Step2]]

Great. Now let's talk about supply slack. It's possible to build a game where one of the core mechanics is that there's a finite and well-defined coin supply and if it runs out of pennies there are no pennies left, but in others the money supply is theoretically limitless and the tokens are a convenience. This is going to be the biggest determinant of how frequently your players have to make change. A coin supply with lots of slack (i.e., more than the theoretical minimum needed) will reduce the number of coin change operations over the course of a game. On the other hand, it will necessarily cost more since it will include more components. A game with very little slack (for example: exactly 4 pennies per player at max player count) will require players to frequently make change, but use the bare minimum number of components. So. How much slack do you want? <<radiobutton "$changeTolerance" 5 autocheck>> Lots of slack! (Players will rarely need to make change) <<radiobutton "$changeTolerance" 3 checked>> Moderate slack! (Players will need to make change periodically) <<radiobutton "$changeTolerance" 1 autocheck>> Little slack! (Players will need to make change fairly regularly) <<radiobutton "$changeTolerance" 0 autocheck>> No slack; I live on the edge. (So will your players, who will need to make change frequently) [[Continue|Step3]]

Next let's talk about Typical Transaction Costs. If literally every thing players will buy with coins costs between 1 and 4, there's minimal need for nickels. Whereas if most expenses run in in the 10-20 range, a more even mix of coins will be best. Players will spend amounts between 1 and 4: <<radiobutton "$pennyWeight" 2 autocheck>> Often. <<radiobutton "$pennyWeight" 1 checked>> Sometimes. <<radiobutton "$pennyWeight" 0 autocheck>> Rarely/never. Players will spend amounts between 5 and 9: <<radiobutton "$nickelWeight" 2 autocheck>> Often. <<radiobutton "$nickelWeight" 1 checked>> Sometimes. <<radiobutton "$nickelWeight" 0 autocheck>> Rarely/never. Players will spend amounts between between 11 and 19: <<radiobutton "$mixWeight" 2 autocheck>> Often. <<radiobutton "$mixWeight" 1 checked>> Sometimes. <<radiobutton "$mixWeight" 0 autocheck>> Rarely/never. Players will spend amounts between that are multiples of 10: <<radiobutton "$dimeWeight" 2 autocheck>> Often. <<radiobutton "$dimeWeight" 1 checked>> Sometimes. <<radiobutton "$dimeWeight" 0 autocheck>> Rarely/never. The most expensive coin price will be: <<numberbox "$mostExpensive" 15>> [[Continue|Step4]]

<><<set $pcount = Math.min($maxPlayers, Math.round(($maxPlayers + $normPlayers)/2))>> <<set $pennies = 4*$maxPlayers + ($changeTolerance * $pennyWeight + $mixWeight +1)*$pcount + 5>> <<set $pennies = Math.round(.5 + $pennies/5)*5>> <<set $nickels = 1*$maxPlayers + ($changeTolerance * $nickelWeight + $mixWeight +1)*$pcount>> <<set $nickels = Math.round(.5 + $nickels/5)*5>> <<set $dimes = ($mostExpensive/10)*$maxPlayers + ($changeTolerance * $dimeWeight + $mixWeight +1)*$pcount>> <<set $dimes = Math.round(.5 + $dimes/5)*5>> <> Based on what you've told us, the number of coins we recommend getting is: Pennies: $pennies Nickels: $nickels Dimes: $dimes (these numbers are rounded up to the nearest multiple of 5 to make component inventory management more intuitive)