Dwarven Mining Company -- A game about economics and aggressive capitalism.
OVERVIEWThis is a game not entirely mine. A few years ago I stumbled upon a game on the Baystation12 forums that I really liked. Made by Manored, and inspired by Planet MULE (another game about economics that revolves around player decision), the game
is about two sets of players managing their mines and worker guilds, supply and demand, competing for workers and employment respectively, and less-than-scupulous buisness dealings. The winners at the end of each game are the wealthiest mine owner, and the wealthiest guild manager. I haven't witnessed a game of this before, and this is my first time running this, so it will be largely experimental, but hopefully we can work out some kinks and not bankrupt everyone and crash the economy in the progress
.
THE GAMEThe games will have multiple "rounds", with each round lasting 3 days. Over the course of that 3-day period, the players will manage their enterprises, as well as bid and make agreements with each other. Before each game I will accept up to 6 players each for each "side" of the game (mines and guilds), with a maximum team spread of 1. Please use the template provided at the bottom of this post.
All players start with 100 gold. Gold is the main currency of the dwarves and is abbreviated with a g (e.g. 100g). Gold is aquired in different ways depending on the job of the player. For barons (mine owners), gold is earned by selling coal on the
market. For managers (guild workers), gold is earned by sucessfully securing employment contracts with nobles.
MINESMines are the centerpiece of the game. Each noble owns a mine, and it is in these mines coal is produced: the lifeblood of the dwarven metal industry. Each mine has two "ratings" that are important for both the owner and managers to consider.
Size:
Size is quite simply, the development level of the mine. Larger mines have better equipment, more infrastructure, and generally, can house more workers.
Size can be increased by the manager by spending gold. Each
size upgrade costs 50 x (current level) gold, thus it becomes more expensive to upgrade mines to higher levels.
Size does not decrease except for special events that may
occur. To upgrade
size simply post in the thread. Each size level allows 15 workers to work in the mine.
Safety Rating:
Safety Rating (SR) is the arbitrary measure of the safety and quality of the mine's infrastructure and equipment. Operating mines at lower
SRs is cheaper, but puts the workers at greater risk during their jobs.
SR does not have any immediate effects, but will increase the chance of accidents as well as making the mine more susceptible to natural disasters. Larger mines cost more to keep safe. It costs 5 x (SR) * size per turn to maintain a mine at a certain safety level, and the
SR for that turn is chosen at the beginning of the turn, via PM. The highest SR possible is 5.
It is important to realize that while
Size is public,
SR is not, meaning an unsavory noble may lie about the safety of their mine to attract contracts with workers.
Production: Coal production is based on various different factors, and can vary wildly each turn, leading to flucuations in the economy. This is usually referred to as "boom and bust". The calculation for coal production is as follows: workers * (1d6 / 2). This means that the production of your mine will vary over time. You don't always hit the motherload all the time! Additionally, qualified workers count as multiple unqualified workers. Qual 2 workers count as 2, and Qual 3 workers count as 3.
GUILDSGuilds are the lifeblood of the mines. Because without workers, of course, no coal can be mined. Although vital to the mine's survival, guilds are also regarded as a large
nuisance by the nobles who run the mines. Having to bargain and pay hefty fees for dumb manual labor is anything but good news to any aspiring mine owner.
Workers:
Workers are the brave and intrepid dwarves that venture where no dwarf has gone before in search of riches for their bosses. Even though the pay for miners is usually very low, and the mortality rate very high, mining is seen by most dwarves as a noble and traditional profession. The number of
workers in a guild directly influences theamount of coal that is produced, but even more importantly, the amount that the guild gets paid.
Qualification: Not all dwarves are good at mining. There are some that are legends with a pickaxe, and others... well... they're better at things like... cheesemaking.
Qualification represents the skill and training of a worker.
Qualification ranges from 1-3 and also influences the amount of coal the worker outputs. Workers cost 10 * qual to hire, and cost 5 * qual per turn to pay wages to. You may also upgrade existing workers to higher quals by paying the difference. (e.g. qual 1 to 2 would be 10.), but this is a one way street. You cannot downgrade workers.
Like in mines, the number of
workers you have is public, but their
qualification is not. If you're mad that the mine owner lied to you about the mine's
SR, don't worry, it goes both ways too!
Food: Workers also need to eat, and the guild pays for their food. The purchase of food is explained below along with the coal price mechanics. If your workers are underfed, they will eventually quit. If a worker doesn't eat for 2 turns, it will quit the guild. Higher quality workers are fed first if there is not enough food for everyone.
Compensation: Accidents are common in the dwarven mines due to lax safety regulations and uncaring nobles. However, Dwarven Law demands compensation for workers that die as a result of the negligence of mines. For every accident that occurs, there is a 75% chance the mine will be ordered to compensate the dead workers. The mine must pay a measly 5g per worker that dies. The guild only receives 1g per worker, the rest going to the dwarf's family.
BIDDING: Mines need work, and guilds need employment, so bidding is the main interaction between the two "sides" of the game. At the start of each turn, mines and guilds will bid, or negotiate with each other for prices of employment. This is normally made in the form of a post. The post's contents may vary by the player, but the player is free to set their own terms. For example, guild managers could charge a flat rate, a cost per worker, demand certain
SRs, certain mine
sizes, etc. Mine owners could also do the same, asking for a flat rate, cost per worker, maximum amount of qual 1 workers, etc. The only rule is that mines post in
bold green and worker guilds post in
bold red, and provide a copy of their information page (just a spoiler containing the information about their mine/guild, as provided by me).
To accept an offer, the client must quote the offerer's post with the message in bold blue "
DEAL", for ease of turn processing. Once an offer is made, it is considered valid until it is changed, or the offerer takes up another offer, so don't post unless you mean it, because once someone seals the DEAL, it is final!
Both mines and guilds may make offers and negotiate, but the deal is sealed when one or the other accepts the other's deal. Additionally, players may make targeted deals towards each other, which only the target may accept, to prevent "deal stealing" when two parties are negotiating.
While players may change their offers, and make multiple targetted offers, a player may only secure a deal with exactly one other player. Guilds cannot distribute workers among mines, and mines may not accept workers from more than one guild.
PRICES (SUPPLY / DEMAND)Prices don't stay the same, and changes in supply and demand (as well as competition) can lead to changes and fluctuations in pricing. The price system determines the price at which coal is sold by the mines, as well as the price at which food is bought by the worker guilds. This is done via a bidding system.
Prices for coal and food are always bid as per unit, not as a lump sum.COAL: Production from each mine is totalled after all modifications to create the
Total Supply (
TS). The
TS is modified by the
Demand Rate (
DR) to determine the amount of coal that will be bought by the metal industries that turn. The base
DR is 60%, but this can increase and decrease depending on the health of the economy. What this means is that normally only 60% of the coal produced by the mines will actually be bought each turn. The purpose of this is to create competition among mines to be able to sell all their
coal.
Each mine silently "bids" via PM on a price for their coal to be sold at that turn, per unit. The coal is sold in order of the bids, from lowest price to highest. If there is a tie, the mine with the least production will sell their coal first. In order to prevent price fixing and balance the game, if the price of coal goes above a certain limit due to agreement among nobles, the economy will suffer. Additionally, there is a threshold above where coal will not be sold at all. These thresholds are secret, and are not to be disclosed to prevent price manipulation (and also since I need a good idea of how prices will be after everything is taken into account). As a bottom line, if you price your coal ridiculously high, it won't be sold. Try to price your coal at a rate where you will still profit after your expected production without getting too greedy. Coal will stop being bought once the modified
TS is reached (usually 60% of production), so if you set your prices too high, you might not sell some coal. This is known as surplus coal (
SC). After every turn, the average coal price is compiled based on the total amount of coal sold, as well as the total amount of gold paid out. The purpose of the average price is to help mine owners price their coal appropriately, and also to determine the price at which
SC is sold. If you end up having
SC due to setting your prices too high, you may sell it at half the average price at the beginning of next turn. You may also save it for later turns if you believe coal prices will rise.
FOOD: Food follows a similar but inverted structure. Guilds silently bid in a way similar to mines via PM for the price they will pay to buy food for their workers. Food bids are also per unit. The food will be bought in order of highest bid to lowest bid, meaning if you pay too low for food, you may not have enough for your workers. The total amount of food available for purchase is equal to 60% the total number of workers, +/- 1d6 * 10. Meaning the price of food will fluctuate as crop yields do. The expected crop yield will be announced before hand to influence pricing. Like coal, an average price will be compiled at the end of the turn to aid with bidding for the next turn. Unlike coal, it is assumed the workers are paid for in the first turn, meaning that food will not need to be bought the first turn.
ECONOMIC HEALTH: As described above, trying to "cheat" the system by coordinating with fellow players to fix prices will be met with !!FUN!! results. While price fixing is a viable strategy, doing so will adversely damage the economy. If you force too high prices for coal, metal industries will suffer. If you force too low prices for food, the farmers will suffer. If the average price of food reaches a certain point,
DR will dramatically decrease for that commodity, by 50% each turn. For example, if the price of coal is "fixed" by mine owners, the
DR for next turn will be 30%, meaning only 30% of the total production will be bought. The result of this is economic collapse that can only be averted by resuming fair pricing of goods. Additionally, if prices are too low (or too high), farmers and metal industries (respectively) will refuse outright to sell/buy.
ORDER OF EVENTS: To make the game easier for everyone involved, and to prevent confusion, the game follows the following order of events;
1."Upgrade Phase": Right after the turn starts, each player is in the upgrade phase, where they make changes to the stats of their guilds and mines (setting SR and size, or hiring workers). Hiring workers is done via PM to the GM, for secrecy, as well as setting mine SR. Mine size is done publicly. After publicly upgrading their mine, provided the noble has enough money, they may update their information page.
2."Bidding Phase": Players may not upgrade after they make a bid, either for coal/food price, or as an offer for employment/workers. During this phase the player bids via PM for food / coal price and bids publicly in the thread for work. It does not matter in which order food/coal bids and work bids are made, so you may want to wait until after you have a deal locked in before bidding on coal / food. If a bid is not made for work by the end of the 3-day period, that player is SOL. Additionally, if no bid for food or coal is made, no purchase will be made (if it is the first turn), or the bid for last turn will be used.
3."Processing Phase": After all players have locked in bids or the 3-day time limit is up, the turn is processed. Accidents and disasters are rolled first, and then production and prices are processed. An after-round report is made, and the cycle starts over. After this phase is over, the "information pages" are made, for the players to use in their bidding. Gold amounts and mine size / worker amount is stated here, but it is important to remember these only update at the end of turns.
ORDER OF TRANSACTIONS: To provide a structure in case the player either willingly or unwillingly overspends. This occurs at the end of turns, with the exception of hiring workers / increasing mine size, which happens instantly.
0. Accidents / disasters.
1. Coal sales. (Mines)
2. Payment to workers (Mines) (You CANNOT make a DEAL unless you have enough gold.)
3. SR upkeep. (Mines) If this is not met, the next lowest SR that is affordable is used. If there is no money available for SR, an accident is CERTAIN to occur that turn (SR of 0).
4. Payment to workers (Guilds) If this is not met, workers will quit. Workers are paid starting with most qualified first.
5. Food payments. (Guilds)
If the mine or guild goes bankrupt, a loan will be taken out to cover the cost, but beware the banks charge 10% interest! The debt limit is 100g (110g with interest), and if this is reached it is GAME OVER.
SPECIAL EVENTSAccidents: Mines are dangerous places, but various safety precautions can be taken to avoid the most common and fatal accidents. However, most nobles are unwilling or unable to spend the extra gold required to ensure safe workspaces for their miners. The likelihood of an accident in a mine is based on the SR of the mine. 1d6 is rolled vs. the SR of the mine, and if the result is higher than the SR, an accident will occur. Not even the safest mines are accident proof! If an accident does occur, the result is decided by rolling 1d20 vs the following table.
1: Safety Boogaloo - An invalid safety inspection led to a structural engineer to deem certain roof supports "unnecessary" and surplus. This conclusion was, in fact, completely wrong and the removal of the supports immediately led to the collapse of a section of the mine and the deaths of the workers involved. While this is indeed quite unfortunate for the workers and the guild, a lawsuit against the Queen's Royal Safety Council has led to a large compensation to the mine. After the money was used to repair the supports and clear the section of the mine that was destroyed in the cave-in, there was 100g left over for the mine's personal use. However, due to certain "legal limitations", the workers and guild are, regretfully, unable to recieve any compensation. The mine sends its condolensces. (Mine gets 200g and 1d4 * 5 workers die, as well as compensation being waived.)
2: Minecart Rail System Failure - A faulty control junction in a section of the mine's automated Ore Delivery System led to the Rapid Unplanned Disassembly of most of the rail network after multiple minecarts sped out of control and destroyed key supports and infrastructure of the rail system. The resulting aftermath has led to the deaths of quite a few workers. (Mine production is cut to 30% for the current turn as well as the deaths of 1d4 * 10 workers)
3: Magma Pressure Overload - A failure of a speed governor for one of the pumps in the mine's main magma pumpstack has led to the the overpressure of one of the segments in the pumpstack. The resulting explosive decompression has led to the deaths of quite a few workers as well as ruining quite a few of the mine's supports due to burn damage. (Mine production is cut to 50% and 1d4 * 5 workers die.)
4-6: Alcohol Fire - After celebrating a major defeat of the goblins and the ruin of one of their dark pits, the mine's garrison led most of the tavern patrons in a merry celebration of Dwarven patriotism. After the party devolved into a brawl, and then a full out riot, a fire spread after being lit by an agitated rioter. The fire spread out of control before being finally put out leading to extensive damage to the mine. (1d2 * 5 workers die and mine loses 150g.)
7-10: Minecart Safety Warning System Failure - Failure to properly inspect a Automated Bell Ringing system on one of the mine's rail crossings led to the Warning System not triggering properly and running down a worker who was in the wrong place and wrong time. Unfortunately, the minecart's engineer was killed in the collision as well after being flung out and slammed into a wall. (2 workers die and mine loses 50g.)
11-14: Support Failure - A certain inebriated worker has carelessly caused a key support in an area of the mine to fail, and caused a small cave-in. The cave-in happened to block one of the key Ore Delivery System railways leading to the wagonyard and trade depot. (Mine loses 50g and production is cut to 80%)
15-17: Resevoir Breach - Due to careless surveying and the general incompetence of the miners assigned to expand a certain area of the mine's common area, a section of the mine's resovoir was breached, leading to the flooding of the living areas of the mine. (1d2 * 5 workers die and production cut to 80%.)
18: Large Cave-In - After recieving incorrect instructions, an entire mining party expanded the wrong tunnel. The resulting stress on the surrounding stone led to a massive collapse damaging a large portion of the mine and killing many workers. (Mine loses 1 size and 1d4 * 5 workers die)
19: Reactor Overload - Because of incorrect calculations by a now jobless engineer, one of the mine's water conduits exploded after too much pressure was routed to it by a large amount of supply pumpstacks. The resulting underpressure surge caused the water pressure in the mine's Dwarven Water Reactor regulatory tank to drop dangerously. After reaching RPMs previously thought impossible by dwarven scientists, the reactor's main axle disintegrated, leading to a chain reaction that caused a massive flood of the mine's lower portions before the water supply was finally cut off by two brave dwarves who were then crushed after the conduit behind the control room exploded, creating a huge surge of water pressure that slammed both dwarves into the opposite wall. (Mine loses 2 size and 1d4 * 12 workers die)
20: Magma Flood - Due to the lack of Artificial Canaries (Elves), the toxic gasses that are present near large sources of magma were undetectable by the protected miners in the area. The miners broke into the magma sea, only able to spurt a few brief seconds of expletives before they were incinerated by the surge of molten rock. The magma flooded most of the lower area of the mines before the pressure equalized, causing the deaths of innumerable workers and leading to the destruction of miles of tunnels. (Mine loses 3 size (!) and 1d4 * 15 workers die)
Natural Disasters: Accidents happen, but are preventable. Natural disasters, however, are unavertable, but their severity can be lessened by proper safety measures.
Every turn, there is a 25% chance of a natural disaster occurring. If a disaster does occur, 1d10 is rolled against the following table. Natural disasters affect everyone.
1: Goblin Invasion - Goblins launch a massive coordinated offensive against a large area of the dwarven homeland. Various settlements and fortresses are overwhelmed and ransacked before the dwarven military can assemble and mobilize to halt the offensive. (4+ SR: The defenses hold, but just barely. Mine loses 30% of its gold and 10 workers die. Below 4 SR: The mine is ransacked and the militia is slaughtered. Half of the workers die and mine loses 60% of its gold.)
2-3: Earthquake - A large tremor shakes the very bedrock upon which the mines are built. (5 SR: Mine loses 10g to repairs. 3-4 SR: Mine is damaged and production is halved. Repairs cost 50g. 1-2 SR: Mine is devastated. 1d4 * 5 workers die, production is cut 90%, and repairs cost 100g.)
4-5: Tropical Storm - A massive storm devastates the mountain ranges in which the mines are located. (5 SR: Mine loses 10 g to repairs. 3-4 SR: Mine loses 1 size to flooding and 5 workers drown. 1-2 SR: Mine is badly flooded. Mine loses 2 size and 10 workers drown.)
6-7: Bandit Infestation - A roaming bandit gang takes root in the woods near the mountains and harasses the mines. The bandits steal a bunch of gold and valuables before they are driven off by the local militia. (5 SR: The mine garrison mostly stops the bandits from stealing. 5% of profits are lost for the next 3 turns. 3-4 SR: The mine garrison has trouble stopping the bandits from stealing. 40% of profits are lost for the next 3 turns. 1-2 SR: The mine garrison is helpless against the bandits. The bandits ransack the mine's treasury and hold the nobles hostage. 80% of the mine's profits are lost for the next 3 turns, as well as 100g, and 1d6 workers per turn (for the next 3) are kidnapped.
8-9: Armok's Hand - A deadly disease known only as Armok's Hand spreads in the area. Workers are affected and dwarves begin to randomly drop dead. (5 SR: The mine's doctors are able to stop the spread of the disease. Only 1d6 workers die. 3-4 SR: The disease claims multiple lives before it is stopped. 1d10 workers die per turn, for the next 3 turns. 1-2 SR: The mine is left devestated by the disease. Corpses litter the halls and the mine is almost given up for lost. 10 workers die per turn, for the next 3 turns, as well as 30% of the initial workforce present at the start of the turn.
10: Elf Invasion - Elves launch a massive invasion throughout the dwarven homeland. The attack is met with differing amounts of resistance in various regions of the front lines. (5 SR: The mine's garrison completely destroys the Elf ambush party. The spoils are split by the defenders of the mine. Mine and guild both get 100g. 3-4 SR: Elven forces breach into the mine, but are driven back by the brave defenders shortly afterwards. 2 workers die and mine and guild both get 50g. 1-2 SR: Despite overwhelming odds, the mine still manages to throw off the Elven assault. 1d4 * 2 workers die, and mine loses 10% productivity.)
ENDING THE GAME: The game ends when the 8 rounds are played, or only one player in each side remains. There is one winner from each side, whoever has the most money. Only actual on-hand cash is counted, so be careful not to overspend.
Additionally players may get OUT for various reasons. If all but one player is eliminate in each category, that player is the winner.
Ways players can get out:
1. Bankruptcy.
2. Inactivity (failing to respond after 3 turns)
3. Quitting (sometimes shit happens IRL, it's okay, this is a fast paced game and IRL always comes first, or maybe you just don't like the game)
Template: This is used for joining the game. Copy and paste this and fill it in to join the game.
Name: (name of noble / manager)
Type: (guild / mine)
Enterprise Name: (name of guild for guilds, name of mine for mines)
Specialty: (as described below)
SPECIALITIES:These are special "power-ups" that players can choose that provide one-use or passive abilities.
Knows Bank Manager: Player has a -200g debt limit rather than -100g. (passive)
Filibuster: Player can double the length of a turn to 6 days, rather than 3. (one use)
Friends in High Places: Player can negate the effect of an accident, or prevent themselves from feeling the effects of a natural disaster (one use)
Fat Wallets: Player starts with 200g. (passive)
Insider Trading: Player can view the "details" of one turn, such as the all the PMs for SR / qual and the prices paid by rivals for coal / food bidding. (one use)
I might add more later after we play a few games. Feel free to suggest more.
This game is EXPERIMENTAL and in a beta phase. Bad things might happen. Please provide feedback after playing a game if you think you could improve the experience. All suggestions are welcome.
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Topic: Dwarven Mining Company - A Dwarfy economic and capitalism simulator. (Turn 1) (Read 13392 times)