Accumulation

Mechanism · I – Resource & Value Creation delayed / aggregated · reversible · open · solo / competitive

Accumulation builds progress, possession or strength over time: individual units pile up successively into a growing stock.

Design question – How does your game build progress, possession or strength over time? How do values accumulate – and what happens as they grow?

Reference example – Monopoly: properties, houses and money pile up round after round. Pac-Man: every dot eaten raises the score. Wingspan: birds, eggs and food gather on your own board. Ticket To Ride (Set Collection) · Catan (Resource Management) · Lewis And Clark (Race)

Structural pattern

Input -> transformation -> output: individual units (points, resources, units) become a growing stock (supply, score) through successive accumulation (collecting).

Regulated in permitting mode (what may be collected and how much per action or round), constraining mode (caps such as hand limit or storage capacity; upkeep costs) and conditioning mode (thresholds trigger new effects, e.g. a bonus at 10 points). In a game, caps, costs and thresholds become specifications.

Design parameters

• Stock type – homogeneous (points only) ↔ heterogeneous (different resources)
• Visibility – openly visible ↔ hidden
• Cap – unlimited ↔ hard-capped
• Loss risk – safe ↔ at risk (Decay, Capture, chance)
• Threshold effects – none ↔ stepped/continuous
• Interaction – undisturbed ↔ attackable/stealable

Related Mechanisms

• Scoring (MEC-09) – Frequently combined: score the stock.
• Decay (MEC-04) – Frequently combined: the stock loses value.
• Conversion (MEC-03) – Frequently combined: convert the stock.
• Production (MEC-01) – Frequently combined: replenish the stock.

Ludic Organisational Structures

Commons (core) · Banking / Credit · Market · Production Chain · Exploration System · Survival System (dynamic)