Non-Renewable Resources

The one-sentence "definition" that should be in italics.

This pattern is a still a stub.

Examples

Space Alert

Chess

Warcraft series

One-time special abilities

Freedom Underground Railroad

Boss cards in Boss Monster "All Bosses have a Level Up Ability. This ability activates the first time a Bosses Dungeon reaches the maximum 5 Room limit. This ability cannot be saved and only happens once."

characters in Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game

Using the pattern

Can Modulate

Capture, Companions, Fudged Results, Handicaps, Lives, Mules, Player Balance, Randomness, Resources, Transfer of Control, Units, Varied Gameplay

Can Be Instantiated By

Cards

Can Be Modulated By

Ownership, Transfer of Control

Non-Renewable Resources is typically designed as part of guaranteeing that Complete Resource Depletion will occur during gameplay. While this may not always be the case, e.g. by players hoard the Resources but not using them, the end result is typically the same: that the Resources aren't used to perform certain actions and therefor those actions don't occur.

Non-Renewable Resources can be designed in two ways. One is that the Resources are globally non-renewable while the other is that they are non-renewable on a per player basis. The main difference between these is that the Resources cannot be tradeable in the latter case.

Resources cannot quite naturally be both Non-Renewable Resources and Renewable or Regenerating ones. It can be problematic to use globally Non-Renewable Resources in Persistent Game Worlds because this more or less requires that gameplay can function well forever without the Resources affected after they have been depleted.

Consequences

Complete Resource Depletion can be guaranteed in games with Non-Renewable Resources and Consumers that consume these resources, and this may create Tied Results as a follow-up effect.

Can Instantiate

Closed Economies, Irreversible Events

with Capture

Higher-Level Closures as Gameplay Progresses

with Energy

Ability Losses

with Experimenting

Stimulated Planning

with Hands

Limited Gameplay Time, Predictable Consequences

Relations

Privileged Abilities co-op?

Can Instantiate

Closed Economies, Irreversible Events

with Capture

Higher-Level Closures as Gameplay Progresses

with Consumers

Complete Resource Depletion

with Energy

Ability Losses

with Experimenting

Stimulated Planning

with Hands

Limited Gameplay Time, Predictable Consequences

Can Modulate

Capture, Companions, Fudged Results, Handicaps, Lives, Mules, Player Balance, Randomness, Resources, Transfer of Control, Units, Varied Gameplay

Can Be Instantiated By

Cards

Can Be Modulated By

Ownership, Transfer of Control

Possible Closure Effects

-

Potentially Conflicting With

Persistent Game Worlds, Regenerating Resources, Renewable Resources

History

An updated version of the pattern Non-Renewable Resources that was part of the original collection in the book Patterns in Game Design.

Acknowledgements

Brian McDonald Esther MacCallum-Stewart Richard Wetzel