The economy system in Be the Boss is designed to:
- Support asymmetric gameplay across two rotating phases
- Reward survival, risk-taking, and timing
- Prevent early snowballing while allowing late-game power spikes
- Encourage both cooperation and competition
- Create tension between spending coins and saving toward victory
Coins and multipliers persist across phases and act as the primary progression and win condition system.
- Match Length Target: 20–25 minutes
- Phase Duration: 4–6 minutes
- Total Phase Rotations: 4–5
- Each player becomes Boss at least once in an average match
Players earn coins in both phases, but banked multipliers only apply when the player becomes the Boss.
Coins are used to:
- Progress toward the win condition
- Purchase upgrades
- Spawn or upgrade monsters (Boss)
- Open chests (Players)
- Trigger special events (optional)
Coins persist across:
- Phase A
- Phase B
- Boss rotations
| Action | Coins Earned |
|---|---|
| Kill standard monster | 3 |
| Kill elite monster | 5 |
| Loot chest | 10 |
| Loot high-tier chest | 15–20 |
| Damage Boss | 1 coin per 50 damage |
Values are intentionally small to encourage accumulation through multipliers rather than raw farming.
Players earn banked multipliers based on time survived:
| Time Alive | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| 2 minutes | x2 |
| 4 minutes | x4 |
- Multipliers are banked when the player dies or the phase ends
- Multipliers do not apply immediately
- Multipliers only apply when the player becomes the Boss
- Multipliers stack additively across Phase A rounds
Example:
- Round 1: x2 earned → banked
- Round 2: x4 earned → banked
- Total banked multiplier = x6
| Action | Coins Earned |
|---|---|
| Monster damage to players | 1 coin per 10 damage |
| Kill player | 20 |
| Optional coin steal on kill | Yes (design TBD) |
Boss monsters reward the Boss player when they successfully pressure or eliminate Phase A players.
The Boss earns a multiplier based on how long they remain alive:
| Time as Boss | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| 1 minute | x1 |
| 2 minutes | x2 |
| 3 minutes | x3 |
| Max cap | x5–x6 |
- Multiplier applies to all coins earned during the Boss phase
- Encourages aggressive but calculated play
- Incentivizes staying alive rather than rushing kills
When a player becomes the Boss:
- Phase B coins are earned normally
- Boss survival multiplier is applied
- Banked Phase A multiplier is applied to stored coins
- Final coin total is updated
This creates a delayed payoff system that rewards long-term survival and planning.
- Monster kills: 6 → 18 coins
- Chests looted: 2 → 20 coins
- Boss damage: 300 → 6 coins
- Total: 44 coins
- Survival time: 3 minutes → x2 banked
- Player kills: 1 → 20 coins
- Monster damage: 150 → 15 coins
- Boss survival time: 3 minutes → x3 multiplier
Boss phase coins:
(20 + 15) × 3 = 105 coins
Banked multiplier applied:
44 × 2 = 88 coins
Total gained this cycle: 193 coins
- Target: 800 coins
- Tunable for match length
- Simple and transparent
- Purchase 1 Key Fragment for 150 coins
- Collect 4 fragments to win
- Allows:
- Comeback mechanics
- Theft or denial mechanics
- Better control of match pacing
Primary tuning controls:
- Monster kill values
- Chest rewards
- Player kill rewards
- Coins per Boss damage
- Coins per monster damage
- Survival thresholds
- Maximum multiplier caps
- Coin target
- Fragment cost
These values can be adjusted independently without breaking the economy.
The economy is built to:
- Feel slow early, explosive late
- Reward patience and survival
- Create tension between spending and saving
- Make the Boss role feel powerful and decisive
- Ensure every phase contributes meaningfully to victory
This system supports replayability, player agency, and high-stakes decision-making throughout the match.