Pangaia notes

Currency is created in the system by giving opinions, via a simple vote up or down. This counts as the individual unit of work and is real value that you get "paid for" by marking your own game piece. I say "paid" in quotes because the currency is like play currency in a monopoly game -- it's meant to stay in the game, not get used or traded outside of it.

Because of this unit value of work, you cannot simply write "20pts" on a posted idea at once. You must wait some PRIME number of seconds, before marking another vote (or count to yourself in intervals of the prime and mark it all at once -- but you must use a different prime number each time you use this technique).

Currency also enters the system through the BOTQs. Someone might offer a bounty of 300pts for a couch to be brought in. The DM has to make sure these BOTQs aren't diluting the system, but without cramping the style of people who REALLY feel that it's worth the amount they suggest. The DM must use their feelings as a guide, because that is how the currency system works -- it puts a quantification on the human value of different items, but since you can't see how much ATP (or whatever the biological marker is), you have to gauge it with your intuition -- much like a banker has to size up a potential loaner and the risk involved.

Currency leaves the system through votes on governance nodes and merchandize exchange from other hacker-spaces. For example, you might trade 20 points from your board for 1 sticker from their space or 100 points for their T-shirt, etc.

For tasks (under BOTQs), the unit of payment should not be the units of this play currency, but merchandize, like T-shirts, old computer equipment, etc. Again, you don't want to do anything that looks like you're being paid or employed in the old paradigm.

People who are not "bona fide" players (those with a player node) cannot offer BOTQs for points. They should make a player node, so the currency can be tracked by the DM. They can offer, however, non-point BOTQs, like "Complete task B for a LED monitor."

The DM and any pixies have to be careful in managing the currency system so that points don't get diluted. If, for example, she offers 10,000 points for doing X (or task X), then that dilutes the currency in the system if X was only worth 1000pts. The key to understanding the approximate value of the currency is to think about the unit value of work and how much time/effort it entails. I estimate a hackerspace sticker, for example, to be worth about 20units of the currency -- that means about 20 times someone voted. A t-shirt, about 100units. Cleaning the kitchen (a BOTQ task), maybe 200 units.

Note: if your game gets to the point where you're building houses or managing your household budget with these points, please contact the author -- you might be out of bounds of the intentions of the game and need to find a way to work within your existing (old model) paradigm. Also, this project is intended for not-for-profit spaces. If you use it in a commercial environment, contact the author. It is also useable in an "unconference" where you can reward the player who has the most points by the end of the conference. But if you use it in a conventional conference, contact me, again. Or use it in managing your shared house or co-operative, but not your private residence...unless you contact me (what's your game?).