How many coins do you need?
A practical guide for LARP, RPG, board games and festivals
One of the most common questions in game design is simple:
How many coins do we actually need?
Too few coins break immersion.
Too many coins create chaos.
The goal is not precision — it’s a functional, believable system.
The core principle: a pyramid of value
Every game economy should follow a simple rule:
👉 the lower the value, the higher the quantity
Typical distribution
| Value level | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Copper / low value | very high |
| Silver / mid value | medium |
| Gold / high value | low |
👉 Why this works:
- small coins are used constantly
- large coins are used rarely
- players intuitively understand value
⚠️ Exceptions exist (e.g. high-fantasy worlds with lots of gold),
but in most cases, the pyramid model works best.
LARP and RPG: coins per player
In character-driven games, the number of coins depends on roles.
👉 A good starting point:
~10 coins per player on average
👤 Example distribution
| Character type | Coins |
|---|---|
| Beggar / poor | 2–5 |
| Commoner | 5–10 |
| Mercenary | 10–20 |
| Merchant / noble | 20+ |
👉 Important:
- focus on mix, not just quantity
- richer characters should have higher-value coins
💡 Game master reserve
The organizer should always keep a reserve.
👉 Why?
- to introduce money into the game
- to balance the economy
- to create events and opportunities
Board games: follow the system
Board games are different.
👉 You are usually replacing:
- cardboard tokens
- plastic coins
Rule:
✔ use the same number as the original game
👉 The designer already balanced the system.
Your coins only:
- improve immersion
- improve tactile experience
Festivals and markets
This is where things get more complex — but also more interesting.
What to calculate
You need to estimate:
- number of visitors
- average spending per visitor
- duration of the event
💡 Simple model
👉 Example:
- 100 visitors
- average spend €20
- total economy = €2000
👉 Convert this into coins:
- mostly small values
- some medium
- very few large
Don’t forget the crew
Staff and organizers often receive:
- food tokens
- drink tokens
👉 this can be part of the same system
Gamification
Markets and festivals benefit from gamification:
- exchange real money → game currency
- use coins for purchases
- create immersion
👉 coins become part of the experience, not just payment
Adjusting for your setting
Not every world is the same.
You can shift the system:
- low fantasy → fewer coins, lower values
- high fantasy → more gold, higher values
- poor setting → limited currency
- rich setting → abundant money
👉 Always adjust to:
- tone of the world
- player expectations
Reserve: always add extra
No matter how well you plan:
👉 things will change
Rule of thumb:
✔ add at least 10% extra coins
👉 This covers:
- losses
- unexpected demand
- game balancing
Quick overview
Recommended starting points
| Game type | Coins |
|---|---|
| Small LARP (10 players) | ~100 |
| Medium LARP (20–30) | ~300 |
| Large event (100+) | 1000+ |
| Board game | follow original |
| Festival | based on total spend |
Conclusion
You don’t need perfect numbers.
You need a system that:
- feels natural
- supports gameplay
- creates interaction