Economy

Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates has a very large and complex economy, which is driven by shoppe and stall owners competing for commodities harvested across an ocean. While wood, iron, and sail cloth are used to build ships, the shipyard is constructed with wood, iron, tan cloth, and stone. The products shoppes produce are crucial to a pirate's daily activities, thus the economy is based on the economic theory of supply and demand.

Commodities and Labor

All finished goods are produced using commodities. Commodities fall under many different categories, but general categories of commodities are used to produce general categories of goods (i.e. all swords require minerals).

All shoppe products also require labor to be finished. On subscriber oceans, this labor is provided by subscribed pirates; on doubloon oceans, a player needs a labor badge to provide work. Labor is provided by playing the appropriate crafting puzzle, though only distilling, alchemistry, and shipwrightery are currently available to play.

Inflation and Deflation

Over time, the purchasing power of a piece of eight (PoE) fluctuates. This behaviour is not determined by any intervention of the Ringers, but rather the game's economy reacting to variances in the money supply.

PoE enters the economy when it is won from brigands and skellies. Note, however, not all of this money nessesarily comes from the ether, as they may also have funds they previously won from another player. A small amount of money may also enter the game by OceanMasters sponsoring tournaments or other events. PoE then circulates around the economy from player to player via payouts, trades, shoppe purchases, wagers and tournaments, special events, and other means. Eventually, PoE leaves the economy via taxes (A portion goes to the governor, but the rest disappears), war chests, portrait sitting fees, and drinks for the old salts. Capital (not PoE itself, but goods of some value) is also removed from the ocean when items dust or rum or shot is consumed. As there are distinct PoE sources and sinks, whether the economy is inflationary or deflationary is largely dependent on how quickly new money enters the ocean compared to how quickly it leaves.

External links

http://www.puzzlepirates.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=10767 -- Faulkston's economy graph.