Sinks and sources

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Where coins come from

Shard Garden has its own money: coins. Every day, players earn coins and spend them. The garden's economy is the flow of coins between players and the game.

Sources and sinks

Coins that move from one player to another are neither. They only change hands.

Quick check

A player sells a rare seed to another player for 500 coins. Is that a source or a sink?

  1. Neither: the coins only change hands
  2. A source
  3. A sink
Show the answer

Neither: the coins only change hands

No coins are created or removed. The total in the game stays the same.

Keep them in balance

If sources pay out more than sinks remove, coins pile up. Each coin then buys less, and new players can't keep up with old ones. If sinks remove more, players run out and feel stuck.

Measure both sides

Theo logs every coin event with its reason: "quest", "shop", "upgrade". A dashboard adds up coins in and coins out each day, so Theo can see the balance, not guess it.

Read the dashboard

coins per day
sources  1,200,000sinks      900,000

Theo opens the dashboard. What is happening to the garden's coins?

  1. 300,000 more coins exist every day
  2. The economy is balanced
  3. Players are running out
Show the answer

300,000 more coins exist every day

Sources beat sinks by 300,000 a day, so the total keeps growing.

Good sinks feel good

The best sinks are things players want: a greenhouse, a rare pot, a new garden plot. A sink that only takes coins away, with nothing in return, feels like a punishment.

Quick check

Removing coins from players without giving anything back is a good sink.

Show the answer

False

Players accept sinks they want to spend on. A sink that gives nothing back feels unfair.

Balance it yourself

The dashboard says coins are piling up. Time to pick a sink.

Bolt says: Next: balance the coins.

Fact-checked 12 October 2026