One of my least favorite aspects of game physics, economy. But it sometimes just needs to be done.
I'm working on a fantasy/epic card game and I've been having some trouble with this. Currently, you have a "resource pool" and you increase your pool by playing down special cards. Each unit you play has a "cost" that you may or may not use income for when you play that unit. But if you don't pay the income, you take a penalty. There are several problems with this, one major one being clutter and also players tend to just stack up income like crazy and it's no longer a wat game, but a game about getting lots of money. Any thoughts?
Players hoarding resources is a real problem and things need to be built in to prevent it. A real-life approach is tax.
A possible idea is to put the hoard on the board in some way so that other players can raid it, or capture it. This will encourage a use or lose it mentality. In multi-player games a player with a big bank will become a conspicuous target.
That's if the game needs money...