Loans and debt

Owns outstanding principal, an interest rate, a repayment schedule, and a borrowing limit. Each period interest is charged to the treasury, and principal is repaid on schedule, at will, or at bond maturity. The limit and rate often depend on a credit rating, net worth, or the number of outstanding loans. Missed payments trigger penalties, forced liquidation, bankruptcy, or game over. Railroad Tycoon (1990) starts each railroad with $1 million split evenly between equity and a loan and lets players sell bonds for more capital. SimCity 2000 adds bonds to the city budget, Theme Hospital offers loans through a policy setting, and Transport Tycoon lets companies raise and repay a loan in increments up to a cap.

Betting on the future. The player borrows to build faster than income allows, watches interest eat margins, and times repayment. A downturn while leveraged turns a confident plan into a scramble to stay solvent.

• interest rate and whether it rises with debt load, credit rating, or economic conditions
• borrowing cap tied to net worth, rating, or a fixed limit
• repayment structure (amortized, interest-only, bond maturity, repay at will)
• default consequence (penalty, asset seizure, bankruptcy, game over)
• priority of debt service relative to wages and services when cash runs short

• Cheap debt with high early returns makes borrowing the maximum at the start a dominant opening in many tycoon games.
• Default with no warning or recovery path ends runs abruptly and teaches players never to borrow.
• Fixed rates in a growing economy make debt irrelevant once revenue scales.

• Leverage amplifies booms and busts: borrowed capital grows revenue faster but turns a demand dip into bankruptcy.
• Rates that rise with debt load create spirals in which new loans pay old interest.
• Interest acts as a money sink that drains surplus in the late game.

• Could AI lenders that assess a player's plans and history negotiate terms in language, making credit a relationship rather than a slider?
• What rate curves keep leverage a real choice across a whole game rather than an opening move?