Everything is bought and sold with credits. 1 credit is worth one meal. 2500 credits are required to fly from Halcyon to Earth.
Your faction determines your number of starting credits. Everyone’s goal is to write IOUs spending all of the credits they have initially been allotted. None of your starting credits count toward your goal of making money, so there is no reason to keep them. The money you make that counts toward your objective comes from getting IOUs from other people.
Order of wealth:
- Tourists — Ridiculously rich
- Mine President
- Mobsters (if they exist)
- Scientists and Planetary Council members
- Mine workers, Pirates, and One Shot Adventure Company
- Performers and Lawmen — Just getting by
With credits, you can buy: favors, secrets, actions, silence, bribes, support, votes, performances by the performers, stuff (weapons, article of clothing, etc. for the duration of the game), games of chance, passage back to Earth, and such.