I was all set to download and share the site with like-minded friends, and then saw your capitalist demands for the program. Evidently you don't trust the community to try it for free, and then pay if they like it. Well, not paying to try it.
150 people. One valley. Fifty years. Build a decentralized cell and survive long enough to matter. No masters. · By
ECONOMIC MODEL
5.1 Layer One: Internal Gift Economy (Needs) Universal basic needs—food, shelter, healthcare, education—are provided to all regardless of contribution. Land, water, energy, and major infrastructure are collectively owned as commons. No currency circulates at this layer; needs are met through community contribution and mutual aid (Kropotkin, 1902/2006; Ostrom, 1990).
5.2 Layer Two: Merit Economy (Access and Influence) Merit is earned through contributions recognized as valuable by the community: labor, innovation, defense, caregiving, teaching, skill-sharing. Merit grants access to luxury goods, priority scheduling, leadership roles, and non-binding influence in community discussions. Merit decays systematically without continued contribution (default 50% per year). This ensures that influence reflects ongoing contribution rather than past achievement. Merit is non-transferable—it cannot be bought, sold, or inherited (Veblen, 1899/2007).
5.3 Layer Three: Federated External Economy (Infrastructure) The Federated Council manages a collective cryptocurrency wallet on behalf of all communities when functional. The portfolio is diversified across Bitcoin, Monero, and a custom bioregional token (e.g., Cascadian Commons Token) backed by gold or natural resources (timber, hydro credits) for stability (Davidson, De Filippi, & Potts, 2018). Strict usage rules govern federated funds: they may be used only for purchasing infrastructure and capital goods from external markets—concrete 3D printers, solar panels, fabrication equipment, medical technology. All purchased goods become community property. Communities maintain bilateral reserves and barter capacity for federation failure scenarios. No individual has access to cryptocurrency. This prevents internal capitalism, crypto-hoarding, and class formation based on differential access to external wealth (Gibson-Graham, 2006).
NOTE:
"This game was built by one person.
The code, the lore, the art, the novel — one person.
It is available free on the web. It is available here for those
who want to support continued development.
The website version and this version are the same game.
No features withheld. No content locked. No apology for that.
The cells share what the cells build."
— Simon Jester
Cascadia, 2026
Ghost in the grid.