> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://realmatwar.gitbook.io/realmatwar-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://realmatwar.gitbook.io/realmatwar-docs/realm-at-war-handbook/economy-and-rewards/the-flywheel.md).

# The Flywheel

A flywheel is a heavy wheel that's hard to start turning but, once moving, keeps itself going and stores energy for the whole machine. Realm at War's economy is built to work the same way: each part feeds the next, and the whole loop reinforces itself.

## The Loop, Step by Step

1. **Players buy Crowns with SOL.** Crowns speed up and boost your realm — the optional premium currency.
2. **70% of every purchase flows into the Prize Pot.** The bigger slice of every purchase is set aside for players, not the house.
3. **The pot funds prizes and quest rewards.** Every day and every week, a percentage of the pot is paid out — to questers, to the strongest realms, to the weekly champion, to the top clan.
4. **Players earn and claim $REALM to their wallets.** Those rewards are real, paid in a real token, straight to players' own wallets.
5. **Real rewards create real demand for $REALM.** A token that's genuinely earned and paid out has a reason to be wanted and held.
6. **A bigger, livelier prize pool draws more players.** More players means more Crown purchases — which flows right back to step 2, and the wheel turns again.

## Why It Reinforces Itself

The loop isn't just a nice story — a couple of design choices make it actually self-correcting:

* **Prizes are a percentage of the pot, not a fixed cost.** The payouts can never outrun the money coming in. When the pot is full the prizes are big; when it's lean they ease off automatically. The economy can't pay out money it doesn't have. (See [The Prize Pot & Payouts](/realmatwar-docs/realm-at-war-handbook/economy-and-rewards/the-prize-pot-and-payouts.md).)
* **Earning is tied to playing, not paying.** You earn $REALM by questing and by being strong — things you do by playing the game. Crowns can speed your climb, but they don't print $REALM. That keeps the rewards connected to genuine activity, which is what keeps the world alive and worth joining.
* **The rewards are real and they leave the game.** $REALM is paid to your own wallet. It isn't a points balance locked inside an app — it's yours. That's what turns "I played a game" into "I have a reason to come back, and to tell other people."

## The Honest Caveat

A flywheel still needs energy put in — players, and a reason for them to keep playing. The design makes the loop *sustainable* and *self-correcting*; it doesn't make it automatic. The game has to be good, and the community has to grow. Everything in this handbook is built to give that loop the best possible chance to spin.


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