The following is a list of all board game mechanics I know in this category, and that aren’t too niche. Card game mechanics are also included. I’m posting this mainly for my own reference.

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Automatic Resource Growth: The automatic increase of a resource triggered by a particular, conditional, deterministic (not random) game state.

Example 1. Unacquired resources in Agricola:

• Uncollected wood from the wood-collection action space (condition) will offer +1 wood (result) on the following round (game state).

Example 2. Acquired resources in Agricola:

• Two pigs in your farm, in an area with space enough for 3 pigs (condition) will automatically produce a 3rd pig (result) during the breeding phase of that round (game state).

Counter-example 1. Income in Monopoly:

• Collect $200 (result) when passing “GO” (game state).
• There is no condition (ex: if you own 1 or more properties)

Counter-example 2. Random Production in Catan:

The production is random not deterministic.

Players collect resources at the beginning of each turn based on a die roll.

Deck / Bag / Pool Building: Players play cards out of individual decks, seeking to acquire new cards and to play through their decks iteratively, improving them over time through card acquisition or card elimination.

It may include a “random-draw” to form a hand from the deck for the current round (as in Star Realms) and the deck is automatically reset once the draw pile is exhausted; or it may allow access to all available cards at once (as in Concordia) until the discards are retrieved. The latter may embody the Action Retrieval mechanic, where the card use activate actions.

This category also covers Bag Building, Pool Building, and related mechanisms (using chits, dice, etc).

Dominion pioneered this mechanism.

Hand Management: Hand management games are games with cards in them that reward players for playing the cards in certain sequences or groups. The optimal sequence/grouping may vary, depending on board position, cards held and cards played by opponents. Managing your hand means gaining the most value out of available cards under given circumstances. Cards often have multiple uses in the game, further obfuscating an “optimal” sequence.

Income: Players gain resources at defined times.

Increase Value of Unchosen Resources: If players do not select certain Actions or Resources, then they increase in value. Puerto Rico is a classic example of this technique, as unchosen roles have a coin placed on them. This mechanism is a simple way for designers to balance different options. The money may either come from the bank, as in Puerto Rico, or from the players themselves, as is done in Small World, where players must place a coin on factions that are skipped.

Loans: Players may take a Loan from the bank to get more money.

Examples include Monopoly where players can mortgage properties, and Age of Steam, where taking loans is a key strategic consideration.

Multi-Dimensional Resource Constraints: Resources exist in multiple dimensions or aspects simultaneously, and different actions require specific configurations across these dimensions. For example, a resource might have quantity, quality, and accessibility attributes, with different actions requiring different combinations of these attributes.

Resource Conversion Chains: Resources must be converted through a series of sequential transformations to become more valuable or useful. This creates a supply chain management challenge where players must balance efficiency against flexibility. Players may specialize in different parts of the chain, creating interdependencies. Examples include raw materials that must be refined, then manufactured, then distributed to be worth maximum points.

Resource Queue: Resources are in an ordered queue, and can only be pulled from one end, or rarely, both ends, but not the middle.

Resource to Move: Players expend a Resource to Move. This is commonly themed as fuel, but other games use money or other commodities.