Balance XP, gold and loot drops in one game economy spreadsheet
Grindscale links your whole progression in one spreadsheet: an XP curve (linear, power, exponential or blend), up to 12 gold faucets and sinks, shop prices from hours of saving, loot tables with pity, upgrades +1 to +15 with failure chances and a 60-day simulator of a typical player. Change one number and every sheet updates. Export per-level tables as CSV/JSON and load them with the included Godot 4, Unity and Unreal loaders.
Drops sheet, Classic RPG preset (Grindscale 1.0.0)
| Item | Drop chance | 1 in N | Tries for 90% | Pity at | Avg tries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common material | 60% | 1.7 | 3 | none | 1.7 |
| Uncommon material | 25% | 4 | 9 | none | 4.0 |
| Rare gem | 10% | 10 | 22 | none | 10.0 |
| Epic weapon | 4% | 25 | 57 | 60 | 22.8 |
| Legendary mount | 1% | 100 | 230 | 200 | 86.6 |
Source: The Drops sheet of the Grindscale 1.0.0 workbook with the Classic RPG preset loaded, as published on the Grindscale store page.
Grindscale vs the alternatives
Published prices, each checked on the date shown; prices change, so confirm on each site.
| Product | Price | Free | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grindscale | $7 once; Classroom Licence $29 | XP curve + drop/pity calculator in the browser | live |
| Balancing Game Design Templates (Umka3250, itch.io) | $7.00 USD or more | 2026-10-10 | |
| RPG Economy & Item Pricing Spreadsheet (Sakuya, itch.io) | $10.00 USD or more | 2026-10-10 | |
| Economy Sink / Source Balancer (Template Foundry, itch.io, HTML5 tool) | $3.99 USD or more | 2026-10-10 |
Why teams pick Grindscale
- 10 linked sheets: XP, gold, shop, drops, upgrades and a 60-day simulator react to the same settings, so one change shows its effect everywhere.
- Standard functions only (no macros, no LAMBDA or XLOOKUP), so the same file computes in Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
- Presets that land on target: Classic RPG reaches level 50 in 60.5 hours (target 60), Long-haul RPG 100 levels in 302.8 hours (target 300).
- Pity in plain numbers: a 1% legendary needs 230 tries for 9 in 10 players; with pity at 200 the average falls to 86.6 tries.
- Same $7 as the Umka3250 template and under the $10.00 Sakuya economy sheet.
How it works
- Pick a preset (mobile casual, classic RPG, long-haul RPG or roguelite meta) or enter your own max level and target hours.
- Tune the XP curve, gold faucets and sinks, shop, drops and upgrades; the Settings summary says whether max level lands on target.
- Export the per-level table as CSV/JSON and load it with the Godot 4, Unity or Unreal loader.
FAQ
Does it work in Google Sheets?
Yes. The workbook uses standard functions only, no macros or add-ons, so Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice Calc and Apple Numbers all compute it.
Why not the Umka3250 Balancing Game Design Templates?
It costs $7.00 or more on itch.io and is built for tuning RPG progression, with an Excel workbook, JSON/CSV data and a Godot 4 demo. Grindscale costs the same $7 and also covers gold faucets and sinks, shop prices, loot tables with pity, upgrade failure chances and a 60-day player simulator in one linked workbook. Pick the one whose sheets match your game.
Why not a browser balancer like the Economy Sink / Source Balancer?
At $3.99 or more it is a cheaper HTML5 tool for currency inflow and sinks. Grindscale is a spreadsheet you own and can edit, and it covers XP, loot and upgrades as well as gold.
What does the licence allow?
From Grindscale's LICENSE.txt: you may "use the workbook, the exports and the engine loader scripts to design, balance and ship your own games and apps, personal or commercial, for yourself or for clients, with no attribution required", and "The curves, prices, tables and data you make with Grindscale belong to you." You may not "sell, sublicense, share, upload or redistribute the workbook itself". One purchase covers one person or one studio's internal team.
What are the limits?
It is a design aid: it simulates a typical player from your numbers, it does not read live player data, so test with real players. The Godot loader is tested in headless Godot; the Unity C# loader is not compiled in our automated tests. LibreOffice draws levels above your max level as 0 in charts (Excel and Google Sheets skip them).