Definition

The Action Economy, or Economy of Actions, is the relative balance of actions between two sides within a defined timeframe.

Usage

Strategic use of the phrase typically refers to attempts to gain Action Advantage through some strategy, either maximizing the number of actions taken by the friendly side or minimizing the actions taken by the hostile side.

In most cases the use of the phrase addresses only numerical situations with effectiveness being either assumed or implicit in the discussion.

The importance of a timeframe relates to the unique structure of turn-based games and the requirements of logical, real-world scenarios. And Action Advantage that only manifests within an unreasonably large timeframe, say 100 rounds of D&D combat, is useless given that the average scenario plays out in 5-20 rounds. The inverse is also important, as a short term action advantage can quickly become irrelevant in the bigger picture if it cannot be maintained or fails to seriously alter the nature of the conflict. A single round Action Advantage early in a game of Risk is meaningless unless it manages to secure a critical point because that single round will quickly become lost in the 50-200 rounds a game of Risk takes to resolve.

Examples