<p>You may only take Debt tokens if a card with the Debt icon would cause a loss of coins for you.</p>

<p>So you may not decide to take Debt tokens instead of paying for a building (or for anything else).</p>

<h3>Source</h3>

<p>The <a href="https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/a/10939/3532">rules</a> for the Cities expansion explain the Debt mechanic on page 4. The first paragraph starts with "A card with the [Debt icon] symbol", and no other condition is mentioned.</p>

<p>The FAQ (also linked from the answer linked above) contains this Q &amp; A:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Q: Can a player chooses to gain debt tokens?<br>
  A: No, only the black cards with this symbol [Debt icon] can cause players to incur debts.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-20T21:33:49.473Z
2016-03-20T21:44:41.637Z
2017-04-13T12:38:49.990Z
unor
<p>According to the Cities rules, players can lose coins and incur debts. The rules mention that a player can either pay coins or take Debt tokens.</p>

<p>Does this allow a player to choose to take Debt tokens in lieu of paying coins in general (for example, if a card has coins in its cost)?</p>

<p>Alternatively, is it only possible to incur debts when a card explicitly requires a player to discard coins?</p>

<7-wonders><7-wonders-cities>
Can Debt tokens be taken to pay any coin costs?
Andrew
# Can Debt tokens be taken to pay any coin costs?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-03-20)

According to the Cities rules, players can lose coins and incur debts. The rules mention that a player can either pay coins or take Debt tokens.

Does this allow a player to choose to take Debt tokens in lieu of paying coins in general (for example, if a card has coins in its cost)?

Alternatively, is it only possible to incur debts when a card explicitly requires a player to discard coins?

**Tags:** 7-wonders, 7-wonders-cities


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-03-20. Score: 5

You may only take Debt tokens if a card with the Debt icon would cause a loss of coins for you.

So you may not decide to take Debt tokens instead of paying for a building (or for anything else).

### Source

The [rules](https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/a/10939/3532) for the Cities expansion explain the Debt mechanic on page 4. The first paragraph starts with "A card with the [Debt icon] symbol", and no other condition is mentioned.

The FAQ (also linked from the answer linked above) contains this Q & A:

> Q: Can a player chooses to gain debt tokens?  
> A: No, only the black cards with this symbol [Debt icon] can cause players to incur debts.


---

