Is a third resource too complicated for a Pen and Paper Strategy Game?

[SeekerOfTruth007]

Instead of having individual Energy totals for spellcasting units, I decided to have workers mine magic Crystals which are then spent as "spell ingredients". Problem is I've already got two resources: Gold and Oil. Adding Crystals for a third resource might be getting too complicated to solve by hand. I don't know that average people are willing to do this much arithmetic to play a game.

Presently, "Force Field" costs 25 Crystals and gives the target unit 100 bonus HP and +2 bonus armor, while "Rain of Fire" Costs 75 Crystals and does 50 damage to all enemy units on a target space within 3 spaces of the caster. These are examples of how I'm using the Crystals.

I estimate one game takes between 30 minutes and one hour to play to its end, unless the losing player concedes early anyway.

[Hardon-Collider]

You're right to be concerned, but you're overthinking it from a simple UX standpoint. The problem isn't just arithmetic; it's about what thinking is required of the player. The moment you introduce a third resource, you're no longer dealing with simple accounting. The numbers lose their quantitative meaning and become a kind of language. The players stop being accountants and start being interpreters of a complex, non-quantifiable system. This isn't just a game of logistics; it's a game that engages a different part of the soul, a more intuitive, creative thinking that is far more engaging than just balancing a ledger. The 'complication' is the very thing that makes the game magical.

[SeekerOfTruth007]

I'm inclinded to agree. My original concept only had 3 combat units and 2 resources. Maybe I should just not have spellcasters at all and stick to "movers and shooters".