# The economics of eviction: what doubling prices actually do

> How Square Town's evict-for-double rule plays out: the $1 to $1,024 ladder, why most squares are never evicted, how the Throne prices itself, and when to evict.

Source: https://square.pov.town/blog/economics-of-eviction

Eviction on Square Town ([square.pov.town](/)) is a fixed rule: anyone can take any square by paying double what its current owner paid, the evicted owner is not refunded, and the next evictor pays double *that*. Because the price doubles every time, a $1 square costs $1,024 after ten evictions, which is why the rule mostly acts as a deterrent: the vast majority of squares are never worth evicting, and the few that are get expensive fast. The Throne runs the same rule from a $100 start.

> **TL;DR** — Doubling makes eviction cheap once and ruinous repeatedly. Expect it to happen to a handful of famous or central squares, almost never to yours. Evict someone only if the spot is worth *at least* twice what they paid to you *and* you can live with being evicted at double your price with no refund. Compared to earth.tattoo (also doubling), Tocka (+1¢), TymeSqr (doubling with a 1.5× payout) and Harberger walls (continuous tax), Square Town's version is the simplest and the least forgiving.

## The doubling ladder: $1 to $1,024 in ten steps

Every square starts at $1 (see [pricing](/pricing)). Evicting it costs $2. Evicting the evictor costs $4. The table is the whole economy.

| Eviction # | Evictor pays | Cumulative spent on this square | Who lost money |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 (original buy) | $1 | $1 | nobody yet |
| 1 | $2 | $3 | original owner ($1) |
| 2 | $4 | $7 | evictor 1 ($2) |
| 3 | $8 | $15 | evictor 2 ($4) |
| 4 | $16 | $31 | evictor 3 ($8) |
| 5 | $32 | $63 | evictor 4 ($16) |
| 6 | $64 | $127 | evictor 5 ($32) |
| 7 | $128 | $255 | evictor 6 ($64) |
| 8 | $256 | $511 | evictor 7 ($128) |
| 9 | $512 | $1,023 | evictor 8 ($256) |
| 10 | $1,024 | $2,047 | evictor 9 ($512) |

Two things fall out of this. First, the price you pay to evict is always exactly the sum of everything everyone before you paid, plus $1. Second, whoever holds a square has always paid more than all previous holders combined. There is no cheap way to be late.

## Why most squares are never evicted

The wall has up to 1,048,576 squares, and only the central 16×16 is live at launch; each ring unlocks when the live area is 70 % full, so there is nearly always an empty cell for $1 a short distance from wherever you're looking. Paying $2 to evict a random $1 square gets you almost the same spot as paying $1 for the empty one next to it, plus a public 💀 in the live feed and a target on your back. For the ordinary square, eviction is dominated by just buying nearby.

Eviction only makes economic sense when the *specific* cell matters: the cells touching the Throne's aura, the four corners of the launch 16×16, a spot next to a famous domain, or a square whose owner you'd enjoy deposing. That is a small set of cells, and after one or two evictions each of them costs enough that the joke stops being cheap. Everyone else's dollar square is safe by economics, not by rule.

## The Throne prices itself

The Throne is the 4×4 dead centre of the wall: one owner, gold tile, crown, intro price $100. It follows the same doubling rule at a higher base: $100 → $200 → $400 → $800 → $1,600 → $3,200 → $6,400. Nobody sets its price. If it's cheap, that means nobody has wanted it enough to double the last payment; if it's expensive, that's the market having spoken, seven times.

This is what "prices itself" means: the Throne's current price is a record of how many people cared. Compare it with the alternatives in the landscape as of August 2026: Milliboard's #1 goes to the highest single payment and can be outbid by 1¢, and The Pixel Orbit's centre goes to the highest *cumulative* payer. Both let a rich buyer sit on the top for a marginal cent. Doubling means the tenth Throne owner pays $51,200, and there is no marginal way in. Read more in [the Throne explained](/blog/the-throne-explained).

## Doubling is a deterrent, not a revenue plan

It's tempting to read the ladder as "Square Town makes $2,047 per contested square." In practice doubling stops contests. After the second or third eviction, the next step is more than most people will pay for a favicon square, and the ladder freezes at whatever level the last person's ego reached. That's the point. A wall where every square is permanently for sale at a flat price gets churned; a wall where each takeover doubles the stakes gets a *few* memorable fights and then calm.

The other deterrent is public. Every eviction is announced in the live feed ("💀 x evicted y for $N") to every open browser over WebSockets. Being the person who evicted a hobby project for $2 is a reputation, not just a purchase.

## Evicted owners are not refunded

When you're evicted, your listing is marked evicted, your square shows the new owner's favicon, and your `/go/` link stops working. You do not get your money back and you get no cut of the evictor's payment. Your deed URL still opens but the square is no longer yours. This is deliberately harsher than some competitors (see below), and it's the honest cost of a $1 price with no accounts: there is nobody to pay a refund *to* except a deed URL, and the site is built to have no ledger of people. See [what happens when you get evicted](/blog/what-happens-when-you-get-evicted).

## Should I evict someone? A decision guide

1. **Is there an empty cell within a few squares?** If yes, buy that for $1. You'll be next to the same neighbours without the drama.
2. **Do you want the spot for more than 2× what they paid?** Click the square: the card shows the exact eviction price. If it says $2 and you don't care about that exact cell, no. If it says $64, someone has already fought over it — decide whether you're joining a fight or ending one.
3. **Can you afford to lose it at double?** Assume someone evicts you back. You'll be out your payment, unrefunded, and they'll be in for double. If that outcome would annoy you, don't start.
4. **Is it the Throne?** Then the question is whether holding the centre until the next doubling is worth the current price to you. It's the most visible square on the wall; that's the whole product.
5. **Is it personal?** Fine. That's a valid reason. Just know it's public.

## How other walls handle takeovers (as of August 2026)

Escalating-price takeover is an old idea; Square Town's contribution is a flat 2× with no payout (short definition at [/glossary/eviction](/glossary/eviction); the closest live comparison is [Square Town vs earth.tattoo](/vs/earth-tattoo)). Facts below are from the competitor landscape as of August 2026.

| Site | Takeover rule | Does the evicted owner get anything? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Square Town (square.pov.town) | Pay 2× what the current owner paid | No | Applies to every square and the Throne; live feed announces it |
| earth.tattoo | Outbid the current owner at $1 → $2 → $4 → $8 per geographic tile | Prior art archived; evicted owner emailed | Pixel art on a 3D globe, crypto only |
| Tocka | Each takeover raises that pixel's price by 1¢ | No payout noted | Painted pixels, credits, live canvas |
| TymeSqr (dormant) | Price doubles each purchase | Prior owner gets 1.5× plus 1 % of future sales | EU-only, few squares |
| King of the Ether Throne (2016, dead) | Claim price +33 % each claim, 2 % commission | Previous monarch paid out from the claim | Single throne; monarch "dies" after 14 days and price resets |
| TabRush | +40 % per sale tier, "until someone steals it" | — | About 8 browser-tab slots |
| Sherwood, The Space, Harberger Ads, This Artwork Is Always On Sale | Harberger tax: owner sets a price, pays a periodic tax, anyone can buy at that price | Yes — the sale price | Continuous tax instead of a one-off takeover |
| Pixel Inc (dead) | Each resale doubles the price | Yes | Doubling with tokenomics |
| Satoshi's Place | Overpaint any pixel for 1 satoshi | No | Flat price, no escalation |

The Harberger family is the interesting contrast. Under a Harberger rule you name your own price and pay tax on it forever; you're protected from lowball takeovers only by paying more. Under Square Town's rule you pay once, name nothing, and are protected only by the fact that evicting you costs double. Harberger is fairer to the evicted and worse for the lazy; doubling is brutal to the evicted and free for everyone who just wants to sit there. Square Town is a $1 site with no accounts, so it picked the rule that needs no ledger.

## FAQ

### How much does it cost to evict a square on Square Town?
Exactly double what the current owner paid. A fresh square costs $2 to evict; a square evicted once costs $4; the Throne starts at $100 and costs $200 to take, then $400, and so on. The exact price is shown on the square's card.

### Do I get my money back if I'm evicted?
No. Evicted owners are not refunded and receive no share of the evictor's payment. Your deed URL still opens but the square belongs to the evictor.

### What is the price of a square after ten evictions?
$1,024, because each eviction doubles the last price paid: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1,024. Total spent on that square by then is $2,047.

### Why does the Throne start at $100 instead of $1?
It's the 4×4 dead centre and the first thing every visitor sees; the higher base makes the doubling ladder reach serious money quickly ($100 → $200 → $400 → $800), so the Throne's price reflects how many people have wanted it.

### Can I be evicted from a locked or faded square?
Any paid square in the live area can be evicted, including one whose icon has faded to grey from 90 days without a kiss. Fading changes the look, not the ownership or the eviction price.

### Is eviction the same as Harberger tax?
No. Harberger walls make owners set a price and pay ongoing tax; anyone can buy at that price. Square Town has no tax and no self-set price: takeover is always exactly 2× the last payment, once.