Once a mayor has been offline for 14 days, an eligible successor can take over. If no successor takes over and the mayor remains inactive for four months, the town's size determines its fate: it may be deleted, become a ruin, or go up for sale.
Chat announcements give the town's name, location, and countdown before it becomes a ruin or goes up for sale.
| Claimed plots | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Fewer than 8 | The town is deleted. |
| 8–16 | The town becomes an expiring ruin. |
| 17–99 | The town becomes a permanent ruin. |
| 100 or more | The town goes on sale. |
Ruin monsters guard the town's claimed plots. Chests and other containers are unlocked. Visitors can use switches and items, but cannot build or break blocks. PvP is enabled, while fire and explosions are disabled.
Ruin monsters can drop items taken from nearby containers.
After four months as a permanent ruin, the town can be reclaimed. The reclaim bonus goes into the town bank: expiring ruins receive twice the reclaim price; permanent ruins receive the greater of that amount or 14 times upkeep. Town bank withdrawals are blocked for seven days.
Towns with 100 or more plots are listed at $1,000 per plot. The sale announcement names the town and gives the /t buytown command.