Auction/Bidding Mechanic in Board Games
Auction or bidding is a game mechanic where players compete to acquire assets by offering resources, often in the form of in-game currency or points.
Key Features
- Competitive Offers: Players make competing offers to win an asset.
- Types of Auctions: Common formats include open ascending (English), open descending (Dutch), and sealed-bid.
- Strategic Depth: Players must balance the value of assets against potential costs.
- Resource Management: Players must consider their available resources when bidding.
Implementation
- Turn Structure: Auctions can occur at specific phases or as a reaction to certain game actions.
- Winning Criteria: The highest bid often wins, but variations can include the second-highest bidder paying and winning, or pay-your-bid mechanisms.
Strategy
- Valuation: Accurate valuation of the assets up for auction is crucial.
- Bluffing: Players may bluff to inflate prices or deter others from bidding.
- Timing: Biding one's time and jumping in late might secure an asset at a lower cost.
Examples
- Games: Games like "Power Grid" or "Modern Art" use auctions as a core mechanic.
Conclusion
Auction/Bidding adds a layer of interactive strategy to board games, requiring insight and adaptability.
Card Game with Auction/Bidding
Economic themed games with Auction/Bidding
City Building themed games with Auction/Bidding
Build colossal monuments, like the Great Lighthouse of Poseidon, the Military Academy, or the Temple of Athena...and leverage their powerful abilities! Mechanisms:• Area Majority / Influence• Auction/Bidding• Card Drafting• Dice Rolling
Cyclades: Monuments Expansion
$19.99
$14.00
City Hall sees players competing to become Mayor of New York City. They do this by attempting to be the most successful at both bringing people into the city as well as campaigning for the citizens' approval. Whoever best balances these two goals will...
City Hall
$9.95
$9.00
Auction/Bidding and Set Collection games
Auction/Bidding games published by Rio Grande Games
Auction/Bidding and Pick-up and Deliver games
Strategy Game with Auction/Bidding
Dice Game with Auction/Bidding
Even the mightiest pirates must one day retire from the life of plunder. But what comes afterwards? Well, on the five peninsulas of Grog Island, they invest their loot into rock-solid businesses. In this unique dice-auction game, you try to get your...
Grog Island
$12.00
$9.00
You are the Master of a new Adventuring Guild, competing with rival Guilds for fame as increasingly dangerous events threaten the city.Combine your adventurers' skill and abilities to complete contracts, recruit adventurers, and upgrade your Guild. Players...
Guild Master
$49.99
$18.00
Team-Based Game with Auction/Bidding
Auction/Bidding games published by Heidelberger Spieleverlag
Abstract Game with Auction/Bidding
Tired of wasted time and indecision on game night? Game to Pick a Game is here to solve every game night dispute in a mere 5-10 minutes.Play bids face-down to influence the final outcome. Use unique character abilities to turn the tide. Play all-out...
Game to Pick a Game (Orc Council Edition)
$0.00
Invented exclusively by IELLO, the 8Bit Box puts the best video games at your fingertips in board game form. Enjoy technology so cutting edge that it doesn't need wires, screens, or even electricity. Don't wait, start playing today with the first three...
8Bit Box
$45.00
$12.00
Auction/Bidding and Tile Placement games
An innovative bidding and tile-laying game of balancing vampire and technological infrastructure from designer J.B. Howell, with evocative cyber-gothic art from Mihajlo “The Mico” Dimitrievksi!The Vampire Council is looking to hire a new City Planner...
SiliconVania
$34.95
Your home world is running low on resources. To survive, you send teams of workers to a nearby resource-rich planet, but one with a harsh and inhospitable environment. Will your teams outperform the others to build the best mining colony?• Quick and ...
Mining Colony
$25.00
$15.00
Auction/Bidding games published by Korea Boardgames Co., Ltd.
Auction/Bidding games illustrated by Veronica Grassi
Art Society
-20%
$40.00
$32.00
You are an art connoisseur trying to impress your peers by putting together the most fashionable art collection of them all!Bid on the hottest works of art, then arrange them on your drawing room wall into a tastefully curated gallery that's the envy...
positive, 80%
10 y/o +
2 to 4 players
30 minutes
Relaxed
Art
Painting
Auction/Bidding
Auction: Once Around
Auction: Sealed Bid
Constrained Bidding