Auctions in board games: a short history, from Babylon to the property table

The history of auctions starts long before games

The history of auctions starts long before games

An auction does one job that dice cannot: it lets the people at the table set a price. That is why auctions in board games keep turning up, in property games and in games made of nothing but bidding. The idea is far older than any board. This short history runs from ancient Babylon to the property table and ends with what an auction costs a game. I build a property game, Property Rush, so I have a stake in that last part.## The history of auctions starts long before games

Wikipedia's article on auctions dates them to at least 500 BC. Herodotus reported that in Babylon "auctions of women for marriage were held annually". Rome auctioned captives taken as spoils of war "in the Forum under the sign of the spear". In the year 193, after killing the emperor Pertinax, the Praetorian Guard "offered the empire to the highest bidder", and Didius Julianus won it. He was beheaded two months later.

The word comes from the Latin augeō, "I increase". That describes the format most people picture: a price that only goes up.

The word comes from the Latin augeō, "I increase". That describes the format most people picture: a price that only goes up.

Four types of auctions, and how each plays at a table

Four types of auctions, and how each plays at a table

Economists sort auctions by how bids are made and what the winner pays. Four formats cover most of what a game designer can borrow.

Economists sort auctions by how bids are made and what the winner pays. Four formats cover most of what a game designer can borrow.

• English auction: open and ascending. Bids rise until one bidder is left. It is loud, quick to learn and rewards nerve.

• English auction: open and ascending. Bids rise until one bidder is left. It is loud, quick to learn and rewards nerve.

• Dutch auction: open and descending. The price falls until someone accepts it, so the first player to blink buys.

• Dutch auction: open and descending. The price falls until someone accepts it, so the first player to blink buys.

• Sealed-bid auction: everyone writes one bid, and the highest pays what they wrote. It is quiet, and nobody can read faces.

• Sealed-bid auction: everyone writes one bid, and the highest pays what they wrote. It is quiet, and nobody can read faces.

• Vickrey auction: also sealed, but the winner pays the second-highest bid.

• Vickrey auction: also sealed, but the winner pays the second-highest bid.

In 2020 the economics Nobel went to Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson "for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats". Game designers had been inventing formats of their own for decades.

In 2020 the economics Nobel went to Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson "for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats". Game designers had been inventing formats of their own for decades.

Property games: the auction mechanic as a fix for dice luck

Property games: the auction mechanic as a fix for dice luck

In a roll-and-move property trading game, the dice decide who reaches a square first. Without an auction, only the player who lands there can buy at the printed price.

In a roll-and-move property trading game, the dice decide who reaches a square first. Without an auction, only the player who lands there can buy at the printed price.

Elizabeth Magie created The Landlord's Game in 1903 and patented it in 1904. The guide to Property Rush, my own game and an independent Monopoly alternative you can play online with friends, traces the whole genre back to it: a game "designed to demonstrate how rent concentrates wealth". Parker Brothers began selling the Landlord's Game's famous descendant in November 1935. Under that boxed game's rules, as Wikipedia summarises them, a property its lander declines is auctioned by the bank, and "all players are eligible to bid".

Elizabeth Magie created The Landlord's Game in 1903 and patented it in 1904. The guide to Property Rush, my own game and an independent Monopoly alternative you can play online with friends, traces the whole genre back to it: a game "designed to demonstrate how rent concentrates wealth". Parker Brothers began selling the Landlord's Game's famous descendant in November 1935. Under that boxed game's rules, as Wikipedia summarises them, a property its lander declines is auctioned by the bank, and "all players are eligible to bid".

That rule turns a dice result into a decision for everyone. Passing on a city no longer leaves it untouched. It hands the table a chance to buy it, at whatever the table thinks it is worth.

That rule turns a dice result into a decision for everyone. Passing on a city no longer leaves it untouched. It hands the table a chance to buy it, at whatever the table thinks it is worth.

The format also changes the price. Take made-up figures. A city completes a country for one rival, who would pay up to $260; another rival would stop at $150. In an English auction the second rival drops out at $150, so the first wins for about $155. In a sealed-bid auction the first rival must guess, might write $250, and pays $95 more for the same city.

The format also changes the price. Take made-up figures. A city completes a country for one rival, who would pay up to $260; another rival would stop at $150. In an English auction the second rival drops out at $150, so the first wins for about $155. In a sealed-bid auction the first rival must guess, might write $250, and pays $95 more for the same city.

Board games with auctions at the centre

Board games with auctions at the centre

Some bidding games drop the dice entirely. Reiner Knizia's Modern Art, first published in 1992 by Hans im Glück, sells paintings between the players. Wikipedia notes that the auction format used "is determined by the card offered for sale", and a 2025 Meeple Mountain review counts five different auction rules. It won the 1993 Deutscher Spiele Preis.

Some bidding games drop the dice entirely. Reiner Knizia's Modern Art, first published in 1992 by Hans im Glück, sells paintings between the players. Wikipedia notes that the auction format used "is determined by the card offered for sale", and a 2025 Meeple Mountain review counts five different auction rules. It won the 1993 Deutscher Spiele Preis.

Knizia's High Society, published by Ravensburger in 1995, adds a brake. Players bid for luxuries, but at the end "the player with the lowest amount of cash remaining in their hand is eliminated". Overspending is punished by the scoring itself.

Knizia's High Society, published by Ravensburger in 1995, adds a brake. Players bid for luxuries, but at the end "the player with the lowest amount of cash remaining in their hand is eliminated". Overspending is punished by the scoring itself.

Friedemann Friese's Power Grid, first released in 2004, auctions power plants with the leader bidding first. Resources and cities then go in reverse order, so the player furthest behind buys first, while resources are cheapest. That catch-up mechanic sits right beside the auction.

Friedemann Friese's Power Grid, first released in 2004, auctions power plants with the leader bidding first. Resources and cities then go in reverse order, so the player furthest behind buys first, while resources are cheapest. That catch-up mechanic sits right beside the auction.

Auction strategy: set the ceiling before the bidding starts

Auction strategy: set the ceiling before the bidding starts

One habit helps in all of these games. Before the first bid, settle two numbers: what the lot is worth to you, and how much cash you must keep for what comes after. Your ceiling is the lower of that worth and your cash minus the reserve. That is most of how to bid in an auction without regretting it.

One habit helps in all of these games. Before the first bid, settle two numbers: what the lot is worth to you, and how much cash you must keep for what comes after. Your ceiling is the lower of that worth and your cash minus the reserve. That is most of how to bid in an auction without regretting it.

With made-up figures: a lot is worth $150 to you, you hold $260, and you want $140 kept back. Cash minus reserve is $120, so you stop at $120, however good the lot looks. Run the same sum for each rival and you have a fair guess at where they will stop.

With made-up figures: a lot is worth $150 to you, you hold $260, and you want $140 kept back. Cash minus reserve is $120, so you stop at $120, however good the lot looks. Run the same sum for each rival and you have a fair guess at where they will stop.

The price of auctions in board games

The price of auctions in board games

Auctions are not free. Each one is a small round in which everyone acts, so a game with many auctions runs longer. An open auction favours whoever holds the most cash; High Society turns that around by eliminating the player left with the least. And an experienced player reads the table's limits better than a newcomer, who may freeze or overpay.

Auctions are not free. Each one is a small round in which everyone acts, so a game with many auctions runs longer. An open auction favours whoever holds the most cash; High Society turns that around by eliminating the player left with the least. And an experienced player reads the table's limits better than a newcomer, who may freeze or overpay.

I have no data on how much auctions change who wins, in any of these games. The history here comes from secondary sources, which I have cited by name.

I have no data on how much auctions change who wins, in any of these games. The history here comes from secondary sources, which I have cited by name.

Ahmed Moaz builds Boardit, a free browser game site. Drafted and reviewed with AI help; facts checked against the game's code.

Ahmed Moaz builds Boardit, a free browser game site. Drafted and reviewed with AI help; facts checked against the game's code.

Boardit is not affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro.

Boardit is not affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro.