Auction / Bidding

Even for the mightiest pirates there comes a time when they must retire from their lives of invading and plunder — but what's coming afterward? Well, on the five peninsulas of Grog Island, they can invest their loot in rock-solid businesses, such as peg-leg shops, carpentries for figureheads, workshops for voodoo dolls, or the infamous "Grog Hole" pub.

The core of Grog Island is its unique auction mechanism, which uses five colored dice. The players use these dice and the pips on them to create and raise bids. While the winner of an auction can claim buildings on certain peninsulas, the players who have passed are also rewarded: Not only do they receive goods like grog bottles or treasure maps but they also visit merchant ships where they can trade these goods for money, parrots or treasure chests. The auction mechanism of Grog Island makes for tactical and interesting gameplay as in certain moments, passing can be almost as rewarding as winning an auction. Finding the right balance between bidding and backing out is the key to winning.

The game ends as soon as one player has claimed a certain number of buildings, then all players score the secret goal cards they received both at the start of and during the game. These cards may give points for majorities on peninsulas as well as for claiming certain types of buildings or collecting certain goods. The player with the most points wins.

For Sale is a quick, fun game nominally about buying and selling real estate. During the game's two distinct phases, players first bid for several buildings then, after all buildings have been bought, sell the buildings for the greatest profit possible.

The Ãœberplay 2005 Edition has new art, rules and card distribution changes, and it accommodates 3-6 players.

The Gryphon 2009 Edition uses the Überplay art for the faces of the property cards, while replacing most other art. The rules are the same as the Überplay edition, with the exception of the rounding rule.

From Bruno Faidutti´s website:

The Silk Road is a kind of "pick up and deliver" game where all players are in the same caravan going east to west, from China to Europe. Each player tries to have the caravan go through the cities that fit him best, to make the best deals with the local traders, and to be the richest in the end.

Ra is an auction and set-collection game with an Ancient Egyptian theme. Each turn players are able to purchase lots of tiles with their bidding tiles (suns). Once a player has used up his or her suns, the other players continue until they do likewise, which may set up a situation with a single uncontested player bidding on tiles before the end of the round occurs. Tension builds because the round may end before all players have had a chance to win their three lots for the epoch. The various tiles either give immediate points, prevent negative points for not having certain types at the end of the round (epoch), or give points after the final round. The game lasts for three "epochs" (rounds). The game offers a short learning curve, and experienced players find it both fast-moving and a quick play.

From the Box:
The game spans 1500 years of Egyptian history in less than an hour!
The players seek to expand their power and fame and there are many ways to accomplish this: Influencing Pharaohs, Building monuments, Farming on the Nile, Paying homage to the Gods, Advancing the technology and culture of the people. Ra is an auction and set collecting game where players may choose to take risks for great rewards or... And all this is for the glory of the Sun God Ra!

This version of the game is rare and requires a membership to play. See Game Associate for details.

Five Tribes: The Artisans of Naqala, the first expansion for Five Tribes, introduces a new tribe to the game, and players will want to use these artisans to help them in their quest to claim the Sultanate.

The artisans, represented in the game by purple meeples, allow players to craft precious goods or magic items, with some of these items being worth victory points (VPs) and others unlocking special powers for their owner.

To make use of these artisans, you'll need to visit the new tiles included in this expansion: workshops (where the artisans craft their items) and specialized markets (where players can purchase specific merchandise that they need). An additional tile in the game features an impassable chasm, and this tile — as well as the included mountain markers — forces players to adapt to new landscapes when moving meeples on the board.

Five Tribes: The Artisans of Naqala also includes two new Djinns.