Going once, going twice, sold!
Fancy yourself an auctioneer? We’ve put together some of the best auction board games for you.
You may be asking yourself what is an auction board game? Well, they are often very competitive and players bid to have the highest value.
What’s awesome about auction board games is that there’s the opportunity to showcase many different themes. From building villages to selling art, you can explore many different scenarios while you outwit and outbid your opponents.
Let’s delve into our top ten best auction board games.
Table of Contents
🏆 Our Top Picks for Best Auction Board Games
In a hurry? Take a quick peek before you go.
Auction & Bidding Games
Keyflower
Players: 2- 6
Playing time: 90- 120 mins
Compete to build the most prosperous village.
In Keyflower, each player starts with a home tile and a random selection of workers. Played over four rounds, each round representing a season, players try to match workers of the same colors to bid for tiles to add to their villages.
Matching workers can also be used to gain skills, education, and resources. In each of the seasons, village tiles are set out for auction, and players must bid carefully and strategize to survive the upcoming winter.
The player whose village and workers create high-earning combinations wins the most victory points and the game! Keyflower is very challenging and with the random mix of village tiles, each game will be different.
Cyclades
Players: 2- 5
Playing time: 60- 90 mins
Become a legend by building ancient cities and adding your name to the pantheon of mythological heroes.
Cyclades is a fun adventure game of soldiers, philosophers, and mythological creatures. If you’re looking for an auction board game with a mythological war theme, Cyclades is your go-to.
Players work to gain the favor of the gods as they race to build two cities in Ancient Greece. To come out victorious, players must show respect to all five gods Ares, Poseidon, Zeus, Athena, and Apollo. Each turn, players bid for the favor of the gods.
The artwork is beautiful and presented very well. There’s also an expansion pack that makes the game even better!
Power Grid
Players: 2- 6
Playing time: 120 mins
The goal of Power Grid is to supply cities with power. Players mark pre-existing routes between cities for connection rights. Players also fight against each other to purchase power plants.
Power Grid needs a lot of strategy as you need to choose power plants carefully. As power plants are purchased, newer more efficient plants become available. So, if you purchase too many in the beginning, you’re giving your opponents access to superior equipment.
Power plants also need to be managed and upgraded, so players must all acquire raw materials for efficiency while still holding on to enough money to expand networks along routes.
Power Grid is a very popular economic strategy game with lots of replay value, a definite must to add to your board games shelf.
The Great Zimbabwe
Players: 2- 5
Playing time: 90- 150 mins
The Great Zimbabwe is an economic networking build game about building a trade-based civilization in ancient Africa.
In the game, players work to build impressive monuments to one of twelve gods. Players can choose a god and each god offers unique blessings, as well as requires different amounts of work to win the game.
Players build monuments by developing logistics networks. Through these networks, players source ritual goods, gather resources, buy technology, and hire craftsmen.
If you’re looking for an auction board game with logistic-economic mechanisms, The Great Zimbabwe is highly rated and perfectly blends these two categories.
Modern Art
Players: 3- 5
Playing time: 45 mins
In the world of modern art, tastes and opinions are constantly shifting. It’s a highly fluid market and only the most cunning collector who’s able to anticipate trends, influence the market, and spot emerging talent will come out on top!
In Modern Art, players assume the roles of art collectors, competing to collect the most prized art pieces. In each round, players choose artwork from five different artists to display in their own collection. The more an artist has displayed, the more valuable they become, and in turn, the more valuable you become!
The game is very competitive as players need to strategize and think ahead from the get-go. What’s interesting about Modern Art is that there are four different types of auctions that challenge players even further.
For Sale
Players: 3- 6
Playing time: 30 mins
One man’s castle is another man’s apartment or RV in this game of property and prosperity.
For Sale is a fast-paced game of bidding to snag the highest-ranking properties in town. How much you buy the property for is a lot less important than how much you sell it for.
In the game, players try to buy the most valuable properties with limited funds. They then “flip” the properties for the highest-valued cards. At the end of the game, the player will the most money wins.
For Sale may surprise you in the end. If you play one card properly, it can be a total game-changer and win you victory.
If you’re looking for an auction board game for a weekend away, For Sale has a cute travel version!
Skull
Players: 3- 6
Playing time: 15- 45 mins
Skull is a fun party game that involves deception, bluffing, and tons of fun.
The aim of the game is really simple. Players bid on how many roses cards they can flip without revealing a skull card. It’s really as easy as that so you can focus all your energy on lying and deceiving!
In this challenging and highly competitive game, players can practice their bluffing skills by trying to catch the other players using skull cards. Your opponents will be doing the same thing so you’ll need to keep an eye on them while you hold onto your cards for dear life.
Skull is super simple to learn and quick to play. This is a great quick and dirty auction board game that’s great for parties and traveling.
The Estates
Players: 2- 5
Playing time: 40- 60 mins
The city council has recently approved the zoning map for a new urban development. An auction will be held for various building pieces, all in an effort to build the city’s newest and most upscale development named The Estates.
As investors, players work to invest in the right areas of The Estates. If players invest well, they’ll earn points to lead to victory. If they invest poorly, their buildings will come tumbling down.
Players build using little colored blocks with numbers on them. Each turn, a player takes on the role of the auctioneer. The auctioneer chooses an area to auction and players have one chance to bid. The auctioneer can then decide to give the block to the highest bidder and get paid, or pay the bidder and place the block themself.
The Estates is highly strategic and you’ll need to have your wits about you if you have hopes to become a building tycoon!
High Society
Players: 3- 5
Playing time: 15- 30 mins
It’s the turn of the century, and it’s time to live large!
Players take on the roles of wealthy debutantes who show off their wealth by splurging on luxury items. They must also protect their lavish lifestyle by avoiding social scandals. It’s a tightrope they’ll have to walk.
High Society has players outbid their opponents and affirm their rightful place in society. If you win the auction, you gain a card and if you lose an auction, you get your money back.
While playing you’ll have to keep an eye on your cash reserves because, at the end of the game, the player with the least money won’t be considered for victory.
Will you live a life of luxury or end up destitute?
Irish Gauge
Players: 3- 5
Playing time: 60mins
Set in the mid-1800s Ireland, iron and steam locomotives were the best means of transportation. Building railways and investing in cities were the best ways to become ultra-rich.
In Irish Gauge, players compete to earn the highest amount of money and railway stocks in Ireland. With each turn, players can build tracks, upgrade towns to cities, place shares into companies up for auction or call for their dividends to be paid. The choice is up to you.
Irish Gauge is easy to learn and clocks in at just under an hour. If you’re looking for a beginners auction or network building game, definitely this one a try!
Wrap-Up
We hope you enjoyed our list of the best auction board games out there. Be quick to get your hands on one of these epic auction board games, as they may soon be “going, going, gone!”
We hope you’ve found the next board game you want to play on our list. Let us know which auction board game is your favorite in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!
Ready Player Christine. Since my first D&D game, which took a turn for the weird and wacky (probably my influence), the world of board and tabletop games came alive. Now today, I get to write about these fantastical, fictional, and downright fun worlds.