Lets has a looks at some auction mechanics for this one, ya?
-High Bid. Most straightforward auction mechanic. Players bid higher and higher until no one is willing to pass the previous bid. The winning player then either pays the bank or the auctioning player.
-Low Bid. This works for a contract bidding system for completing a task. Players bid fewer and fewer resources until everyone else passes. The winning player takes the resources and the contract and tries to use the resources given to fulfill the contract. The caveat is if you bid too low, you may not be able to fill the contract and lose points instead of gain them.
-Reverse High Bid. This is for a game where having what is being auctioned is BAD. You deal out one fewer bad item than there are players and start the auction, keeping track of highest to lowest bid. Once everyone passes, the highest bid doesn't take anything in exchange for paying the most money. The next highest bid chooses the bad item of their choice, etc. It creates the tension of whether money or victory is more important for that bid cycle.
-Shared Bid. This is more for games where everyone who bids will get something. Players may bid the same amount as another player, with ties being broken by who bid the amount first. It allows players to jump ahead in bidding order while still bidding less; if one player bids 4 and the second player bids 3, the third player could also bid 4 and pick before the second player.
-Secret Bid. Everyone chooses how much they are willing/going to pay secretly and reveals simultaneously. This is a fairly fast playing mechanic, and might allow an auction into a game as chrome that might not otherwise fit thematically, such as an office spoof game. Players may try to woo the boss for some benefit by buying them a gift. The most expensive gifts get a bonus.
That's all I have for now. Keep on designing, yo!
Phil
Comments
Comments and More Auctions
* I think "secret bid" is usually called "blind bidding."
* I think you could also include payment methods as an aspect of auctions/bidding.
** Winner pays full bid, nobody else pays.
** Winner pays full bid, successive players pay some portion of their bid.
** All players pay full bid.
* And to expand on where the money goes:
** Pay the auctioneer (you mentioned this one).
** Pay the bank.
** Pay specific player (left or right, for example).
** Pay into a pot (which may be distributed among other players, for example).
* Cumulative bidding. Players may only add to their existing bid using the auction currency, without making change.
* Bluff bidding. Players are allowed to bid more than they can pay, with a penalty if they win and are unable to pay.
* Coalition bidding. Players can add money to an existing bid, to help that player win an auction in which they share a goal.