Sky Zero
United States
Illinois
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Here's a simple auction variant we used when playing that worked really well in our 2P game.
The Variant
You can no longer purchase a grape or improvement tile for the "Buy it Now" price of $7. You can instead start the auction by selecting a tile and bid the max $7 on the auction track for that particular tile. The subsequent player then has the opportunity to outbid the player who bid the max $7 and in turn buy it now at $8 during their turn. Please note that this rule works even if the auction starts at say $3, but works its way up to $7. As soon as it hits $7, it can either be purchased immediately by the next player for $8 or people can pass on the auction and let the player grab it for $7.
The variant above levels the playing field on turn order and really adds tension to the auction because as soon as someone puts their marker on $7, they're either going to get it at that price because no one will "buy it now" for $8 or they're going to lose it because someone will be willing to pay the steep price of $8 to buy it now. Let me know what you think!
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I like your variant because I apply similar rules when I play. I usually play without can buy directly for 7 coins any tile, I consider no fair, so your variant is practically like mine, except you can pay until 8 coins!
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Neil Christiansen
United States
Mount Pleasant
Michigan
OOK! OOK! OOK!
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I like it. we play you cannot "Buy it Now" for $7 unless it has been placed up for $1 to $6 and we love how it works. Your variant is even better!
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Sky Zero
United States
Illinois
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chris1nd wrote: I like it. we play you cannot "Buy it Now" for $7 unless it has been placed up for $1 to $6 and we love how it works. Your variant is even better!
Thanks! I just tried to leverage what the board provided which was a $7 max and then implement a simple rule around that max. It honestly works REALLY WELL in our games and I hope others find this variant an improvement over the original rules.
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Manuel Pasi
Switzerland
Zürich
Dammit, lately I find no...
...time to game anymore!
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Interesting idea... we usually play that you can bid "7" on a tile (therefor getting it for certain), but you need to wait until next round. Then you are forced to buy it as your action. So it is a certain buy but takes up two consecutive actions... (as far as I remember that was how the rules were in one of the very latest prototypes)
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Curt Hnatiuk
United States
St. Louis
Missouri
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skyzero wrote: Here's a simple auction variant we used when playing that worked really well in our 2P game.
The Variant
You can no longer purchase a grape or improvement tile for the "Buy it Now" price of $7. You can instead start the auction by selecting a tile and bid the max $7 on the auction track for that particular tile. The subsequent player then has the opportunity to outbid the player who bid the max $7 and in turn buy it now at $8 during their turn. Please note that this rule works even if the auction starts at say $3, but works its way up to $7. As soon as it hits $7, it can either be purchased immediately by the next player for $8 or people can pass on the auction and let the player grab it for $7.
The variant above levels the playing field on turn order and really adds tension to the auction because as soon as someone puts their marker on $7, they're either going to get it at that price because no one will "buy it now" for $8 or they're going to lose it because someone will be willing to pay the steep price of $8 to buy it now. Let me know what you think!
I do not like this variant. I don't think it fixes anything, just creates more problems.
There are many tiles that I would happily bid $7 for under the original rules. Now you want to make me pay $8. Big deal. I don't see many situations where a bid of $8 would stop me either.
Under these rules, if I want a tile, there is no way to secure that it is mine. If I am willing to bid $7 for it, the odds are fairly good that my opposition should bid $8 to take it. All this variant would make me do is to NOT put good tiles in the auction, but to wait until others did, and then buy them up from them.
I have read other variants that build a delay into buying a tile for $7, but you can still secure the tile. This variant pushes it too far, and I think it breaks the game.
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Neil Christiansen
United States
Mount Pleasant
Michigan
OOK! OOK! OOK!
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It does much of what you claim without breaking the game at all.
You just have to be cautious putting out the really great tiles until others don't have money or actions to stop you.
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Sky Zero
United States
Illinois
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chris1nd wrote: It does much of what you claim without breaking the game at all.
You just have to be cautious putting out the really great tiles until others don't have money or actions to stop you.
Exactly!!! We've played a number of games now this way and the added layer of strategy really racheted up the excitement in the game for us. When I can actively recall those head scratching, anguish laden decisions I had to make in the game during the auctions, I know it's a great mechanic. It's almost like playing chicken against your opponents and you're just waiting for someone to steer away so you can claim victory. We'll never play the game any other way now.
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J C Lawrence
United States
Campbell
California
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Then you haven't thought it through. Under this approach improvement tiles will never be bought because the other players will never allow them to be.
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Sky Zero
United States
Illinois
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clearclaw wrote: Then you haven't thought it through. Under this approach improvement tiles will never be bought because the other players will never allow them to be.
How is that? I can buy whatever I want as long as I'm willing to pay for it. I may have to break the bank to buy it, but then again, economics are part of the game and balancing wants Vs. needs is what separates the winners from the losers. In the games I've played, I've never met a "Rich Harvest" I couldn't buy or at least force someone to pay through the nose to buy it themselves 
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Neil Christiansen
United States
Mount Pleasant
Michigan
OOK! OOK! OOK!
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I have played the variant that you cannot Buy It Now unless it has already been put out for auction probably a dozen times.
The good improvements always get bought. They may not be the first thing bought, however.
We find that money is pretty tight throughout our games. We allow emergency loans to be taken at any time. I often try to time it by putting out the great improvements when someone would have to take an emergency loan to get it for $7. This increased cost helps balance those tiles.
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J C Lawrence
United States
Campbell
California
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skyzero wrote: clearclaw wrote: Then you haven't thought it through. Under this approach improvement tiles will never be bought because the other players will never allow them to be.
How is that? I can buy whatever I want as long as I'm willing to pay for it. I may have to break the bank to buy it, but then again, economics are part of the game and balancing wants Vs. needs is what separates the winners from the losers. In the games I've played, I've never met a "Rich Harvest" I couldn't buy or at least force someone to pay through the nose to buy it themselves :)
Precisely, and why give them that advantage? If someone else puts up such a tile, you bid $8 and they have accomplished nothing but costing both of you an action (improvement tiles are worth more than $8 in the early game). In a multiplayer game this is a lose-lose activity. In a two-player game it has no net effect asides from accelerating the end of the year.
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Posted Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:46 pm
