Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
Another Reiner Knizia standby, this game plays very well with varying numbers of people. The object is to accrue the most points during three rounds, which you do by spending your points to bid on sets of cards.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Auction/Bidding
Bid against other players to determine who receives an item, action, or priority.
Push Your Luck
Choose whether to secure current gains or risk them for a larger reward.
Set Collection
Gather related items that become more valuable when scored together.
Income
Receive recurring resources according to your position, assets, or development.
Spendable Victory Points
Spend or risk victory points during play instead of treating them only as final score.
Read the full game description
Another Reiner Knizia standby, this game plays very well with varying numbers of people. The object is to accrue the most points during three rounds, which you do by spending your points to bid on sets of cards. Each turn the current player turns up one to three cards for all the players to bid on, with the highest bid taking all cards. The cards denote a commodity type and quantity/value. The round ends when each player's ships are full, or the commodity card deck is exhausted. After each round, points are awarded to each player having the most of a given commodity, and to the one with the most valuable total "cargo load". Part of the Knizia auction trilogy. One of the Knizia Florentine auction games. Related Games: Medici vs Strozzi (two-player version) Strozzi Mercator, included in Neue Spiele im alten Rom (ancestor to Medici).