The game consists of a deck of forty-nine cards. There are twenty-two pairs of similar items; the higher priced item is several times more valuable than the lower priced one (For example: diamond rings valued at $100 and $500) plus two old trunks (three are valued at $1000, one at $200, and one at $50).
The deck is shuffled and five cards are placed face down for auction so that the players know what is up for bids but not its value. The high bidder of the open auction gets the cards and the amount spent is noted. The game continues until the deck is depleted. (There are four cards left over. I presume these cards are not auctioned but the rules don’t say.) The value of the cards won by each player is totaled and their value is subtracted from the amount spent. The player with the highest grand total is the winner.
The Deluxe Edition includes play money. Players are given $6000 in this edition and are forbidden to spend more than that.