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Description
Buying and selling paintings can be a very lucrative business. Five different artists have produced a bunch of paintings, and it's the player's task to be both the buyer and the seller, hopefully making a profit in both roles. He does this by putting a painting from his hand up for auction each turn. He gets the money if some other player buys it, but must pay the bank if he buys it for himself. After each round, paintings are valued by the number of paintings of that type that were sold. The broker with the most cash after four rounds is the winner.
Part of the Knizia auction trilogy.
Year Published
1992
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 13
This page: 13
Sentiment:
pos 12 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 1 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–13 of 13
Video 4lnm7sI18bc
Board Game Coffee game_review at 6:14 sentiment: positive
video_pk 13070 · mention_pk 38193
Click to watch at 6:14
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Fun auction gameplay
Cons
- Only played once
Thematic elements
- Auction and bidding mechanics
- Art auction house
- Strategy auction game
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Auction — Players bid on and sell art
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- you can recruit monsters to your army that give you super powers
- it's a beautiful scary, it's a beautiful looking game
- this game is just a mini explosion, it's great
- gizmos is a lot of fun so we're giving this away our very first giveaway gizmos
- this little box the game when you see it it's not very pretty but it's so fun
- blood rage is a fantastic game
- massive Darkness two is freaking amazing
- the origami zombie side black plague is by far our favorite zombie side
- if you're gonna buy any zombie side game off the shelf Black Plague favorite one favorite one
- Cthulhu death may die is absolutely fabulous
- we can't stop playing this game
- zombie side Gear Up is getting another board game coffee seal of approval this game is so much fun
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video j7onuCxD4R0
No Rolls Bard playthrough at 0:50 sentiment: positive
video_pk 11040 · mention_pk 32496
Click to watch at 0:50
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Engaging social interaction and banter
- Varied auction types keep rounds fresh
- Tense decision-making with clear feedback on value
Cons
- Complex scoring and memory load can be intimidating for new players
- Fast money swing can feel chaotic
Thematic elements
- art valuation, reputation, and sale price dynamics
- Art auction market; post-war/recent modern art scene
- competitive bidding with social banter and bluffing
Comparison games
- Moon Rakers
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Auction types — Five different auction styles determine bidding flow and pricing dynamics for each painting.
- End-of-round valuation — Round termination when color quotas are met; paintings are valued and sold to score points.
- Hidden wealth/disbursement — Money behind screens is secret; bidding affects personal cash flow and end-game scoring.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the energy is insane
- it's auctioning so it can get a kind of a little bit dry and thinky
- this game can swing all the way
- I love Raphael
- this game can swing all the way
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 0ZQXPN-yzPc
Adam Porter analysis at 1:46 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 11070 · mention_pk 32563
Click to watch at 1:46
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Art valuation, curation, and bidding dynamics
- Global art market and auctions
- Competitive auction and economic decision-making
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- auction_bidding — Players bid on artworks, influencing prices and access; strategic bidding dominates scoring.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The publisher has the exclusive right to adapt all or part of the game into any genre and any format and to make use of these in any way as well as the right to improve or modify the game using any third party chosen by the publisher.
- The author shall be given 24 hours to review the final version of the rules before they are printed.
- If you want a publisher to fund the production of your game to take all the financial risk to promote the game through their established channels and highlight the game as one of their own you're going to have to relinquish a lot of control.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video _Lt9vzrKlsc
Three Minute Board Games analysis at 0:12 sentiment: positive
video_pk 9173 · mention_pk 27057
Click to watch at 0:12
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Rich variety of auction formats keeps gameplay fresh and strategically demanding.
- High player interaction and social dynamics through bidding wars and smack talk.
- Clear thematic conveyance of how perception drives value in markets rather than the artworks themselves.
- Accessible core rules with a fast tempo that scales well for families and more serious gamers.
- Satisfying moments when a well-timed gavel bang provides a strong emotional payoff.
Cons
- The concept of intrinsic value versus market-driven value can be confusing for new players.
- Some players may find the multiple auction mechanics complex or fiddly during first playthroughs.
- Balance across all auction types can feel uneven if players are unfamiliar with the strategy implications.
Thematic elements
- Speculative, fame-driven market dynamics where apparent value is created by bidding behavior rather than intrinsic artwork quality.
- A late 20th century global art market where contemporary artists vie for attention and price through competitive auctions.
- Economic simulation with player-driven value creation and loss, emphasizing perception, hype, and strategic manipulation of auctions.
Comparison games
- Chinatown
- Canvas
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Auction — The core engine uses multiple auction types dictated by each card's icon; players become the auctioneer on their turn and lead the auction using the card's type.
- Dynamic value without intrinsic worth — Art value is not inherent; it is determined by the bids and round outcomes, reflecting market psychology rather than artwork quality.
- Hidden bidding elements — Closed auction variants hide bids or use simultaneous reveals in certain cards, creating tension and misdirection among players.
- Set collection / ownership tracking — Players accumulate paintings by artist and track how many paintings each artist has; top artists determine payoff at the end of rounds.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the art has no intrinsic value its value is entirely determined by which artists have sold well
- it's a brilliant auction game open to a lot of smack talk and bragging
- there's nothing like slapping down an in-demand artist and saying rahman is so hot right now and watching the bids explode
- i think this is a game that a lot of groups from hardcore gamers to families would really enjoy
- the best thing about this game is banging that little gavel it's so good
- modern art ryder kaninsky has designed 600 games and this is his best gold medal game
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video UIySi3BySqU
Three Minute Board Games top_10_list at 11:48 sentiment: positive
video_pk 8691 · mention_pk 25605
Click to watch at 11:48
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- best pure auction game ever made
- simple and brilliant
- gamifies concept of value
- master class in game design
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- valuing art through auction
- art auction
- auction_economic
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Auction — pure auction game
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this is my list the video says the top 100 board games of all time but it really is just my top 100 board games of all time
- three minute board games is an independent channel we dont take money from publishers and we do not do any form of paid content
- Mosaic has the ambitious goal of being a civilization game that can be played in two to three hours and it very much succeeds at this goal
- a game that does not need to be played with a traitor because the inherent selfish goals in this game created enough internal conflict
- I love space racing games and space corp is the game that is most racy as far as space racers go
- the term I use instead of gateway game is foundation game
- Sentinels could easily be a forever game the kind of game you just play over and over and over and over again endlessly
- Modern Art is a simple and brilliant and beautiful game and easily the best pure auction game Ive ever played
- Black Orchestra models some very clever things about how conspiracy is run
- when I asked the question hey what game should I play with my non-gamer friend who's interested in gaming but hasn't done much gaming I almost always answer Sentient Golem Edition
- Arkham Horror is the game that really made board gaming my number one hobby
- there are a few things more fun and rewarding in board gaming than organizing a fight in the arena
- Twilight Struggle is one of the best head-to-head games out there
- Santorini is the definition of an elegant design
- Arkham Horror the card game absolutely should be for you it's a hundred percent for me and it is my number one game of 2023
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video ivL9dAk5OhY
unknown top_10_list at 2:19 sentiment: positive
video_pk 6626 · mention_pk 19680
Click to watch at 2:19
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- clever, simple, and elegant design
- easy to teach
Cons
- auction chaos can feel random to some players
Thematic elements
- valuation through trading and auctions
- art market auctions
- economic auction mechanics
Comparison games
- For Sale
- High Society
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Auction — players bid on paintings and trade to influence value
- Trading — manipulate card worth through trades and sales
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- all the interactions between players are positive
- this list is designed around people just getting into the Hobby
- easy to learn and once some people know the game you can mix them up
- Forbidden Island teaches the basics of cooperative gaming and can be used as a launching point to other games in the Forbidden series
- the Resistance is probably the best of them
- Seven Wonders scales incredibly well from three to seven players
- One worker mechanic is an awful lot of fun
- Memoir 44 is the most accessible of them mostly because it feels like playing with toy soldiers
- Small World looks really dinky and inviting but it's a mercenary and brutal game
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video Z1Z-7G5mnAs
Josías top_10_list at 7:25 sentiment: positive
video_pk 6391 · mention_pk 18906
Click to watch at 7:25
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Clear S game
- Do not like auction games but absolutely love Modern Art
- Amazing
- Really good real game
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Art market
- Art auction
- Auction and bluffing
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Auction — Auction art pieces
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I rank like games pretty much like how I feel right now about them right it's possible that next month I will rank the games way differently
- Stonespine Architects definitely an a rank game for me um really amazing
- I just absolutely love this one of my most favorite puzzly polyomino games
- Château Burgundy is still in my top three games has been for a few years
- I do not like auction games but I absolutely love Modern Art this is amazing
- My City is like an amazing entry level deck builder but you can also play with people who like to play games a lot
- Slay the Spire could be one of my games of the year wow this game is amazing
- Fallout is really messed up by its winning condition
- Pop-Up Pirate it's funny but is it a good game no it's not really a game right
- I like vegetable themed games it sounds very specific but that's the way it is
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video tL0EI0qXsP4
Unknown Channel game_review at 0:52 sentiment: positive
video_pk 6297 · mention_pk 18619
Click to watch at 0:52
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Five different auctions provide variety and strategic depth
- Rules prevent premature end by mandating the fifth-card limit per artist
- Money as a resource directly links to points, creating meaningful trade-offs
- Open auction and high-activity auctions offer exciting, social moments
Cons
- Iconography and symbols are easy to forget without a cheat sheet
- Insert quality is poor; money tokens are fiddly and can spill/pile up
- Some auctions lack excitement depending on order or timing
Thematic elements
- Art market competition and valuation through bidding and artist popularity.
- A fictional contemporary art market where players participate in auctions for modern paintings from multiple artists.
- Economic auction-driven competition with scoring based on artist popularity and money management.
Comparison games
- Medici
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Auction — There are five distinct auction types; players bid to acquire paintings, with varying rules and pacing.
- hidden_information — Some auctions involve hidden bidding components, adding bluffing and strategic uncertainty.
- money_management — Bidding spends money; money translates into end-game points, creating a tension between current purchases and final scores.
- round-based progression — Four rounds with scoring nuances each round; the end of a round is triggered by the fifth card of an artist.
- set_collection — At the end of rounds, players' cards are tallied by artist popularity to determine points for the most/second/third popular artists.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This is one of the best auction games that you can buy today.
- It's like a compendium of auctionism.
- Open auction is so much fun where everyone's shouting out their bids in real time.
- The final thing that we don't like about this game is that some of the auctions lack a certain excitement.
- Money tokens are fiddly and the insert sucks.
- This game provides so much variety and such a variety of laughs.
- One of the hallmarks of a lot of Rhino Knizia games is victory points equal money and money equals victory points.
- It's pretty much an essential purchase for your gaming collection.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video wF9w1EUwcaQ
Watch It Played top_10_list at 0:03 sentiment: positive
video_pk 5062 · mention_pk 15010
Click to watch at 0:03
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Multiple auction types
- Each auction mechanic works differently
- Classic design
Cons
- Quite heavy
Thematic elements
- art
- commerce
Comparison games
- For Sale
- Fzumma Tenten
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- board games are diverse but card games really could feature anything
- players are all doing this simultaneously and so you want to be the player that stays in the longest
- if you turn over to many matching cards then you end up with nothing
- auction games are are well served by the sort of card game mechanisms
- play very quickly for three to six players
- an excellent excellent game
- take that card games or I think the most combative sort of card games
- totally silly extremely random but essentially we're playing cards to attack other players
- still one of my favorite games
- each card is a floor on a building
- there's a whole genre of what we call take that card games
- you could place bombs or or murderers into these buildings or the police can then take away a murderer
- Seven Wonders was the sort of figurehead for the cloud drafting games
- sushi go has been an enormous hit
- now the figurehead for the genre is probably sushi go
- deck building was created really by the game of Dominion
- there's something delightful about the simplicity of a game like Dominion
- you can teach to people really easily and play very very quickly
- a form of set collection again
- classic tableau builder would be something like San Juan
- this is a fantastic card game
- buying cards laying them out in front of us and they're going to keep generating us money
- this really is one of my favorite genres
- anybody can play these games and not everybody can play them well
- I love speed games I think it's a fantastic category of card games
- trick-taking games very very straightforward in their basic format
- the basic mechanism can be turned into all these different games
- all tweak it slightly in different ways
- my top ten card game mechanisms
- hopefully I've given you a broad picture of the world of card games
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video r1sqdzJv18Q
Mind Suggested Game top_10_list at 0:09 sentiment: positive
video_pk 5048 · mention_pk 14953
Click to watch at 0:09
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Includes nearly every auction mechanic
- Creates amazing chaos with multiple players
- Great art pieces in the game
- Thematic fantasy of being an art dealer
- Recently played and improved ranking
- Fun roleplay elements
Cons
- Highly dependent on group composition
- Can suffer from analysis paralysis with min-maxers
- Not fun if group approaches mathematically
Thematic elements
- Art auction
- Art dealing
- Auction gameplay
Comparison games
- Other Knizia auction games
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- If you want some more suggestions for some of my favorite games and you want to know the juicy details about my giveaway, I gotta know that might I suggest
- Certified bangers
- It's such a simple concept yet every time that I play it I feel like I'm uncovering new strategies
- Playing offense and playing defense in this one are equally important but the game itself doesn't end up feeling too combative
- I always explain Concept as charades with icons
- It's auction city
- I am a huge fan of these tetrissy puzzles
- Half truth is a trivia game that is better than Trivial Pursuit full stop
- One of my biggest gripes about Trivial Pursuit is that not everybody gets to answer every question but in Half Truth everybody is involved the whole time
- This is a criminally underrated game
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 5mXKZ0489HQ
Watch It Played general_discussion at 14:31 sentiment: positive
video_pk 1921 · mention_pk 5508
Click to watch at 14:31
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- one of the speaker’s favorite auction games
- tends to be engaging and tense
Cons
- can be harsh for new players due to bidding pressure
Thematic elements
- art auction and bidding
- board game cafe during convention weekend
- light, competitive bidding context
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Auction — players bid on artworks to accumulate value
- set collection — collect sets of artworks for scoring
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- we were able to connect with a lot of people over there and thank you for sharing your beautiful country with us
- the weather was just perfect and i don't know if i could say enough good things about it
- there's a ton of tables and you just play games with your friends or with just people that you're going to meet there
- it's a play it comes to play bring the games that you want to play there are a ton of tables
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video SIDJ8hH5Y6c
Adam Porter top_100_list at 0:54 sentiment: positive
video_pk 1772 · mention_pk 5099
Click to watch at 0:54
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Master class in auction design
- Variety across rounds keeps it fresh
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
- For Sale
- High Society
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Auction — Each round features a different auction type illustrating varied pricing dynamics.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This list is all about hopefully it'll give you some ideas of games that you might want to pick up yourself.
- Auctions are challenging; the more you play, the more you start to feel how much those power stations are worth.
- Not everybody is going to have totally accurate general knowledge and it welcomes players in to just have a go.
- I split you choose is a mechanism that could be used more broadly; it creates delicious tension and stress at the table.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video KHUR_rLVNJY
attackers general_discussion at 0:33 sentiment: positive
video_pk 43 · mention_pk 112
Click to watch at 0:33
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Engaging and varied auction formats
- Strong player interaction and strategic depth
- Compact playtime with meaningful decisions
Cons
- Can be opaque for new players due to scoring quirks
- Requires multiple plays to fully understand scoring nuance
Thematic elements
- Art market speculation and bidding
- Art auction market with multiple artists and rounds
- Abstract economic simulation
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Auction mechanics — Multiple auction formats across rounds where players bid to acquire artworks.
- Block bidding / information dynamics — Open bidding and hidden information influence bidding decisions and player interaction.
- Set scoring by artist ownership — End-of-game scoring depends on ownership of artists' artworks, creating strategic value in artists' popularity.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- If you believe you know the answer let us all know in the comments
- this week's component
- this amazing hero building game
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–13 of 13