AUCTIONS

There are 3 MINE LEASE and 4 DRILL REPORT Auction squares around the perimeter of the board.  There are 22 mines around the perimeter of the board, each mine has 1 MINE LEASE and 2 DRILL REPORTs.  Players need to acquire the MINE LEASE card, either at Auction or through the Merchant Bank, to own a mine.  Once a player has ownership he can immediately place a HEADGEAR on that mine, and start producing GOLD BULLION.  Players who own both a Mine Lease and Headgear on a mine, can greatly increase Gold Bullion production if they also own 1 or 2 matching DRILL REPORT cards for that mine.  Drill Reports have no benefit to any other players other than the Mine Lease owner.  Warning: Players pay Corporation Tax on all assets, including unused Drill Reports!. 

TRIAL/FAMILY MODE: In this mode the Auction squares function as purchase squares.  Every time any player lands on an AUCTION square every player in the game is awarded either a MINE LEASE or DRILL REPORT card, subject to card availability.  Their Bank Account is deducted according to what asset they purchased and the current Goldfix, if the Goldfix is at $1,200 then a MINE LEASE would cost $35M, and a DRILL REPORT $20M.          Also, since Auction squares are Broker squares, the player who lands on an Auction square is paid a 20% commission by all players using their service, ie any player who received an asset must pay the broker commission above the cost of the asset.  So in the example above the commission payable on a MINE LEASE would be $35M x 20% = $7M, and on a DRILL REPORT $20M x 20% = $4M, therefore the total cost, to all other players, for the MINE LEASE is $35M + $7M = $42M, and total cost for a DRILL REPORT would be $20M + $4M = $24M.  

NOTE: In a 6 player game the player who lands on an Auction square, will get their asset FREE, since the other 5 players will each pay a 20% commission to the broker, which will exactly cover the broker's own purchase cost.  Also, if a player does not have enough cash in their Bank Account to pay for the purchase and commission of an asset, a $230M OVERDRAFT LOAN is automatically awarded, provided you don't already have 6 DEBT CARDs.  

ADVANCED MODE:  In this mode Auction squares function as true Auction squares, but with a twist.  If there is 6players then there is only 5assets to bid for, if 4 players then only 3 assets to bid for, so at least one player, maybe more, will miss out on every Auction.  In every auction the Goldfix determines the MINIMUM BID for the asset, so in the above example with Goldfix at $1,200 the minimum bid for a MINE LEASE would be $35M, and for a DRILL REPORT $20M.  The broker himself has to bid against all other players, and could lose the bidding, but will still receive the 20% commission from all winning bidders. 

IMPORTANT: The auctions have a timed bid of 30 seconds.  All bids by the same player MUST be different from each other bid they make, or they will all be counted as a zero bid, so do NOT bid $12M for each asset in the Drill Report Auction example shown below, however $12M, $12.1M and $12.2M is permitted.  Also in this mode the color of the highest bidder is shown in a box below each bid, so you know who the highest bidder is, but not how much their bid is for.  The blue border around any asset at Auction indicates you already own another asset from that mine, and need to bid more aggressively for that specific lot. 

BUSINESS MODE:  Identical to ADVANCED mode, but with one subtle difference, the box showing the color of the highest bidder is turned OFF.  This is called a sealed bid or blind Auction, and until the Auction bids are resolved your have no idea if you're even in with a chance or not.

DUPLICATE BIDS: In the event of two or more bidders having an identical winning bid, there is a second Auction, in which only the duplicate bidders may participate.