How to play

Every lot is a REAL thing that genuinely sold at auction — Moon dust, a famous cardigan, a shipwreck's cargo. What it actually fetched is hidden until after the hammer. Every lot opens at a flat 50 guineas, which tells you nothing about what it's worth. That's the game.

Tap BID to raise by your chosen step (+10 / +25 / +50). Every bid resets the gavel countdown — going once… going twice… — and the hammer falls only after a few seconds of silence. Sniping is impossible: your last-instant bid restarts the very count you were racing.

Two lots mid-sale are sold by sealed envelope instead: everyone writes one secret number, once. Envelopes open lowest to highest — the top envelope wins and pays its own price. No second chances, no reads off the room.

After every hammer the card flips: the lot's true value in guineas, the real-world sale it came from, and the winner's profit or loss — stamped green or red on their shelf for the rest of the night. Losses are permanent. The underbidder gets a private whisper about the value band they nearly paid for.

Spent your whole purse on lot two? Any lot on your shelf can be sold to the dealer for half its book value, once, whenever a sale is live. It's always worse than holding — but it puts guineas back in your hand and keeps your paddle in the game.

After 8 lots the ledger is ruled off. Your score is your shelf's total profit/loss plus HALF your unspent guineas — hoarding the purse pays, but only half as well as buying well. Most profit takes the sale.