Shared budget auction — Free Printable PDF & Rules

Set up and play

1. Read all six projects and publish the rotating tie priority.
2. Write simultaneous sealed bids within the remaining budget.
3. Award the current card, deduct only the winning bid, and update the ledger.

Finish the game

Use the ending and scoring rules in the complete guide below.

A small negotiation game with a clear limit

Each team is planning an imaginary neighborhood afternoon. Teams share one identical budget and compete for six project cards offered in a fixed sequence. The challenge is not simply buying everything: a useful plan must cover a welcome activity, a place to rest, and something people can make or explore. The project choices below are original examples for this game, not prices or advice for running a real event. Use fictional credits written on paper. Nobody pays, receives money, or needs to reveal anything about their own finances. Four to sixteen participants work well as two to four teams.

Prepare the market before anyone bids

Print one set of project cards for the host and one bid sheet per team. Every team starts with twenty credits. Write the same three required functions on a visible sheet: welcome, rest, and explore. Each project card supplies exactly the functions printed on it, even when players can imagine additional uses. Read all six cards and their order before starting. The order is Quiet corner, Welcome desk, Discovery table, Music nook, Make together station, and Neighborhood map. Give teams three minutes to notice overlaps and choose priorities. Keep the host ledger visible so remaining budgets can be checked.

How a sealed bid round works

Reveal the current card and give teams forty five seconds to agree a whole number bid from zero up to their remaining balance. Each team writes its bid secretly, folds the paper, and places it on the table. Reveal all bids together. The single highest positive bid wins the card and pays exactly that bid from its fictional balance. Losing teams pay nothing. A zero bid means passing. If every bid is zero, the card remains unallocated. Teams may not borrow credits, offer gifts, or bid with future income. An over budget or unreadable bid is treated as a pass after the host checks it with the team.

Resolve ties without changing the budget rules

Before the first round, assign teams a rotating priority order. For example, A has priority in round one, B in round two, and C in round three, returning to A afterward. If several teams share the highest positive bid, the tied team appearing earliest in that round’s priority order wins and pays its bid. Print the priority order beside the round numbers. This avoids a hidden host choice and does not require a second bidding contest. With two teams simply alternate priority. Let a designated reader announce the bids while a different person updates the ledger, then show the new balances before continuing.

An example and the end of the auction

Suppose A has fourteen credits and B has sixteen when Discovery table is offered. A bids six and B bids four. A receives the card, now has eight credits, and B still has sixteen. If both had bid six, use the published priority for that round. After all six cards are offered, give teams two minutes to arrange their cards into a plan. They must explain how their purchased cards cover each required function. Score one point per different covered function, up to three. Break equal scores by the larger remaining budget; if that is also equal, share the result. A duplicate function earns no extra point.

Debrief and cooperative alternatives

Ask teams which early purchase changed their later choices. Invite a brief explanation of one tradeoff, rather than praising the largest bid. For a noncompetitive classroom version, give the whole group twenty credits and a host operated market: the group must unanimously agree a purchase or pass at each printed fixed price. Do not mix that variation into an auction already in progress. For a quieter group, allow written discussion and a full minute per bid. Smaller teams can assign a bidder and a ledger checker; larger teams rotate those jobs. Keep the cards available afterward so participants can inspect the coverage rule and understand the outcome.

Your printable materials

Original starter materials below. Print at 100% scale; turn off browser headers and footers. Select Letter or A4. Review the preview before making a batch.

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Make room for everyone

Invite guests to take a turn or pass. Explain the rules before starting, choose materials that suit your group, and offer a seated or read-aloud option when helpful.

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