Authors: Hanno & Wilfried Kuhn
Publisher: Amigo
Rules translated by Joe Huber
The completely map stamp auction!!!
Players: 3-6
Age: 10-110
The game table becomes an auction house. Collectors and traders make bids. Whoever collects 4 first day postmarks first wins.
But pay attention! The auction runs backwards: 12, 11, 10, 9... Whoever has the best nerves pays the lowest price. However, whoever waits too long is left in the dust.
Each of the 45 cards include the following (see the diagram on page 2):
- the stamps (Briefmarke on the diagram), with funny cartoons by H. P. Murmann
- the country the stamp is from (Herkunftsland in the diagram) - the yield of the auction of this card goes into the treasury of this land.
- the category of this stamp (Motiv in the diagram). In the corner of the card is a symbol showing which group this stamp belongs to. There are three groups:
Soccer ball --> Sports
Giraffe --> Wildlife
Medal --> Historic Moment
- the color of the stamp (Farbe). The stamp has one of three primary colors - red, blue, or yellow.
- the flag (Flagge). The flag signifies which countries have special interest in purchasing the stamp. This special interest translates to first day postmarks for the seller, which are needed to win.
Besides the stamp cards, there are also 11 credit cards.
The bell is put in the center, within reach of every player.
The 3 country tables are placed next to the bell, and the ships, first day postmarks, and credit cards are laid nearby.
A dealer is chosen, and the dealer shuffles the stamp cards thoroughly and deals 2 to each player. The remaining cards are split into two roughly equal piles and placed face down on the table. The top cards from both stacks are turned up. Each player receives 20 points worth of chips:
The players auction stamps, buying them and selling them back. Naturally one must be careful to win the right combinations for the collectors. For only through skillful buying and selling can a player gain the important first day postmarks. The dealer starts, as each player auction off 3 stamp cards. The other players follow in clockwise order.
All players, including the auctioneer, may take part in the auction.
After each auction players may sell sets of stamps. Whoever is clever in collecting first day postmarks wins the funny auction game.
Beginning with the dealer, players take turns in the role of the auctioneer for three auctions. For an auction, the auctioneer chooses the face up card from either pile. This card is laid out for all to see, and the auction can begin. The auctioneer counts aloud, regularly and quickly, from twelve down. To aid, the count can also be tapped out on the table. The auctioneer gives the current price of the stamp card through the dropping count. As soon as a player wants to but the stamp card at the current price, he needs to be the first to ring in.
After someone rings in, the auctioneer ends the auction and sells the stamp card at the last stated price. The buyer receives the stamp card and pays the price to the auctioneer. The auctioneer pays half the price (rounding up) to the treasury of the country issuing the stamp; the other half he keeps. If the auctioneer is the buyer, then he pays the full total to the issuing country.
One must keep a cool head during the auction, letting the price drop as low as possible. But whoever waits too long comes up empty.
A player may buy as many cards as he likes, so long as he can afford them. If a player can't pay, the auction must be repeated. The player causing this may not take part in the repeated auction.
The objective of the auction is to win stamp cards, possibly allowing sales to the three countries bringing the first day postmarks needed to win.
After each auction, players decide in turn whether or not they wish to sell a stamp set. The auctioneer decides first. A set always consists of three stamp cards. Each country buys only one kind of set:
Andorra: 3 stamp cards with the same color, but different symbols.
Liechtenstein: 3 stamp cards with the same symbol, but different colors.
Monaco: 3 stamp cards with different symbols and different colors.
A player who sells a stamp set to a country receives all money in that land's treasury.
Attention! A player who buys a card from a country during the round may not sell to that same country during the same round. He must wait for at least one more auction to be completed first.
The sold stamp cards are places in a discard pile.
A special reward is given to the seller who sells cards with the flag of the country to which he sells. For each card with the corresponding flag, the player receives one first day postmark.
Example: The three cards pictured above (by the first day postmark in the instructions) are sold to Andorra. The player receives the contents of Andorra's treasury and two first day stamps for the two matching (i.e. Andorra) flags.
Each player can receive credit of 10 points each round, provided he doesn't already have more than 12 points. In addition to the money, the player receives a credit card, which he lies next to him.
To win, a player must repay any outstanding credit. This can be done anytime between auctions. The repayment amount is 15 points or one first day postmark. The credit card is returned to the stack. Credit can only be taken so long as cards and chips are available.
The player who first collects 4 first day postmarks with all his credit paid off wins.
With 3 or 4 players, 5 first day stamps are needed for victory.
A player can try to collect 3 cards with the same color and pattern. These can be sold to any country.