Bidding

The one-sentence "definition" that should be in italics.

This pattern is a still a stub.

Players invest resources, usually some kind of a currency, for an uncertain outcome in order to get a reward of some kind. A Bidding instance is a process consisting of several parts: the bidding where players invest resources with the hope to achieve a certain game state, the determination of the outcome of these investments, and the distribution of possible rewards.

Examples

Example: In Poker, players bid on the value of their card hands. The bidding instance consists of rounds where the players can raise their bids one after another. The player who does not wish to call the last bid matches his bid to the same amount as the last bid, or if he does not wish to raise the bid, he has to fold. The player who folds is out of the Bidding instance and he has to leave his bid in the pot. The Bidding instance ends when there is only one player left or all the remaining players call the last bid. The player with the best hand, or the only remaining player, in the Bidding instance wins the whole bid as the reward.

Example: Kicking out a player from an open game instance of Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory requires that a certain amount of players have voted for kicking the player out.

Anti-Examples

optional

Consequences

Alternatives: Drafting, Token Placement

Relations

Turn-Based Games Turn Taking Freedom of Choice Multiplayer Games

Instantiates: Player Elimination, Collaborative Actions

Modulates: Cooperation,

Can Instantiate

Area Control, Competition, Converters, Internal Conflicts, Player-Defined Goals, Rewards, Social Skills, Social Roles, Trade-Offs, Transfer of Control,

with Capture

Puzzle Solving, Tactical Planning

Can Modulate

Eliminate, Gain Ownership, Resources, Trick Taking, Trumps

Can Be Instantiated By

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Can Be Modulated By

Asymmetric Information, Betting, Bluffing, Direct Information, Negotiation, Symmetric Information,

Possible Closure Effects

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Potentially Conflicting With

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History

An updated version of the pattern Bidding that was part of the original collection in the book Patterns in Game Design.

Acknowledgements

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