Round & Revel / auction
The Pocket Bazaar
Twelve imaginary tokens. Three tempting lots. Make your bids count.
Planning estimate only. This edition has not had a live group playtest.
What you need
24 printed lot cards, cut apart; Paper and pens for four teams; A sheet for the score and four round boxes
How to play
Print and prepare
Print one deck and cut apart the 24 lot cards. All information on a revealed lot is public. Make four bid sheets with four rows labelled Round 1–4 and three columns labelled A, B, C. Tokens are imaginary numbers on paper; do not use real money or anything with monetary value.
The aim
Win curiosities at a four-round blind-bid auction. Every won lot scores its printed points. Collect at least one lot from each of the four collections to earn a one-time 6-point collection bonus. Highest final score wins.
Exactly four bidders
Form exactly four teams as evenly as possible. With 4 players everyone bids alone. With 5–8, teams have 1–2 players; with 9–12, teams have 2–3. A team is one bidder with one budget, one bid sheet, and one score, regardless of team size. Keep the same teams throughout. Team members may confer quietly but must submit one agreed set of bids.
Prepare the bazaar
Shuffle all 24 cards face down. Deal 12 into a face-down auction stack and put the other 12 aside unseen. Each round reveals three cards, left to right, labelled A, B, and C using scraps of paper. Read each lot’s collection and points aloud. The four collections are Lanterns, Teacups, Keys, and Maps. No item has a hidden power or a resale value.
A fresh budget every round
Every team gets a fresh allowance of 12 imaginary tokens at the start of each round. Allocate whole-number bids from 0 to 6 to each of the three lots. The sum of your three bids must be 12 or less. You may leave tokens unused, but nothing carries forward. Zero means you are not bidding on that lot. These tokens have no cash value and are never bought, borrowed, traded, or redeemed.
Write secret bids
Inspect the three public lots and quietly write your A, B, and C bids. Keep the numbers concealed until all four teams say they are ready. Nobody reveals a bid early, changes a locked bid, negotiates with another team, or makes a side deal. Take enough time to agree within your team; no timer is needed. Each team should check its total before locking.
Reveal together
Turn over all four bid sheets at once. Check that each bid is a whole number from 0 to 6 and each row totals at most 12. A blank counts as 0. An invalid row, including a crossed-out figure with no clear final value, becomes 0–0–0 for that round. Do not replace it after seeing other bids. Practise a sample row together before the first round if anyone needs help.
If bids are exposed early
If any bid is exposed before all four teams have locked, void that round: no cards or points are awarded. Set its three lots aside and replace them with three unseen cards from the reserve, keeping the same round number and fresh 12-token budgets. All teams and other viewers must keep bids concealed. Repeated deliberate exposure ends competitive play; continue unscored only if everyone agrees. If fewer than three unseen reserve cards remain after repeated accidental exposures, end this game without declaring a winner and restart later rather than score unequal rounds.
Award each lot separately
For each lot, a single highest positive bid wins the card. If two or more teams tie for the highest bid, nobody wins that lot: place it in a closed discard pile. Do not award it to the next-lowest bidder. If all bids are 0, discard the lot too. A team can win zero, one, two, or all three lots. No extra payment or tie auction occurs.
Close the round
All allocations expire after the awards, whether they won or lost. Teams keep won cards face up so collections and points stay public. Record the printed points won this round, then reveal the next three cards and give every team a new 12-token budget. Previous spending never reduces the next round’s allowance. Discarded lots do not return this game.
Scoring and finish
After the fourth round, total the printed points on each team’s won cards. Add 6 once if that team owns at least one Lantern, one Teacup, one Key, and one Map. Extra complete sets give no extra bonus. Unused tokens, losing bids, and unclaimed cards score nothing. Highest score wins. If teams tie on points, they share the win; token spending does not break ties.
An auction in practice
Four teams bid on A, B, C as follows: Oak 6–4–2, Pine 6–1–5, Reed 3–6–3, and Fern 0–5–6. Every row is legal: the totals are 12, 12, 12, and 11. A is discarded because Oak and Pine tie at 6. Reed wins B with 6. Fern wins C with 6. Pine’s 5 on C loses. Next round, all four teams again have 12 tokens.
A scoring example
A team owns a 2-point Lantern, a 5-point Teacup, a 3-point Key, and a 4-point Map. Its printed points total 14; all four collections add the one-time 6-point bonus for a final score of 20. If it also owns a 1-point Lantern, its total is 21, with no second bonus. A team missing any collection receives only its printed points.
Inclusive bidding
All collection names and values are written out; color is never required. Read every public card and revealed bid aloud. Players may use large handwritten numerals or dictate bids privately to their own teammate. In a solo team, a non-playing helper may scribe without advising or disclosing bids. Anyone may use tally marks or a simple calculator to check the 12-token total before locking. In larger teams, rotate the writer each round and hear every member’s suggestion.
Replay and an optional short game
For a fresh second game, shuffle and use the 12 cards set aside at setup, if they were not used as replacements, switching team composition if desired. If replacement rounds reduced that reserve, reshuffle the full deck. Later, reshuffle all 24. For a shorter game, agree before dealing to play three rounds using nine lots, with the same allowance and scoring. The standard four-round game gives more chances to complete a collection. All duration estimates are planning estimates, not results from playtesting.
Bid-sheet reminder
For each round write A: __ B: __ C: __. Each number must be a whole number from 0 to 6. Total no more than 12. Highest positive bid wins; a tied highest bid discards that lot. Fresh 12-token budget next round.
Collection reminder
Lanterns • Teacups • Keys • Maps. Keep won cards face up. At the end, add printed points, then add 6 once if you have all four collections.
Printable play cards
Print single-sided at 100%. Cut along the borders and follow the setup instructions.
COLLECTION: Lanterns
POINTS: 1
A little lantern for a very small journey.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Lanterns
POINTS: 2
A steady light for late arrivals.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Lanterns
POINTS: 3
A hanging lantern with room for imaginary guests.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Lanterns
POINTS: 4
A hooded lantern for a procession through puddles.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Lanterns
POINTS: 5
A bright lantern for finding the way home.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Lanterns
POINTS: 6
The grand lantern that closes the bazaar each night.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Teacups
POINTS: 1
A tiny cup for the briefest tea break.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Teacups
POINTS: 2
An oddly shaped cup that sits perfectly flat.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Teacups
POINTS: 3
A broad-rimmed cup with space for a biscuit.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Teacups
POINTS: 4
A patterned cup made for a slow afternoon.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Teacups
POINTS: 5
A showpiece cup with its own soft resting place.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Teacups
POINTS: 6
The bazaar’s most elaborate cup and saucer.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Keys
POINTS: 1
A little key to an ordinary drawer.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Keys
POINTS: 2
A sturdy key to a gate among the flowers.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Keys
POINTS: 3
A decorated key to a tall wooden cabinet.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Keys
POINTS: 4
A long key to a winding stairway.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Keys
POINTS: 5
An ornate key to the bazaar’s front door.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Keys
POINTS: 6
A ceremonial key with six intricate loops.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Maps
POINTS: 1
A tiny map showing one useful alley.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Maps
POINTS: 2
A neat map of paths between fruit trees.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Maps
POINTS: 3
A winding map of bridges and waterside steps.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Maps
POINTS: 4
A broad map of a walk above the rooftops.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Maps
POINTS: 5
A detailed map of the whole night market.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
COLLECTION: Maps
POINTS: 6
The bazaar’s grandest map of imaginary places.
No special effect. A set of all four collections earns 6 bonus points once per game.
Original Round & Revel game text. Edition 1 / October 2026. Reuse the printed cards for future gatherings.