Outbid & Outsmart Your Opponents in the Ultimate Bidding War

Highest Bidder is a 2-5 player casual card game that packs a surprising level of depth and decision-making. Easy to learn, tricky to master, and with lots of laughs guaranteed!

Across 5 rounds you will simultaneously place secret bids on cards at the center of the table, by playing a pile of cards face down from your hand. As players take turns revealing one card at a time from their bid pile, hilarious situations arise as cards interact with one another in unexpected ways. Will you be the highest bidder?


Players: 2-5
Time: 30 min
Age: 10+

Highest Bidder comes in three editions. The base game is the same but slight variations occur. See below to find the version that best suits you and your group of players.

THREE UNIQUE EDITIONS

Highest Bidder comes in three themed decks, each with slight card variations.

HIGHEST BIDDER:
ART AUCTION

Bid on creative paintings by real-life artist Pernilla Lindgren. This is the most well-rounded edition of Highest Bidder as it includes the base game and a good selection of advanced bonus cards for increased replay value.

USD
$21.99

HIGHEST BIDDER:
ANIMAL KINGDOM

Adorable, family-friendly artwork and more bonus cards and special rules. Includes a second "Advanced Play" rule book.

USD
$24.99

HIGHEST BIDDER:
P*RN STARS

Build your own p*rn star ensemble by bidding on 14 unique characters (male and female). 18+

USD
$19.99

LEARN MORE ABOUT HIGHEST BIDDER

In Highest Bidder it feels like each decision matters.

My friend Helena plotting to set up a trap for me while drinking a glass of homemade sangria. #squadgoals

A SIMPLE IDEA WITH A LOT OF DEPTH

In this 2-5 player card game you bid cards from your hand on cards at the center of the table to score points. You must decide how many cards to bid on each available point-scoring card, as well as which order to place the cards in. At the count of three all players will place their bids simultaneously, face down in piles in front of them. Cards are then revealed one at a time around the table. Some cards add to your bid value, some have special effects that impact the outcome. And boy can it get fun when cards start interacting with one another in unexpected ways!

Highest Bidder utilizes what's known as "programmed actions" — if you place a bid with multiple cards in it, the cards will be revealed in the order that you placed them in, starting with the top card of your pile. Depending on the cards revealed by other players, the results will lead to some laugh-out-loud moments. Your clever plan can go satisfyingly well or absolutely, horribly wrong. Regardless, laughs are guaranteed!

 

ONE GAME, THREE EDITIONS

Highest Bidder is a simple idea with a lot of depth, suitable for all ages and great fun for game nights, as a casual pastime and even at parties. Thanks to its versatility three different editions have been created — the game is largely the same, but the themes are certainly not! Select the deck that best fits you and your group of players.

From the creator:


My goal when creating Highest Bidder was to make an auction/bidding game with depth. I'm a fan of the likes of Modern Art but always found such games to be shallow or predictable.


 

The above video shows a comprehensive how-to-play of an early prototype of Highest Bidder. While the look has changed drastically the fun game remains the same!


 

ENHANCE YOUR GAME WITH SCORE BOARDS

Easily keep score at a glance and utilize special perks.

SCORE KEEPING

It's easy to keep track of scores in Highest Bidder — simply keep the cards that you win in front of you! But to make it easier to see the scores of all players at a glance, and to avoid having to repeatedly sum up your cards, these wonderful Score Boards are a great addition!

SPECIAL PERKS

On top of score keeping the Score Boards increase strategy in the game by introducing four special abilities, including drawing extra cards and skipping bids. At the start of the game each player will have a small colored cube placed next to each ability on the board. At any time during the game, you can use an ability by removing the corresponding cube.

BUY THE BOARDS

The boards are sold separately and come in a pack of four boards and cubes in five colors — in 5-player games two players will share the same board! The boards are currently available in two different designs: a family-friendly version using artwork from Highest Bidder: Animal Kingdom and an adults-only version using artwork from Highest Bidder: P*rn Stars. The difference is purely visual, however, and any design can be used with any edition of the game!

The Highest Bidder Score Boards are a fun add-on to the game. Keep track of scores at a glance and get four special strategic abilities that can be used once each per game.

SCORE BOARDS:
FAMILY-FRIENDLY VERSION

Cute artwork, four perks and a top row of negative scores (-1 to -10) relevant for some of the advanced bonus cards found in Highest Bidder: Art Auction and Highest Bidder: Animal Kingdom.

USD
$14.99

SCORE BOARDS:
ADULT (P*RN STARS) VERSION

Artwork from Highest Bidder: P*rn Stars, four perks and a designated square to indicate "half points" (scores of .5). On the back of the boards engaging background stories are printed about the 14 p*rn stars from the main game.

USD
$14.99


 

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING

Reviewers love Highest Bidder.


"Great game! Easy and fast to learn with high entertainment factor. Can only recommend it!"

– Player on TheGameCrafter.com

 
 

"Lot's of fun! If there's something I didn't like about the game... No, there really isn't!"

– RollForCrit.com

 

"Quick, fun, different game where things can change quickly. I really enjoyed the variability in play."

– EverythingBoardGames.com

 

"Highest Bidder is an intriguing game. It creates some entertaining and tense moments."

– TheIndieGameReport.com

"Fun to look at, fun to play, easy to introduce to people."

– RollForCrit.com

 

"I played this game at a party. The rules were easy and it's a perfect game to bring to events to lighten the mood."

– Player on TheGameCrafter.com

 

SOLD AT THE GAME CRAFTER:

The Highest Bidder games as well as the Score Boards are printed and sold at The Game Crafter, and American print-on-demand site for indie game creators. They're pretty great, because it makes it possible for people to create great products without having to print hundreds of copies that might never get sold. And, they have low-cost worldwide shipping!


 

BLOG POST: HIGH SCORE THEORIES

What's the highest possible score, how realistic is it that it will ever be achieved, and is there a high score "sweetspot"?

HIGH SCORES

  • 2-player game: Johan, 66 points
  • 3-player game: Marina, 78 points
  • 4-player game: Robert, 62.5 points
  • 5-player game: Unknown

Have you beaten any of the above scores? Get in touch using the form below to have the high scores updated!

STRATEGY GUIDE

For such a simple game, Highest Bidder is incredibly deep. You'll enjoy learning about the various possibilities and discovering what happens when certain cards interact with one another.

GET IN TOUCH...

Questions, suggestions, comments or thoughts? Get in touch!

WAIT, THERE'S MORE

Check out this game from Sträckspelsfabriken:

TRAINS & CARGO

Collect cargo, load it onto your train, then send the train off when the time is right to score points. Manipulate the market to your favor, use Effect Cards to bend the rules, and be the player to make the best out of the circumstances in this casual but complex card and board game hybrid. The biggest release yet by Sträckspelsfabriken. A STAFF PICK selection at The Game Crafter and with an ART TEST score by the community of 80+!

Selected as a Staff Pick by The Game Crafter

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