High-Bid
{{short description|Board game published in 1965}}
{{italic title}}
High-Bid is a board game published in 1963 by 3M that simulates the buying and selling of items via auction. The game was acquired in the mid-1970s by Avalon Hill and re-published under two titles: The Collector and Auction.
Contents
=Gameplay: 3M=
In the editions published by 3M, a player may acquire items via auction, and may sell items in their hand to other players for a value indicated by a die roll. This can be anywhere from 25% to 100% of the property's theoretical value. Players attempt to put together a set of related items. The first player to attain a worth of $5000 in completed sets and cash is the winner.
=Gameplay: Avalon Hill=
Publication history
Larry and Pearl Winters designed High-Bid and it was published by 3M in 1963. It sold well, and 3M came out with new editions in 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1970 and 1975.{{cite web | url = https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/218/high-bid/versions| title = High-Bid: Versions| website =boardgamegeek.com | access-date =2022-11-08}} Avalon Hill then acquired the license for the game, and produced a new edition titled The Collector in 1977, and an edition with the title Auction in 1989.
In 1989, Swedish publisher Casper created a Swedish-language edition titled Första, Andra, Tredje! (First, Second, Third!)
Reception
In A Player's Guide to Table Games, John Jackson noted that "In practice, the completion of one or two medium-value sets is enough to win; the high-value sets take too long to collect." He concluded "If gratuitous awards for rolling the right number on a die or landing on the proper space is your idea of excitement, then High Bid [...] may afford you hours of fun. Otherwise, look elsewhere."{{cite book| last = Jackson| first = John| title = A Player's Guide to Table Games| publisher = Stackpole Books| date = 1975| location = Harrisburg, PA| pages = 39–40| isbn = 0-8117-1902-2}}
In The Playboy Winner's Guide to Board Games, Jon Freeman thought the Avalon Hill edition titled The Collector "is certainly a better game than High Bid was. Unfortunately, that's still not saying much."{{cite book| last = Freeman| first = Jon| authorlink = Jon Freeman (game designer)| title = The Playboy Winner's Guide to Board Games| publisher = Playboy Press| date = 1979| location = New York| pages = 13–14| isbn = 0-872-16562-0}}
Although the game had been a popular product for 3M for over twenty years, The Avalon Hill Game Co. General Index and Company History, 1952-1980 reported in 1980 that their edition titled The Collector "has never sold well."{{cite book| title = The Avalon Hill Game Co General Index and Company History, 1952-1980| publisher =Avalon Hill | date = 1980| pages = 13}}
Ian Livingstone reviewed Auction for Games International magazine, and gave it 2 1/2 stars out of 5, stating that "As a person who enjoys going to auctions, I'm afraid I found this simulation rather disappointing despite its promise."{{cite journal | last = Livingstone |first = Ian |authorlink = Ian Livingstone | title =General Games | journal = Games International | issue = 9 | pages =10, 12 |date=September–October 1989}}