The best games where players can only raise their bids under certain rules 2025

High Society is a competitive auction-style card game designed by Reiner Knizia, where players vie to acquire wealth and status while avoiding financial pitfalls. The game focuses on strategic bidding and careful money management.

Welcome to Alula, a mysterious continent with ever-changing geography that follows the rhythm of the seasons. Explore the land, uncover its secrets, meet its inhabitants, and document its wonders to earn more glory than your opponents.

Nidavellir is a strategic bidding and set collection game set in a mythical dwarf kingdom. Players take on the roles of Elvalands, noble leaders tasked with assembling a powerful army to defend the kingdom against the dragon Fafnir.

Ra is an engaging board game that combines elements of auction and set-collection within an Ancient Egyptian theme. Players are immersed in a competition of power and fame across 1500 years of Egyptian history, condensed into an intense gaming experience.

Stockpile is an engaging economic board game that simulates the thrills and strategies of the stock market. Combining classic principles of buying low and selling high with unique game mechanics, it offers a fast-paced and interactive experience where players aim to outsmart the market and each other to amass wealth.

Art Society is a new art collection game for 2 to 4 players, featuring easy-to-learn rules. Players assume the role of art connoisseurs, competing to create the most impressive collection by bidding on trendy artworks and arranging them into a stylish gallery. Be cautious, as trends can change quickly, and artworks not acquired might end up in a museum, affecting your collection's value.

Five Tribes: The Djinns of Naqala is a strategy board game set in the mystical land of Naqala. Designed by Bruno Cathala, it puts a unique spin on the traditional German-style worker placement games.

Furnace is a strategic engine-building Eurogame set in the 19th century. Players act as capitalists aiming to develop their industrial corporations and maximize profits through effective resource management and company acquisitions.

Pan Am is an engaging board game that immerses players in the era of pioneering air travel, where they compete to build and expand their own airline empires. The game cleverly integrates strategy, bidding, and economic elements, allowing players to navigate through the historical landscape of the aviation industry.

Condottiere is a strategic game set in 13th century Italy, a period marked by flourishing trade and frequent conflicts among city-states. The game revolves around the theme of mercenary leaders, known as Condottieri, who were hired to fight for different city-states.

Players take on the role of merchants in Byzantium, aiming to maximize profits from the city's markets. They bid on goods to collect sets of three identical cards and must choose the right moment to sell their stock. The game ends when all cards have been auctioned, and the player with the highest total of valuable cards wins.

Metropolys is an engaging strategy game where players take on the roles of ambitious urban planners competing to leave their mark on a developing cityscape. The game combines elements of bidding, spatial strategy, and secret objectives. Players vie to construct their buildings in prestigious locations to gain the most prestige and win the game.

Keyflower is a strategic board game designed for 2-6 players that spans over four rounds, each representing a different season: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The game combines elements of auction, tile placement, and resource management set in a medieval world. Players start with a "home" tile and a team of workers, using them to bid for new tiles, gather resources, and build their village.

The game is set during the late Republican period of Rome, where players lead factions competing for power in the Senate. Players increase their wealth by buying resources, selling them to the state, and using the profits to recruit more senators. The game features various bidding mechanisms, including open auctions, blind bids, and innovative blind bidding for budget deficits, all while competing for control as conflict escalates.

Amun-Re sets players in the heart of ancient Egypt, where as leaders of royal families, they strive to build the grandest pyramids along the Nile. This game is a journey through the rich tapestry of Egyptian culture, blending strategic building with reverence to the gods.

Lead a great civilization at the height of its influence, but can you prevent its collapse? In a game for 2-4 players, participants work to avert disaster by using an intuitive reverse bidding mechanism combined with machine building, long-term planning, and strategic depth. As players face common threats like famine and floods, they develop wisdom and resilience, gaining new abilities and innovations that reflect their civilization's adaptability. The game progresses through various phases, with players moving along a progress track that influences their experiences and victory paths.

Players compete in auctions to acquire African art using the local currency "Hongo." An innovative bidding mechanic prevents players from bidding a number that matches the unit digit of a card they previously won. In the game's Don version, players vie for control over neighborhoods in Chicago with a gangster theme.

Homesteaders is a unique board game that offers a fresh and engaging experience for players. With its distinctive gameplay and innovative mechanics, it stands out in the world of board games.

Players take on the role of wine collectors participating in auction trades of fine wines. They aim to showcase their preferred sets of three bottles in stylish, triangular cellars. The goal is to achieve the best return on investment for their palate.

In the enchanting world of Alchemists, two to four aspiring alchemists engage in a spirited competition to unearth the secrets of their mystical art. Points, the coveted currency of success, can be acquired through various means, but the pinnacle lies in the publication of accurate theories—a challenge that adds a layer of complexity to the pursuit.

Amun-Re: The Card Game is a card-based version of the classic game. It centers around auctions that dictate the course of play across three rounds, with each round featuring three auctions followed by actions and scoring. Players bid on province cards using money cards, with the auction outcomes influencing their income and scoring, ultimately determining the winner based on pyramid sets, fields, and Ankhs.

Players develop their own London district based on their home tile using large hexagonal location tiles, which provide victory points and generate resources. The game unfolds over four epochs, with new location tiles available for bidding in each era, featuring resource-generating tiles and building blocks. Players choose from five actions on their turn, including bidding, resource generation, and expansion, and the game concludes when the last boat sets sail at the end of the fourth epoch, with the highest-scoring player winning.

Yunnan is the homeland of the delicious Pu'er tea, transported to distant Tibet by tea dynasties for over 1,000 years. Players determine the fate of their tea dynasties by building a secure trade network to deliver tea to the most remote provinces, outperforming their opponents. Strategic social influence and a prestigious teahouse can help calm provincial inspectors, while bridges and trading posts along the Tea Horse Road offer tactical advantages.

Bremerhaven is a well-structured yet complex economic game set in the famous northern German port city. Players build their own unique harbors while trying to achieve the highest combination of money and prestige by the end of the game.