Odd Shop
Odd Shop Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 49 Item Cards in 4 categories
- 2 Expert cards
- 1 Profiteer
- 48 Credit Cards
- 8 Authentication Cards
- 1 Auction Hammer
- 1 Overview Card
Setup
Give each player a set of Credit Cards (0, 5, 5, 5, 10, 10, 10, 20); each set has its own marking. Place the Expert Cards within everyone's reach. Put the Auction Hammer aside for now. Shuffle the 8 Authentication Cards and place them next to the Expert Cards. Shuffle all Item Cards and place them as a face down deck on the table; this will be the 'auction house'.
Goal of the Game
Create the most valuable collection. Count the value of your Items and add them together along with any bonuses. The player with the most value in Gold wins the game. In case of a tie, the player with the most authentic Items wins the game.
End of the Game
The game ends as soon as the Auction Hammer is drawn. The position of the Auction Hammer is what indicates the duration of the game.
- 5 rounds = 30 minutes (Auction Hammer after 25 cards)
- 7 rounds = 40 minutes (Auction Hammer after 35 cards)
- 9 rounds = 60 minutes (Auction Hammer after 45 cards)
- All cards = 80 minutes (No Auction Hammer)
Each round consists of 5 cards. If you play 5 rounds, place the Auction Hammer face down after the 25th card of the Auction House. Please note: If you use the Auction Hammer not all cards will appear in the game. This will affect the bonus points (see Bonus Points).
Game Play
Each round begins with an auction by placing 5 Item Cards and 5 Authentication Cards on the table. You may consult an Expert. After that, each player will place a bid with their Credit Cards. After concluding the purchasing of Item Cards, players are able to trade and negotiate. Any possible values will be made public. When trading stops, a new round will start and therefore a new auction. All players pick up their Credit Cards again.
Opening the Auction
Shuffle the Authentication Cards and place 5 face down in a row on the table. Put the remaining 3 Authentication Cards back in their original place. Draw 5 cards from the Auction House and place them face up on top of the Authentication Cards.
All Item Cards have to be auctioned off, beginning with the Item closest to the Auction House, continuing down the line from there. As soon as the 5 Item Cards have been auctioned, the auction ends and trading starts (see Trading).
Bidding
Each player must place a bid per Item Card. Use your Credit Cards to place a bid. The player may decide how many Credits they use for their bid. Should you run out of Credit Cards, you are unable to place another bid this round.
Standard Auction
Each game of Odd Shop starts with a Standard auction. From the second round on, the Profiteer will determine the order of play (see Profiteer). There is no player order in a Standard auction. All players simultaneously place a number of face up Credit Cards in front of them. The player with the highest bid wins the Item. That player takes the Item with the closed Authentication Card that's underneath, and places the cards in front of them. This Authentication card remains closed. This winning player sets aside the Credit Cards used to win this Item. The player can't use these cards again this round. All other players take back their Credit Cards used for this Object Card.
Equal Bids
If multiple players bid the same amount, an extra bidding moment will be started. Players may choose to back out of the auction. If two or more players want to continue, they have to add 1 more Credit Card face down to their bid (following round order). If all participants have placed a bid, reveal the new bids. The bidding stops if there is another tie. Discard the Item Card and return the Authentication Card to the supply without looking at it. Each participant that continued the bid has to discard 1 of their used Credit Cards for the following of this round.
Profiteer
The player with the most Credits left over in their hand at the end of a round becomes the Profiteer. Take the Profiteer Card and place it in front of you. You now have the privilege to be the last player to place a bid. From now on all players place a bid in order, starting with the player left of the Profiteer, going clockwise around the table. If there is a tie for most Credits left at the end of the round, the Profiteer will return to the middle of the table. You will now have to play a Standard auction.
Authentication
When all 5 Item Cards have been auctioned off, players may check their newly gained assets. They may also choose to Trade beforehand. Items can be Authentic, a Replica or Unknown. Reveal the Authentication Cards of all Items. Add the Item Card to your collection in the right orientation to indicate the authentication status (Authentic, Replica or Unknown). The golden numbers represent the value in Gold.
Trading
Trading is possible when all 5 Item Cards have been auctioned off. The players are free in the way that they want to trade or negotiate. They may trade Items, sell them or give them away. In this process they can use any or all of their Credit Cards to purchase Items from other players. Please note: Credit Cards used to buy Items from other players permanently move to the other player.
Example: Sietse buys an Item from Vicky for 20 Credits. He gives his Credit Card(s) with a value of 20 to Vicky. She may use these Credit Cards in future auction rounds. Sietse has to make do with the Credit Cards still left in his possession.
The Experts
At the start of an Auction Round (before bidding and after the 5 Items and Authentication Cards have been placed), the players may consult 1 or 2 Experts. You may consult each Expert once per round.
The cheapest Expert will cost you 5 Credits. Set aside a Credit Card with the corresponding value; you can't use this card during this round. You may look at 1 closed Authentication Card with an Item. Make sure no one else sees the card. After you've looked at the card, return it.
The more expensive Expert will cost you 10 Credits. Set aside Credit Card(s) with the corresponding value. You may not use these this round. You may look at 2 Authentication Cards.
Please note: You may only look at Authentication Cards that are placed underneath an Item Card.
The Categories
There are 4 different categories of Items: Potions, Familiars, Gear and Magic Items.
Each category has a different balance in values. For example, Magic Items are worth more Gold if they are authentic than Potions, but are worth much less if they are Replicas.
The Gear category needs some extra explaining. Gear comes in sets of two or three. The icons on the banner show which Items belong together in a set. If you own all cards in a set, the total worth of the set is doubled. It doesn't matter if these are Authentic or Replicas.
Checking Unknown Items
When the game ends and no one wants to trade anymore, all the Unknown Items will be checked. Do the checks one player at a time. Take all the Authentication Cards and take out the '?'-cards. Shuffle the remaining Authentication Cards and place 1 at every Unknown Item. This determines the value of the Item from now on. Repeat this with every player.
Bonus Points
You can earn bonus points by collecting more Items of the same category. The number of items in each category ranges from 11 to 13, as is shown on the bottom of the Overview Card. The bonus given depends on the number of rounds in the game. The more rounds you play, the bigger the sets have to be, and the greater the reward.
- 5 rounds: sets of 4 = 200 Gold
- 7 rounds: sets of 5 = 300 Gold
- 9 rounds: sets of 6 = 400 Gold
- All cards: sets of 7 = 500 Gold
You may only collect bonus points once per category. This overview can be found on the Overview Card underneath the Auction House. If you play 9 rounds, place the Overview Card underneath the Auction House (with the 9-round line showing). That way it is easy for each player to remember how many rounds are being played and how many Items you have to collect in a given category to earn bonus points.