by Pedrator
Not at all random and definitely one of the trickiest bits in the game. Each player, starting with the starting player, places a token in the bidding area on the tile he/she wants to auction.The Starting player auctions the starting player token first, the next player places the 2 token on any adjacent tile (adjacent to the starting player token), then player 3 places the 3 token, player 4 the 4 token and player 1 again the 5 token. Tokens may always placed on an adjacent tile to the previous numbered token.
What players try to do is either to auction the token they wan because they have more money than the other players and know they will get it;
They want to auction a tile they know other players want so they get good money for it;
They want to auction a tile nobody wants so they can get it for very cheap or even for free.
The auction market is always different and it's the one thing that makes the game as good as it is!
Only the tile laying is random, anything else is just guesome strategy. Players can even try to direct the tokens to make leave other players with no tile options.
I strongly recommend you getting this game if you like games like Puerto Rico or Caylus for example.