Economic games are not a type of game that is high on my family’s play list. So when I brought For Sale to the table it was met with eye rolls and groans. The thought of sitting around the table, crunching numbers, scrutinizing decisions, and agonizing over money is not exactly our idea of a good time. Perhaps this disinterest is from some seriously cut throat games of monopoly that I had with my family when I was younger. Jeez, those 2 plus hour slogs were nightmarish. Anyway, I have heard good things about For Sale and that it is somewhat of a classic so here we are. This is also the first auction game that we are playing with the kids and I had heard this was one of the simplest auction games out there so I figured it would be a good starting point for them.

For Sale Overview

For Sale, designed by Stephan Dorra and published by Eagle-Gryphon games, has 3-6 players bidding on property and then selling these properties to make the most money by the end of the game. The game is billed as a filler game and I would say that is accurate. Our plays were about 30 min in length once we got used to playing.

Setup

For Sale can get to the table very quickly. Simply separate and shuffle the property and currency cards and give out each player and equal amount of money (18K for 3-4 players and 14K for 5-6 players). You also remove several cards if you are playing a 3-4 player game. I imagine this is to keep play time short. And that’s it!

Gameplay

For Sale is all about buying low and selling high. Each turn, property cards equal to player count will be revealed. These property cards will have numbers on them indicating how valuable they are. Players will then take turns bidding on the set of properties, raising each others bid, until all but one player have passed on bidding. As each player passes, they take back half of their bid money and take the lowest remaining property left on the table. The player that won the bidding for that round gets the highest value property but all of their bid money gets used to acquire that property. This process repeats over several rounds with players getting one property card each round until there are no property cards remaining. Once all properties have been auctioned then it is time to move on to the selling phase.

Selling properties is almost like a blind auction. Again, during this phase currency cards are laid out according to the number of players. These currency cards have different values similar to the property cards. After evaluating the currency cards on display, players will put a property card face down on the table. All players will then reveal their property cards and will be awarded the currency cards based on the property card values. This process repeats until all currency cards are used. Then each player adds up the value of their currency cards and remaining coins and the player with the most currency is declared the winner.

For Sale Impressions

I like For Sale. For a simple game there is fun bit of strategy both in the auction and selling phases of this game. For the auction phase it all has to do with with cards that are on display. If cards are close in value, you may pass right away and not spend money to get a good card. But if there is a big difference between highest and lowest cards you may find yourself in a bidding war. It is all relative. Couple that with how much money you think your opponent has left and the money you have remaining and you have some fun decisions on your hands.

Selling brings a similar strategy but applied in a slightly different way. Here you have missing information. You don’t know what card your opponent has played so you run the risk of over or under committing. Again everyone is going to get a currency card so you have to pick and choose when to use that high value property card in your hand. The really cool thing about this second act is that you could have done miserably during the auction phase and you are still in it come the selling phase. One game I tried a strategy of passing every turn during bidding and I almost pulled out a win.

Monopoly Lite

For Sale does give me Monolpoy-esque feelings, in a good way. There is some fun gamesmanship that takes place during the game as you jockey for the best properties. Card art is light and has that Baltic to Boardwalk vibe. Some high value cards are mansions while low value cards are shacks. The game is accessible to wide rage of people and the kids picked it up reasonably quickly. They still need to work on rationing their money but they will get there. It is also a game you can and will want to get multiple plays in during a single sitting.

For Sale Final Verdict

It is a classic for a reason. For Sale is a quick, fun play. It served as a good introduction to auction games and a good filler game. For Sale is a light game that overachieves and will be staying in our collection for quite a while.