The Auction — Win the Presidency

Every state on the board is won through a standard auction except for the Super Tuesday blind auction and those won via Debates. The sequence is always the same: trivia, adjacency bonus, bidding, payment. Knowing each phase gives you a real edge at the table.

Trivia phase

The initiating player chooses a difficulty and category, and answers one question, read by the player to their left. You have 30 seconds.

Difficulty	Bonus if correct	If incorrect
Easy	+$5M bidding credit	Auction stops unless a challenge succeeds
Hard	+$15M bidding credit	Auction stops unless a challenge succeeds

Trivia bonuses are bidding credits only — they reduce what you pay, but are never kept as cash if unused.

Trivia Challenge

If the initiating player answers incorrectly, any opponent may immediately call "Challenge" — the first to call gets one attempt at the same question.

Challenge result	Consequence
Correct	Challenger earns the trivia bonus as a bidding credit for this auction only (use it or lose it), and the auction proceeds
Incorrect	Challenger pays the initiating player $5M (Easy) or $10M (Hard)

If the initiating player answers incorrectly and no challenge succeeds — the challenger also misses, or no one challenges — the auction is cancelled and the initiating player draws one cash card as consolation.

Limit one challenge per auction. Binary response questions (only two valid responses) cannot be challenged.

Adjacency bonus

Every bidder — not just the initiating player — checks how many states they own that share a border with the state being auctioned. Each shared border is worth $5M as a bidding credit.

Adjacent states you own	Your bonus
1 border	+$5M
2 borders	+$10M
3 or more borders	+$15M (maximum)

Adjacency bonuses are bidding credits only — same as trivia. They reduce your payment but are never kept as cash.

Bidding

The initiating player opens bidding. Play proceeds clockwise. Once you pass, you are out of this auction.

Minimum opening bid: $5M
Minimum raise: $2.5M
Pass and you cannot re-enter
Last bidder standing wins the state

Payment

The winner pays using dollar cards. Bonuses are applied first — trivia credit, then adjacency credit — and only the remainder is paid in real dollars. If you cannot pay the exact amount you must overpay — no change is given.

Amount owed = Winning bid − trivia bonus − adjacency bonus

Payment goes to the bank for standard auctions. For October Surprise and Recount auctions, payment goes to the state's current owner (or the bank if the owner wins the auction back).

Worked example — Colorado (10 EV)

Three players. The initiating player owns Utah and Wyoming (both border Colorado). Player 2 owns New Mexico (one border). Player 3 owns no adjacent states.

Auction walkthrough

Initiator chooses

Hard trivia

Initiator answers

Correct → +$15M bidding credit

Initiator adjacency

+$10M

(Utah + Wyoming, 2 borders)

Initiator bid power

$25M in credits + cash on hand

Player 2 adjacency

+$5M

(New Mexico, 1 border)

Player 3 adjacency

Bidding

Initiator opens $15M → wins at $22.5M

P2 folds at $20M, P3 passes early

Initiator pays

$22.5M − $25M credits = $0

Credits exceed bid — Colorado is free

Stacking trivia and adjacency bonuses is the core skill of the game. A clustered, trivia-strong player can win states for free — which is exactly why opponents target your borders.

Challenge example

The initiating player picks Easy trivia and answers incorrectly. Player 2 immediately calls "Challenge" and gets one attempt at the same question.

Challenge walkthrough

Initiator answers

Incorrect

No trivia bonus for initiator

Player 2 calls

"Challenge"

First to call gets the attempt

Player 2 answers

Correct

Earns +$5M bidding credit (Easy)

Result

P2 has $5M credit going into bidding

Auction proceeds

If Player 2 had answered incorrectly instead, they would pay the initiating player $5M (Easy penalty), the auction would be cancelled, and the initiating player would draw one cash card as consolation.