For Sale

For Sale is a game all about buying ’em low and selling ’em high! This is something of a classic card game by Stefan Dorra, with it being a pre-Millenium title (it came out in 1997). It’s more than stood the test of time, though – because it’s quick, easy to teach and a lot of fun!

In For Sale, three to six players compete to buy properties and then sell them for the biggest profit. It’s a thirty minute (or less) card game, which pits players against each other in fascinating bidding wars! The game’s split into two halves. You start with a certain amount of money. Each round, Property Cards – as many as there are players – get revealed. These range 1-30: 30 being a fancy space station for sale, and 1 being a soggy cardboard box!

Players bid to claim the highest Property Card among those present. If a player drops out of the auction, they take the lowest-value card and receive back half of their current bid. Only the highest bidder pays their entire offer. Rounds continue until players have bought all the building cards. Now the game flips on its head…

In the second half of For Sale, the property cards you’ve bought now become your hand of cards. As many Cash Cards get revealed as there are players. These range from $0 to $15. Simultaneous, each player has to pick a Property Card from their hand. The highest Property Card played receives the highest cash value card.

Your property cards have a one-time use, so you need to pick when to use them, wisely. In essence, you’re ‘selling’ them, for one of the cash values shown. Hand management and trick-taking is now the name of the game! Players total the sum of their purchased cash value cards. They also add their remaining money they didn’t spend in the earlier auctions. The richest player wins!

Player Count: 3-6 players
Time: 30 minutes
Age: 10+