Gavel Drop: a free auction game about the winner's curse

What is Gavel Drop?

Four plots under the hammer, and the bots Zip, Thumby and Skip want them too. Set your maximum before the bidding opens, then raise or drop out. Winning above the plot's value is losing.

Gavel Drop is a free auction game. Four plots go under the hammer, and the bots Zip, Thumby and Skip bid against you.

Set your maximum before the bidding opens, then raise or drop out. Win a plot for more than it's worth and you've lost: that's the winner's curse.

At a glance

Category

Money Moves

Difficulty

Medium

Play time

3–5 min

Price

Free, in your browser, sign-up optional

How to play

Set a max

Read the plot's value, then set the most you'll pay before bidding starts.

Bid

Raise by one step or drop out. Points for every coin of profit, a bonus for staying under your max, and some for walking away.

Three levels

Beginner, Intermediate or Expert, picked before you play: the content and the clock change, and each level keeps its own best score.

Coins

Example numbers in plain fictional coins, made up for the game. Not financial advice.

Scoring

Points for every coin of profit (value minus price), a bonus for staying under your max, 40 for walking away.

Four lots per run.

What it trains

Auctions

Setting a maximum before bidding.

Discipline

Walking away when the price runs past value.

Strategy and tips

Max first

Decide your limit from the estimate before the excitement starts, and stick to it.

Walking away scores

Dropping out of a plot that's going too high is a good move, not a defeat.

Read the range

The true value sits somewhere in the estimate: bidding to the top of it leaves no profit.

Why play Gavel Drop?

Auctions, sales and bidding wars all push people past their limit. Practising a fixed maximum helps in every one of them.

Frequently asked questions