Golden Animals

Golden Animal is an auction game for 3 to 5 players where you try to attract golden animals, such as cheetahs, giraffes, and lions - though also elephants, zebras, and rabbits.

A deck of cards is used for both what you are bidding on and what you may bid with. The auction is broken into three simultaneous lots: a mountain area, a river area, and an in-between area (though these are referential only, and not thematic.)

Players program their bids for each of the three areas, by arranging the cards in their hand. The highest bid for each area will take a card, followed by the next highest bid.

If a player wins food cards or rabbits, these are placed face up in front of a player. If a player wins a rock card, it is added to their hand. If a player wins a gold card, it can be discarded or swapped for another card in their hand.

After the auction, the player return the cards they used in the previous round to their hand (allowing for any additions or exchanges from the rock and gold cards), new cards are added to the areas, and the game play repeats.

After 7 rounds, the players compare who has the most in each of the three food types, and golden animal cards are awarded. Players add the points collected from those to points (both positive and negative) on other cards in their hand, and the player with the most points wins.