Modern Art

To set up Modern Art, first shuffle all the painting cards together to form a face-down deck. Then, deal a specific number of cards to each player based on the player count: 10 cards for 3 players, 9 cards for 4 players, and 8 cards for 5 players. Any remaining cards are set aside for later rounds. Next, create a general supply of money tokens, which is referred to as the bank. Each player takes $100 from the bank. Each player also receives a museum screen, behind which they will hide their money, as the amount of money each player has is kept secret until the end of the game. Finally, the youngest player is given the auctioneer's gavel token, and the Modern Art game board, along with the artist value tokens, are placed within reach of all players.

The objective of Modern Art is to be the player with the most money at the end of the game. Players achieve this by strategically buying and selling paintings through various auction formats. The value of an artist's work fluctuates based on its popularity within each round, driving up or down the prices players can get for their collected art. Success hinges on astute bidding, understanding market trends, and making profitable sales.

Modern Art is played over four rounds, with each round comprising a series of auctions. The player holding the auctioneer's gavel token initiates an auction by choosing any painting card from their hand and playing it face-up on the table. The symbol on the chosen painting dictates the specific auction format to be used for that painting. There are five possible auction types: open, one-offer, hidden, fixed price, and double auction. Players bid according to the rules of the chosen auction type. Once the auction concludes, the player who made the highest bid (or the auctioneer if no bids were made) claims the painting. The money from the winning bid is paid to the auctioneer (or the bank if the auctioneer won). The gavel token then passes to the player on the left, who becomes the new auctioneer, and a new auction begins.

At the end of each round, after all auctions have concluded, artist value tokens are placed on the Modern Art board. For each artist, count the total number of their paintings that were revealed during the round (including any that were revealed but not auctioned off). The artist with the most paintings receives the 30-point token, the second most popular receives the 20-point token, and the third most popular receives the 10-point token. If there are ties for popularity, the artist whose column is furthest to the left on the board breaks the tie. Players then sell all the paintings they acquired during that round. The money received for each painting is equal to the sum of all artist value tokens currently in that artist's column on the board. If an artist received no new value token in the current round, their paintings are worth nothing, even if they had prior tokens. All sold paintings are removed from the game, but players keep any paintings still in their hand for the next round.

The game concludes after the fourth round. Once all paintings from the fourth round have been sold off and players have collected their money, all players reveal the total amount of money they have accumulated behind their screens. The player with the highest total cash amount is declared the winner. In the event of a tie for the most money, the tied players share the victory.