State Auction: Bid on Ownerless Businesses

The State regularly auctions off one ownerless business automatically (see The State). You'll find the auction in the left menu under Finance (State Auction). The highest bidder wins the business.

How an auction works

• An auction starts automatically (once a day by default) and runs for 24 hours by default. The page shows a countdown ring and the remaining time.
• There is a reserve price: a percentage of the value. If the bid stays below it, the business doesn't go to a player.
• Every new bid must be at least a fixed percentage higher than the previous one (5% by default). The Minimum, +10%, +25% and +50% buttons let you fill in an amount quickly.
• If you're outbid, you get your money back immediately.
• If you're the highest bidder, you see a green notice and you can't bid against yourself.

Anti-snipe

If a bid comes in during the final minutes (5 by default), the auction is extended by a few minutes (3 by default). That way nobody can win at the very last second.

Winning

When the auction ends, the business goes to the highest bidder and the money goes to the state treasury. The winner receives a message and a news item is posted. After that you manage the business through Possessions.

On the page

• At the top you'll find tiles: number of businesses sold, average price, highest price and your balance.
• Below the auction is the bid history as a table, with the top three highlighted.
• At the bottom are the previous auctions with the winner and price.