📺MOGUL (2015 ed.) by Michael Schacht is an absolute gem: New episode now on YouTube!! Mogul is a borderline filler game, but I consider it to be a top tier game in my collection. Episode 44: “No Thanks for Gamers” is now streaming on YouTube!
In Mogul, players have a secret stash of bidding chips & some face-up cards representing shares of stock. At the beginning of your turn, you reveal the top card of the deck. That card color pays points to each player holding shares of that stock.
Then that card is auctioned off using a “No Thanks” bidding system. Players pass a huge wooden bowl around & add 1 bidding chip to the bowl to stay in the auction. When you pass, you’re out of the round, but you take all the bidding chips in the bowl for use in future turns.
Bidding continues this way until 1 player remains & wins the auction. The winner of the auction chooses to either take the card & add it to their face-up shares (bigger payouts later), OR they can use the bottom half of the card to sell shares or add a depot to the board. Whichever option they choose, the 2nd-place bidder from the auction gets to do the OTHER option.
Cards have a main color representing a share of stock in that color, but then the bottom half shows a different color. This bottom color dictates which color you’re allowed to sell or where you place a depot (if you choose that option).
The depots are endgame points using a compounding scale (more depots = more points per depot). Unsold shares are also endgame points (1 per card). And you’ll also get 1 point per 5 leftover bidding chips. Most points wins!
This game packs a satisfying experience into 45 minutes. It’s clean & smooth in the best way possible! Plus, it uses one of my fav mechanisms: multi-use cards.
Sometimes the card draw can saddle you for a round, but everyone is dealing with that same random draw & reacting to it. It’s a player-driven game, & you have to learn how to pace yourself! It can be tricky, so play it a couple times!
If you like the games Biblios or Ra, I think you will love Mogul. It’s a totally different
#boardgame , but the pacing, timing, & commitment decisions feel similar.
🤼♂️3-5p
🕰️45min
🧠Weight:2/5
