An auction draft is simple: everyone gets the same budget, bids for picks and defends their squad. Here is how the common ways to play it compare, including when you don't need our app.

We compare kinds of options rather than specific products, because every board game and party pack is different. Check the box or store page of a specific game for its exact player count and price.

Comparison

Typical setups; individual games vary.
Option	What you need	Players	Internet	Cost	Who runs the auction
Paper and pens	Paper, pens, a list of items you write yourself	Any number	No	Free	One person acts as auctioneer and tracks every budget
Auction board games	The game box	As printed on the box	No	One-time purchase	The players, using the game's money and rules
TV party game packs	A TV, console or computer, usually plus each player's phone	Often large groups	Usually yes	One-time purchase per pack	The game, on the shared screen; few packs are auction drafts
Draft & Bid	One iPhone, or one per player online	2 to 8	Only for the AI judge and online rooms	First 3 games free, then a Premium subscription	The app: gavel countdown, budget guard, AI judge verdict

When paper is the better choice

Paper is free and flexible: you can invent any topic, use inside jokes and play with as many people as you like. The cost is bookkeeping. Someone has to auction the items, record every price and check that nobody overspends, and that person barely gets to play.

When a board game is the better choice

If you want something physical with no screens at all, an auction or bidding board game is a good fit. You pay once, the components are tactile, and the rules are tested. Themes and player counts are fixed by the box.

When a TV party pack is the better choice

For a big group gathered around one TV, a shared-screen party pack works well and offers many different mini-games. It needs a TV or computer and usually a phone per player, and only some packs include anything like an auction.

When Draft & Bid fits

Draft & Bid is built for one specific game: the auction draft with a debate at the end. It fits when you want to start in a minute, with no props and no auctioneer sitting out: one phone on the table, 17 ready-made topics, a gavel timer, a budget guard that keeps every squad completable, and an AI judge. It is iPhone-only, and the full version is a subscription.

How to run a paper auction draft

Pick a question, for example “Who joins your zombie apocalypse crew?”
Write 5 items per player plus 4 spares on slips of paper.
Give everyone 100 points and set a minimum raise of 5.
Auction the slips one by one; the auctioneer counts “going once, going twice, sold”.
Nobody may bid so much that they can't pay at least 5 for each remaining empty slot.
When all squads have 5 items, everyone gets 30 seconds to pitch, then vote in secret, not for yourself.

Written by the developer of Draft & Bid. We aim to be fair; if something here is wrong, write to erbalta80@gmail.com.

Ways to play an auction draft with friends