Setup
Each player begins the game with 10 gold in poker chips.
At game start, each player receives 10 gold worth of poker chips. Chip denominations: white = 1 gold, red = 5 gold, blue = 10 gold. The remaining chips form the bank.
Setup
First player is chosen randomly; thereafter the auction winner becomes first player.
The first player for the very first turn is chosen randomly. From the second turn onward, the player who won the previous turn's auction (the highest bidder) becomes the new first player.
Turn structure
At the start of each turn, draw cards equal to the number of players.
At the beginning of each turn, draw a number of cards from the draw deck equal to the number of players and place them face up in a row. On the first turn only, all drawn cards must be mining concession cards. If any non-mine card is drawn on the first turn, return it to the deck, replace it with the first mine drawn, and reshuffle the deck.
Turn structure
Players bid gold starting with the first player; highest bidder wins the right to choose first.
Bidding starts with the first player and proceeds clockwise. The first player may either pass or bid 1 or more gold. Each subsequent player may bid higher than the current highest bid or pass. A player who passes is eliminated from the auction and cannot re-enter. Bidding continues until all but one player has passed. A player may never bid more gold than they currently have. Special case: if ALL players pass, the first player (who was the first to pass) is considered the highest bidder at a bid of 0.
Trading
With 4–5 players, the highest bidder pays their bid to the player on their right, who keeps half (rounded up) and passes the rest rightward.
With 4 or 5 players: the highest bidder pays the full bid amount to the player on their right. That player keeps half (rounded up) and passes the remainder to the next player on their right. This continues around until the money runs out. The highest bidder may never receive any of the money they paid — if the bidder's left neighbor (the last player in the chain before it would return to the bidder) receives 2 or more gold, that player keeps all of it.
Trading
With 3 players, payment works the same as 4–5 players except the 3rd player gives the remainder to the bank.
With 3 players: the highest bidder pays the full bid to the player on their right. That player keeps half (rounded up) and passes the remainder to the next player on their right. That second player keeps half (rounded up) and gives the rest to the bank (not back to the highest bidder or any other player).
Turn structure
After the auction, the highest bidder picks a card first, then players pick leftward in order.
After the auction concludes and the bid is paid, the highest bidder chooses 1 of the face-up cards. Then the player to the highest bidder's left chooses 1 of the remaining cards. Card selection continues passing leftward until every player has chosen exactly 1 card.
Building
A taken mine card is placed face up in front of the player, grouped by town color.
When a player takes a mining concession card, they place it face up in front of them. For convenience, mines should be grouped by town (border color): Cactus Junction = green, Cold Mountain = purple, Coyote City = red, Dry Gulch = yellow, San Narciso = blue.