Auction Design

For its experimental purpose and comparison with other types, see Game Types.

Auction Design uses a settings workspace: process sequence above, auction settings at left, distributions and optional explanations at right. The participant board is separate.

Create An Auction

Create a new Auction game, then work from left to right:

1. Select the Auction in the process row and choose its mechanism.
2. Set Players per session and Eligible Player Types in the compact row below it.
3. Configure Value information and Auction type, then timing and pricing at left.
4. Set the relevant distributions at right; use Show explanations when you need help.
5. Review Assignment for allocation/rounds and Data model when you need additional calculations.
6. Edit Instructions, Results, and Moderator presentation in Game presentation.
7. Resolve Validation errors, save, and start the game from Execution.

Auction Mechanisms

The editor supports the mature Auction variants:

• First price sealed bid and Second price sealed bid, selected directly in Auction mechanism.
• English, with starting price, price step, and time without a new bid.
• Dutch, with starting price, price step, and price step interval.

Choose Auction mechanism, Value information, then Auction type in the left column. Private/common information combined with buying/procurement gives private value, private cost, common value with signals, or common cost with signals. The right column shows only relevant distributions. Use numeric bounds and ε for supported standard Uniform formulas, or the formula icon for a custom expression. Show explanations hides or reveals help without changing the game. See the settings reference for exact payoff and signal rules.

In an English auction, Starting price is the first price available on the acceptance button. Current price is empty until the first bid is accepted. It then shows the last accepted bid. In a Dutch auction, Starting price is the first clock price that a player can accept. See Auction Settings Reference for the price rules.

Auction Sequence

A game can contain one or two Auctions. When a second Auction is added, the sequence appears across the top of Layout and can include one optional Between auctions Stage. The Stage is only between the two Auctions; Instructions already precede the sequence and Results follow it.

Use the sequence controls to select an Auction, reverse their order, remove one, or add/edit the between-auction Stage.

Eligible Player Types appears with Players per session in the compact row below the process sequence. It determines which assigned types participate in the selected Auction and is not part of the Page Audience mechanism.

Automatic Defaults

New Auctions receive mechanism-appropriate defaults for information, prices, Instructions, and Results. Some formula and Stage fields remain template-managed until you edit them. Changing a related mechanism or information setting updates only content that is still marked as unedited.

Once you edit template-managed content, later setting changes preserve your text or formula.

Instructions, Between Stage, And Results

Auction Instructions describe every Auction in sequence and include the relevant information formulas. Common-value signal Instructions include both the signal formula and common-value formula.

The optional between-auction Stage may repeat the participant's information and submitted action from the first Auction, but should not reveal results that are not yet public.

Results contain participant results for each Auction and a summary for all players. For common-value Auctions, Results include the realized common value because it is the basis of profit.

Game presentation uses the same three-column Stage cards and Page editor in Layout and Gameplay. Audience rules determine which Player Types receive each Page.

Data Model

Auction modules generate stable Variables for current price, submitted action, winner, clearing price, completion, sale state, and profit. Two Auctions receive distinct identities and readable labels such as Auction 1 and Auction 2.

Generated definitions are available in the Page variable inserter. User-created Variables remain independent unless a formula or value source explicitly updates them.

Use Before Results for calculations that should run after the final auction and before Results appears. They are separate from the final auction and from the optional Between auctions Stage. The Moderator view is live during play; a value calculated only Before Results becomes available there after completion.

Pre-Run Check

Before execution, confirm:

• the participant count matches Assignment,
• every Auction has an eligible Player Type,
• comparison settings are compatible when the selected sequence requires them,
• required prices and intervals are valid,
• Instructions and Results reference Variables from the intended Auction,
• Validation contains no errors.

For field-by-field mechanism, information, sequence, and eligibility behavior, see Auction Settings Reference.