The problem with pure auction games.

Last weekend, I was finally able to get my first 5-player game of Cyclades in. Cyclades sure seems like a wargame, but the goal of the game is actually economic: be the first player to build two metropolises. Furthermore, to do any particular action in the game, you must win an auction for the Greek god that grants that action: you need Ares to move troops, Poseidon for ships, Zeus to get discounts, etc. It was a great game, easily my favorite of the night. It got me thinking why the very lauded bidding games of Reiner Knizia (Ra, Taj Mahal, Modern Art) have fallen a bit flat for me, and I think I have the answer.

In a game like Cyclades, after you win the auction, you are simply setting up the turn order and what options you have for your turn... but then you actually take turns, and through this process, you "feel" the benefit of the bid that you won. You tangibly utilize your bid on Ares by buying troops and taking over other islands, and after the  turn is over, you have a bit more of an understanding of which god you need next and how much money you're willing to spend. It's a very good system.

On the other hand, in a game like Ra or Taj Mahal, when you win your bid, you collect some tokens or tiles, and then... that's it. Rinse and repeat. The only tangible way of understanding, or maybe I should say appreciating, the result of your bid is the resultant change in score. However, at least for me, that isn't the least bit satisfying. Especially since both of those games have static scoring. The only difference here is that in Modern Art, when popularity is determined for each artist at the end of the round, you can see if your gambits paid off as much as you thought they would. But that satisfaction is short-lived, and isn't tangible until the end of the round. Furthermore, it's something easily ruined by other players. Though your plans in Cyclades might be ruined later on, in the moment that you take your turn and perform your actions, you can feel the satisfaction of earning the right to those moves. (Well, I guess I should also add that in Ra, the benefit of gaining a new, higher sun in a bid is something that you will use to some satisfaction in the following round.)

I'm not trying to say that any of these Knizia designs are poorly designed, because these are probably the best in their genre.  For me, though, there's no joy in bidding just to bid. I want to experience the benefit of the bid, directly within the game. And none of those  three games give that feeling much at all. I wonder if Amun-Re is different.