How to play
Everyone starts with coins (18 each with three or four players, 14 with five or six). The game has two halves.
1. Buying. Each round, one nest per player is laid out, numbered 1 to 30: higher is better. Going round the table, each player raises the bid or passes. When you pass, you take the worst nest still out and pay half your bid (rounded up), so passing before you’ve bid is free. The last player left pays their whole bid for the best nest and starts the next round.
2. Selling. When every nest is bought, cheques worth 0 to 15 are laid out, one per player. Everyone picks one of their nests in secret. Then the best nest gets the biggest cheque, the next best the next, and so on.
When every nest is sold, add up your cheques and the coins you have left. The most wins; a tie goes to whoever kept more coins.
Tips
Coins count at the end, so a cheap middling nest can beat an expensive great one. When selling, use a poor nest on a round of small cheques and keep your best for the round with a 15 in it.