Index -> Glossary -> Bidding

Bidding

Every game is started with a secret bid to decide who will go first. Players bid by choosing a number, usually between 0 and 9 inclusive; the player who chooses the higher number decides who goes first. If both players bid the same number, then the winner is chosen randomly. The bidding is done with black tokens, which become the number of burdens with which your Ring-bearer begins the game. (Don’t bid too high, or your Ring-bearer will start with too many burdens and be close to being corrupted.) It is legal to bid 10, but the player doing so immediately loses the game before it starts. If both players bid 10, both players lose the game. Bids are usually shown by hiding the appropriate number of tokens in your hand, with both players revealing their bids at the same time. After the turn order is determined, the tokens are placed on each player's respective Ring-bearers. In a multiplayer game, the winner of the bid decides where they would like to sit in the turn order, followed by the player who bid the second highest amount, and so on. Players then rearrange their seating so that they are sitting immediately to the left of the person who moves immediately prior to them.