…how 8 of the 11 groups of the 6th championship have finished before they are even finished bidding in the last remaining game of the 5th championship? :p

;-) must be a record. Probably 6th championship will be finished before that game too :P

As much as I understand why both players are doing this (and I will admit that sometimes I do the same now and again), I would not be opposed to a rule that limits the number of bids per game.

This would lead to quicker beginnings and possibly add a new twist to tactics. I would suggest possibly a maximum of 25 bids per person.

However I would also add that it is very rare for a bidding session to last so long, and maybe we should simply treat this as an odd exception that goes with the game.

I am thankful to Richard for starting the 6th Championship before the 5th had finished.

> I would not be opposed to a rule that limits the number of bids per game.

Such a rule would make auto-bidding unworkable, and thus make many games even slower.

I would prefer a rule that compelled both players to use autobidding.

You could combine the two approaches, and say “use autobidding OR you get a maximum of [say] 25 bidding chances”.

Alternatively you could allow people to bid as often as they like, but not give them an extra 36 hours for each bid they make.

The bidding has stopped ;-)

Instead of limiting the number of bids you can make, why not make it that each player can bid only once. The second player to bid won't see the bid of the first player when the second player bids. First turn goes to the player making the highest bid - and the other player gets the amount of points (s)he bidded plus one. If both players bid for the same amount, let the computer flip a coin and pick one of the player as the auction winner.

Abigail

I think perhaps the other player should get the average of the two bids.

Giving someone the average of the bids would be quite a dramatic chance from the current rules. My suggestion is almost identical to the current situation if both players use autobidding, and neither of them raises their bid.

Yes, but it is also a dramatic change not to be able to see the other player's bid. With my suggestion, if the difference between the two bids is d, the lowest bidder gets d/2 more points than he/she bid, and the highest bidder must give away d/2 fewer points than he/she bid. Looks fair to me.

I agree that rules must be changed. Quickest possibility is to have only one hidden bid for both players.

I hope you mean that people can only bid once (and that bid being an autobid), and not that they can only autobid once, but as many “normal” bids as they want, because the latter would only worsen the current situation.