Beginner's Guide - Land Grant & Land Auctions

[Big Head Zach]

Land Grant Phase

The first part of each round is the Land Grant Phase.

The Land Grant Phase is your chance to claim one free plot of land each round. A black, square cursor will start to pass over the entire map, left to right, and top to bottom. When the cursor is over the plot of land you wish to claim, press the button as quickly as possible! If you are successful, the plot of land will be bordered by a frame in your color.

If multiple players select the same plot at the same time (within approximately a tenth of a second), the player furthest behind in score will get the plot, and the others will have to settle for a plot in another location. Keep this in mind!

FAQ: Apart from terrain, does it matter where I have my claimed plots?
It sure does! Besides the fact that it takes longer to run out to distant plots, various factors can affect how productive your plots are. See the Production Phase article for more information.

Land Auctions
Sometimes, after the Land Grant Phase is over, the colony will auction off 1 or more additional plots of land. If this happens, you'll be in a bidding war with your opponents. To raise your bid, simply push UP to walk your price line towards the top of the display; you'll see your price listed. Push DOWN to lower your bid; you can even back out of the auction entirely by moving to the bottom of the screen. When the time-bar runs out, whoever has the highest bid will purchase the plot. If no one has bid on the plot, the land goes unsold.

FAQ: The minimum bid is above what I can afford. What determines the minimum bid?
The first auctioned plot in the game has a minimum bid of $160. After this, the minimum bid changes to reflect the average price per plot of land sold previously, slightly discounted.

FAQ: Someone with more money than me raised the minimum price to beyond what I can afford, and then moved back down below the minimum price...why can I not bid on the plot?
This is actually part of the original game, in which a player with substantial cash lead can "lock-out" other players from purchasing a plot. (There is a similar functionality in other parts of the game.) There is a debate on whether this tactic should be allowed/retained in spite of the desire to achieve original spec.

FAQ: How much should I pay for land? How much is it worth?
The game considers land to be worth $500 per plot, plus the value of whatever type of MULE is installed on it. At the beginning it's common to see the auction price even reach $1000. Just be prepared to use that land effectively to make that difference back in the end!

Multiply the number of rounds you have left by 100, and add 500; this will give you the maximum bid you should make on any piece of property. In other words, bid high for land early in the game, but don't get sucked into a bidding war later in the game just because you have lots of money. If you want to get really sophisticated, figure out what you will produce on that piece of land, how many units you will be able to produce, and how much it will sell for. Multiply that by the number of rounds left and add it to 500.

Click HERE for an interesting and more in-depth discussion about the value of land, and why you should pay attention in Land Auctions.