I've played this twice recently, and one of the more difficult things for me to work out is proper valuation of the initial auction. It feels as if this is probably a critical point in the game. Opinions on what the right range for bidding is and what the "best" of the six items offered is are welcomed.

The first game I played was a two player affair. I had never played the game before and my opponent had played once several years ago. I let my opponent win the first auction at around 25. He floated the IOW at 100. At that point I think I realized 30 was far too low a figure, and won the subsequent three auctions, floating the C&N at the lowest available spot, then grabbing the IOW and C&N privates. Each of those I won for about 35. My opponent won the smaller two privates at around 15 each.

I won, and I'm certain that having very strong private income every OR was a big part of it. Both the IOW and C&N privates seem to generate far more income than the related majors early.

The second game I played was a three player game, including both of us from the two player and a third who was new to the title. On the basis of our experience that the privates provided such strong income, all the auction values were inflated, the first two going for 70ish to B (from the two player game with me) who selected the IOW private then the C&N directorship. The third going to me for 60ish, I selected the IOW directorship. The fourth going to me for 25, which was a tactical mistake since with the amount of money I had left on hand I was forced to pick up the FYN private instead of the C&N private. The last two went to player C for 5 each.

C had more cash than either of us and invested equally in both IOW and C&N, holding three shares in each while each of us held five in each. That plus strong private income gave him a cash advantage for most of the game, although player B won late on the strong stock value of the C&N and a portfolio of strong companies in the nationalization phase.

I'm fairly positive that I overpaid for what I picked up in the latter game, and obviously player C vastly underpaid, but I think that even at 70ish for the IOW private and the C&N directorship B underpaid. Then again, it's possible this is all groupthink and the initial auction has more variance with increased experience of all involved.

I'm greatly interested to hear other people's thoughts and experiences on 1860's initial auction.

It's not easy. The main thing in the initial auction is to at least try to come away with something. The relative values also vary according to the number of players and the relative competency of directors.

Coming away with just a presidency can leave you at a disadvantage. Your opponents can just invest in your company and you are down on the money before you even start. At the same time, bidding loads to get the C&N and IOW privates will prevent you from bidding up the two presidencies. If these go cheaply then they'll be able to set par high enough to get two 2 trains and afford a 3, which will put you at a disadvantage.

I've not seen a successful bid of £70 at the start. The maximum we go for (3-4p) is about £50-£60, and in some groups it doesn't go beyond £30. This does not mean £70 is wrong - it all depends on what the other certificates go for as well.

This does not mean that the initial auction is the be-all and end-all. Treat it with moderation and you should still be able to recover percieved defecit later.