Medici

I've been a fan of Reiner Knizia's games for a while now, and Medici is another great example of his genius. This auction game is simple to learn but offers a lot of depth in strategy. The goal is to accumulate points over three rounds by bidding on commodity cards. Each turn, the current player reveals a set of cards for everyone to bid on, and the highest bidder takes all.

What I really like is the variety of strategies you can employ. You can go for quantity in one type of commodity, try to get the most valuable cargo load, or even try to block other players. The game plays well with varying numbers of players, though I find it really shines with 4 or more.

The game components are well made, although I agree with another reviewer that the color scheme could be a bit better. The yellow and orange are a little too close for comfort.

If you're looking for a solid auction game with a lot of replayability, Medici is definitely worth checking out. Just be prepared to get a little competitive!