After being dealt a a hand of 13, the active player turns up 1, 2 or 3 cards from the talon to form an “auction lot”. Players bid using cards from their hand, playing a number of cards equal to the lot, alternating, one card at a time–where a diamond=0, spades=1, hearts=2 and clubs=3. The winner with the largest total sum of suit-pts takes the lot cards into their hand, the loser gets the unknown consolation lot. The cards used for bidding are swept aside as discards. And so on, as hands get gradually shaped and replaced; essentially the cards won replace the card bid. After the stock is gone, players score for the sum of the ranks of the 13 cards in their final hand (Queens, Jokers=0, Ace-10 equal rank, Jack=11, and Kings=15). Players also earn 20 pts for having five or more cards in a suit, giving an alternative path to victory. —description from the designer