Taj Mahal (board game)

Taj Mahal is an auction driven strategy board game designed by Reiner Knizia, first published in 2000 by Alea with an edition from Rio Grande Games, for three to five players. The game unfolds over twelve fixed rounds, and in each round players bid for up to six different prizes on offer by playing influence cards from their hand, with every card played adding to a player's running bid. A player may withdraw from bidding for a prize at any point, immediately claiming whatever reward that prize offers and stepping out of that round's contest, and once every player has withdrawn or been outbid the round's auction closes. Prizes won grant a mix of direct victory points, favors carried into later rounds, and rights to place markers connecting the game's mapped provinces, and a player who links a chain of provinces scores a further bonus for that connection. Because withdrawing early both banks a smaller prize and conserves cards for future rounds, players must weigh immediate gain against the strength of their hand in rounds still to come. After all twelve rounds are resolved the player with the highest combined score from prizes and province connections wins.