Co-designed with art historian and educator Forrest Pelsue, this role-playing game invites students to form teams (private foundations, major museums, and local non-profits) and then bid for artworks at a simulated auction! Teams compete for reputation points, trying to collect the items—within their budget—that will boost their organization’s prestige. This interactive activity introduces students to the art market in a playful way, and includes elements of surprise and chance ranging from repatriation requests to donor solicitation, and from activist interventions to forgeries. Participants can compete but also collaborate, with mechanics that encourage trading and creative problem-solving.

This game was inspired by and initiated during a workshop facilitated by Shreya Sunderram as part of the Interactive Technology & Pedagogy Certificate program at CUNY Graduate Center. Jess and Forrest have run the auction for multiple semesters in introductory art courses at Lehman College and City College in NYC. Forrest and Jess presented the game for fellow art history PhD students at an October 2024 workshop held at the Graduate Center.