Rules for  MASTERPIECE  The Art Auction Game  (c) 1970 Parker Brothers, Inc. Salem, Mass. 01970 Made in U.S.A.

Introduction 
Your favorite Rembrandt is on the block and you are bidding for it against a 
dazzling array of eccentric art speculators. Baron von Oberlitzer, 
the German Industrialist, signals a bid of $500,000; V. Elton Whitehall 
instantly ups it to $750,000. Should you go even higher? What if it's 
a worthless forgery? You must decide quickly, but you'll never know for sure 
unless you outbid the competition. Keen observation, steady 
nerves and a little luck make the difference in MASTERPIECE, an exciting, 
suspenseful trip into the elite world of the international art 
auction. 

If you like, you may adopt the role of one of six colorful characters who might 
attend such an auction. Their pictures and profiles are printed 
on special cards. So now you're ready to play. The winner is the player who, at 
the end of the game, has acquired the largest fortune in 
paintings and cash. Good Luck 

Preparation 
Place the board in the center of the play area. Each player selects a playing 
piece which he places on any space on the circular track. 
(Instructions on such spaces are not obeyed at the start.) Shuffle and place the 
value cards in a pile face down on the playing board. Shuffle 
and place the painting cards face up in a pile next to the value cards. Select 
one player to be the banker. he gives each player, including 
himself, $1,500,000 and places the balance of the cash in a convenient location. 
Each player, in turn, beginning with the banker, draws one 
painting and one value card from the piles on the board.. The value card is 
clipped to the back of the painting so that its value is hidden and 
only the owner of the painting may look at it. All paintings are displayed face- 
up in front of their respective owners. 

The Play 
Players roll the die for high score to determine who goes first. High man then 
rolls the die and moves his piece the number of spaces 
indicated. He then takes whatever steps he chooses within the following rules: 

   If a player lands on a space which says: 
BANK AUCTION, he and each of the other players may, but are not required to, bid 
on the top painting in the pile on the board. The value 
of the painting will not be known except to the high bidder who draws the 
painting and top value card after he pays the bank. 

   If a player lands on a space which says: 
PRIVATE AUCTION, any of the other players may, but are not required to, bid on 
one of his paintings. If he has more than one, the 
painting to be auctioned is selected by the player on his left. The new owner 
pays the former owner the high bid amount and then he receives 
the painting with its value card attached. 

   The following rules are pertinent to all auctions: 
1. If bidding occurs, the opening bid must be no less than $100,000. 
2. Bids must be in amounts of at least $50,000 
3. Any player may open the bidding and thereafter bidding is at random without 
regard to the order of play around the board. 
4. If at any time a player is caught bidding an amount higher than his cash 
holdings, he must pay $100,000 to the bank, or if he has less than 
$100,000, he loses his next turn. A player may not be penalized for bidding 
above his cash assets if he is not discovered until after the high 
bidder has paid for his painting. If the high bidder has insufficient cash, he 
obeys the above rules and the auction is then re-run. A high 
bidder with sufficient cash must pay the high bid for his painting even if 
another player without sufficient cash was involved in the bidding. 
5. In the event two or more players simultaneously bid a like amount and there 
is no higher bid, the auction is canceled. 
6. The player on whose turn an auction occurs is the auctioneer, even though he 
may be participating himself. He shall endeavor to maintain 
reasonable order during the auction and shall make final decisions in the event 
of disputes but he must decide fairly and must see that all rules 
of the auction are obeyed. 
7. Play passes to the next player to the left after a high bidder has paid and 
received his painting and value card. 
8. Borrowing cash and private sales of paintings are not allowed. 

   If a player lands on a space which says: 
BUY A PAINTING FOR "X" DOLLARS, he may, if he desires, pay the bank the amount 
specified and he then receives the top painting 
together with the top value card. If he does not wish to buy the painting, the 
play automatically becomes a Bank Auction in which all players 
participate according to Bank Auction rules except that the player who refused 
the painting acts only as auctioneer and may not bid. 

   If a player lands on a space which says: 
SELL ANY PAINTING TO THE BANK, he is given the opportunity but is not required 
to sell any one of his paintings to the bank. The 
value is determined by its value card. A player will do well to sell an 
expensive painting as he might be forced to sell it at a loss at "Private 
Auction." When a painting is cashed in, the value card is displayed for other 
players to see and then both the painting and the card are placed 
aside, out of play for the remainder of the game. 

   If a player lands on a space which says: 
BUY A PAINTING FORM ANOTHER PLAYER FOR $400,000, he is given the opportunity but 
is not required to purchase any one 
painting from any other player for $400,000. The player owning the desired 
painting is obligated to sell if the buyer has the ready cash. 

   If a player lands on a space which says: 
INHERIT A PAINTING, he receives free and clear the top painting from the pile on 
the board, along with the top value card which will 
assign the value to the painting. 

   If a player lands on a space which says: 
SELL A PAINTING TO THE BANK FOR $350,000, he must sell any one of his paintings 
for which the bank pays $350,000 in cash. He 
will do well to sell his least valuable painting, particularly a forgery if he 
has one, but he is required to sell even if his least valuable 
masterpiece is worth more than $350,000. He takes no action on his turn if he 
has no painting. 

Winning the game 
The game ends when the last painting and value card are drawn form the board. 
Players add up their cash and values of their paintings to 
determine their total assets. The player having the greatest total assets is the 
winner. 

Equipment 
The equipment consists of a playing board, six playing pieces, twenty-four 
paintings, twenty four value cards, play money, clips for holding 
together paintings and value cards, one die and six biography cards. 

The dollar values which are associated with paintings in the Masterpiece game 
are not representative of their actual market value. 

All paintings in MASTERPIECE are property of the Art Institute of Chicago and 
are reproduced for MASTERPIECE with their permission.