Auction game online with friends — bid live from your phones

By Martin Nymann (AddonNordic ApS), who made Deadline Day with his son Viktor. Updated 6 October 2026.

On this page: How it works · The ten auctions · How to start · How to win · Auctions without an app · Questions

How does the auction game work?

Everyone gets the same budget, 100M of play money, and the items come up one at a time: a footballer, a song from the Eurovision finals or one of the most-watched videos on YouTube. You bid from your own phone, every bid restarts the clock, and the highest bid when the clock runs out takes the item. When everyone has a full team, or 3 to 6 songs or videos, the real results decide the winner — so the question is never who shouted loudest, but who knew the most.

• Live, not turn-based. Your friends want the same striker, and you see every bid the moment it lands.
• The real results decide. The stronger team wins the match, the song with the better real result wins the contest, and the video with more real views wins the round. Ratings and view counts are hidden until the end.
• Nobody can buy everything. Overpay for one star, and you are left with change for the rest of the squad. The whole group sees who overpaid.

Which auction games can you play?

Ten, all in the same room: seven sports, a quick draft, and three auctions without a sport.

A full squad takes about half an hour including the match; a Quick draft 5–10 minutes. Only two of you? Computer managers fill the empty seats and bid against you.

How do you start an auction game online?

One of you taps "Play with friends", picks an auction and sends the link — it takes less than a minute, and nobody installs anything.

1. Pick the auction. The host chooses a sport, Song contest, Views or Funny, and full squad or Quick draft.
2. Send one link. Share it in the group chat, or read out the 4-letter code. Everyone joins in the browser, in the same room or in different cities.
3. Put it on the TV if you like. Open deadlineday.app/tv on the TV, and everyone scans the code. The auction, every team and the match play out on the big screen, with nothing secret on it.
4. Bid, then watch. When the last item is sold, the match or the reveal starts. The same group stays in the room for the next game.

How do you win an auction game?

You win by knowing what things are worth, not by having the most money — everyone starts with the same 100M.

• Count your seats. A full football squad is 16 players. Spend 60M on the first two, and you are buying the rest with change.
• Bid late, bid once. Every bid restarts the clock, so an early bid only tells the others what you want. Let them spend first.
• Know the ratings. The team with the higher overall rating always wins the match. A famous name in a weak season is a trap.
• In Song contest and Views, think like the public. A song that finished high in its own final, or a video everyone has seen, beats your personal favorite.
• Let the computer managers overpay. They bid too, and they are not clever. A quiet round is a cheap round.

Which auction games need no app at all?

The classics still work, and they pair well with a round on your phones.

• The penny auction. Everyone gets 20 coins and bids on small prizes from a bag. Whoever pays the most for the least is the loser of the night.
• Gift auction. Bring one wrapped gift each, and auction them with play money before anyone knows what is inside.
• The talent auction. Bid on your friends' skills — a song, a dance, a 30-second impression — and the winner gets the performance.
• Classroom auction. Teachers run it with play money and a list of items to teach budgeting. A class of more than 8? Split into rooms of up to 8, one host each.

More than 8 of you? Open two rooms and let the winners meet in a final. Not a sports crowd? Start with Song contest or the Imposter game, and see all the party games.

What does it cost?

Questions