Hold a bidder's money while they lead an auction and give it back when outbid

In an auction the money must be set aside the moment a bid is placed, or a player can bid with gold they spend elsewhere. It returns when someone tops the bid. A leader who raises their own bid should pay only the difference, and each bid must beat the last by a fair step.

Why this works

A promise of money is worth nothing until the money is set aside. Taking it at the moment of the bid means a leader can't spend it elsewhere, and returning it at once when outbid keeps the bidders honest without anyone being out of pocket.

When not to use it

Don't lock money in a game where bidding is a bluff or a loose promise, or where players need all their gold free during a long auction. Charge only the winner at the end instead, and accept that some bids will fail.

In the full entry

• What to build, step by step
• Starting values and the reason for each
• 4 common mistakes and the fix
• 28 lines of example code with 3 checks that pass
• How your AI shows you that it works

Say this to your AI

Use the Spielerando entry "Hold a bidder's money while they lead an auction and give it back when outbid" (read_entry auction-bids-held-in-escrow) in my game. Build it step by step, and show me how you checked that it works.

Or skip this and connect the MCP: your AI then finds all of this by itself.Connect the MCP