M.U.L.E./Phase III: The auction

Buy Low, Sell High
Once the production phase comes to a close, the auction phase can begin. Auctions occur in a specific sequence every time. They proceed as follows:
 * Previous Amount: The amount of a good that you had prior to the start of the current turn is shown.
 * Usage: The amount that you used up during this turn, if any, is taken away from the previous amount.
 * Spoilage: Food and energy spoil if not used, food more so than energy. A little bit of your remaining amount after usage is taken away due to spoilage.
 * Production: The amount that you produced in the current turn is added on to your remaining amount.
 * Surplus or Shortage: At this point, a line appears over your character indicating how much food or energy you require for the next round.
 * If your bar meets the line then you have zero shortage or surplus, you have just the right amount. It is recommended that you do nothing this auction.
 * If your bar is above the line and you have a black number, you have that much in surplus. It is recommended that you sell if the price is good.
 * If your bar stops below the line, and you have a white number, you have that much in shortage. It is recommended that you buy just the amount you need for as low a price as possible.
 * Buy or Sell?: Now you must decide if you want to be a Buyer or a Seller within the alloted time. You must push up to be a buyer, and push down to be a seller.  If you intend to do nothing, it does not matter what you choose.  If you have a surplus, the computer will assume that you wish to be a seller, and you must push down if in fact you would prefer to be a buyer.  Although it is not recommended to sell your goods if you have a shortage, you may sell if you wish to unless you're playing a Beginner mode game.  Once the timer bar on the right disappears, you are locked in place and the auction will begin.

The Auction
Buyers start at the bottom, and sellers start at the top. If the store has stock to sell, a sell line will appear just below the seller, indicating how much the store will sell it's stock for. You are also informed, before the auction, how much stock the store has available. Just above the sellers is the line indicating the minimum price that the store will purchase goods for. Players can not buy or sell stock lower than the price indicated by the store.

Once the auction begins, buyers must move up to at least the store purchase line (if it is still visible) in order to purchase. Sellers must move down to at least the store sell line (if it exists) in order to sell. The buyer who is highest sets the buy price line. The seller who is lowest sets the sell price line. When two players cause the buy and sell line to meet, a deal is made and the transfer of goods for a set price begins. Either player can end the transaction at any time. When transactions are occurring, the auction timer bar freezes.

If the store has no stock of a particular item, then (provided you are not in Beginner mode) a buyer may continue to raise the purchase price of an item as high as he or she would like, provided the player has sufficient funds for a single transaction at that price, and there is enough auction time remaining. When this is the case, the sellers may wait at the top until the buyer has reached a price that a seller agrees to sell at. Then the seller must step down to meet the player's buy line to commence the transaction. Especially greedy players will want to wait until very little time is left before stepping down to meet the buyer.

Collusion - two or three players can cut the other(s) out in the auction. You go into collusion mode by pressing your buttons simultaneously. This is good to avoid selling to the computer.

Auction complete
When the auction is complete, the round is officially over. The next screen that you see is the summary status of all of the players, breaking down how much wealth they have attained according to money, land, and goods. The order that the players are presented on this screen indicate the order that the turns will be taken from top to bottom.

The Colony Summary score is also displayed at the bottom, equaling the sum of all of the players' wealth. If the colony is suffering from a shortage of a particular commodity, you will be notified of it on this screen, through a message that scrolls across the bottom of the screen. That presence of that message means it may be a good time to produce that commodity as the prices are likely to be high.

End of the game
After the auction on round 12 (round 6 for Beginner mode), the final Status Summary screen is shown, declaring the winner of the game, and informing you of the colony's general success, or lack there of. After the transport ship comes to pick you up, there's is nothing more that you can do besides switch back and forth between the summary screen and the plot breakdown, and listen to the groovy M.U.L.E. theme song.