How to Play High Society: Auctions, Disgrace & Game End
High Society is a compact auction game where players spend fixed-denomination money cards to collect status. The twist: the poorest player or players are eliminated before status is compared.
Reveal one Status card
Most revealed cards are positive Luxury or Prestige cards; others are negative Disgrace cards. The card type determines which auction procedure is used.
Positive cards use a rising auction
Players bid by adding money cards face up in front of themselves. A new bid must exceed the player’s previous total. When you pass, you recover your bid. The last player remaining wins the Status card and permanently discards the money committed.
Disgrace cards reverse the pressure
For a negative card, players pay to avoid taking it. The player who stops first receives the Disgrace card, while players who stayed in the auction lose the money they committed according to the reverse-auction rules.
Prestige cards multiply status
Prestige cards double your positive status at final scoring. Multiple Prestige cards stack multiplicatively under the rulebook.
The fourth dark-green card ends the game immediately
Three Prestige cards and the Scandale card have dark-green backgrounds. As soon as the fourth of these is revealed, the game ends immediately and that revealed card is not auctioned.
The poorest player cannot win
Reveal remaining money. The player or players with the least total money are cast out before status is compared among everyone else.
Source: Osprey Games High Society rulebook. Checked September 21, 2026.