An IPL auction simulator recreates the IPL player auction: a fixed purse, rival bidders and squad rules. This page explains how these games work, how they compare with the real auction and with draft games, and which ones people play.
What is an IPL auction simulator?
An IPL auction simulator is a game in which you act as an IPL franchise at the player auction. You start with a purse, bid for players against rival teams, and finish with a squad that has to follow the squad-size and overseas-player limits. BuildXI is not an auction simulator: it is a draft game, and the draft page is linked below.
How an IPL auction simulator works
Most IPL auction simulators follow the same four steps.
- Purse: every team starts with the same fixed budget, and each winning bid spends part of it.
- Bidding: players come up one at a time, and rival teams, human or computer, push the price up.
- Squad rules: the game enforces a squad-size limit and a cap on overseas players, as the real auction does.
- Result: the game ends when squads are full, and some then simulate a season to rank them.
Auction simulator vs the real IPL auction
A simulator keeps the shape of the real auction and drops most of the scale. The table compares the two.
| IPL auction simulator | Real IPL auction | |
|---|---|---|
| Purse | A fixed budget, often the same for every team | A fixed purse for each franchise, set by the IPL |
| Player pool | Often real players, sometimes from past seasons | The players registered for that season's auction |
| Rival bidders | Friends or computer-run teams | The other nine franchises |
| Time to play | Minutes to an hour, depending on the game | One to two days |
Auction simulator vs draft game
An auction simulator and a draft game both build a squad, but they ask different questions. A draft asks which player you take. An auction asks what you spend. For the full explanation, read what an IPL auction game is. To play the draft format, go to the IPL draft simulator page.
Other IPL auction games people play
These are the games that appear in search results for this query. BuildXI is first and is a draft game; the others are listed by name only, so check each site for what it offers.
- BuildXI (buildxi.in): a free IPL draft game, not an auction game. You take one player from each of eleven IPL squads, with at most 4 overseas players, and there is no purse and no bidding.
- Drafty Sports (draftysports.com): a cricket draft and fantasy game site.
- The Cricket Draft (thecricketdraft.com): a cricket draft game site.
- Crikky (crikky.com): a cricket draft and fantasy game site.
Questions
What is an IPL auction simulator?
An IPL auction simulator is a game that recreates the IPL player auction. You run a franchise with a fixed purse, bid for players against rival teams, and have to build a squad within the squad-size and overseas-player rules.
Is there a free IPL auction simulator?
Yes. Most fan-made IPL auction simulators are free and run in the browser, and the honest ones need no sign-up. Check each site for what it offers before you start.
How is an IPL auction simulator different from a draft game?
An auction simulator is about money: you bid from a purse and decide what each player is worth. A draft game is about picks: you take one player from what is in front of you, with no budget. BuildXI is a draft game, and you can read how it works at /ipl-draft-simulator.
Can I play an IPL auction simulator with friends?
Some can. A few auction simulators support shared rooms where friends bid against each other. BuildXI has a multiplayer mode too, but it is a draft, not an auction: see the multiplayer page at /multiplayer.
Does BuildXI have an auction mode?
No. BuildXI is a draft game: you take one player from each IPL squad you land on, with no purse and no bidding. To play the draft, see /ipl-draft-simulator.