Congratulations to the 12 remaining players of the Showdown Genius Invitational. We wish to welcome you to your next task. In the game of Fruit Stand, each of you will take the role of an exotic fruit stand vendor; your aim is to maximize your profits. Keep in mind, though, that customers are cheap, and you have to make ends meet - but should you alienate your fellow vendors?
Six different types of fruits are sold: pineapples, limes, dragonfruits, rambutan, starfruit, and cherimoya. You will be assigned two of these fruits at random. You will not get the same fruit twice, although other players could in theory have the same combination as you, depending on how the randomizer goes.
In each of the four rounds, you will offer one of $1, $2, $3, $4, and $5 for each of your two fruits. These offers are private and will be only valid if done in your confessional. At no point will your offer be shared with your name on it.
After all players have submitted their offers - with time given to strategize, of course - the actual selling price for each fruit will be calculated. The lowest price, whether given by one person or multiple people, will sell all of the fruit. If multiple people offered the lowest price, they will split the earnings.
Let’s give some examples:
- If two people offered $4 for limes and two people offered $5, the selling price is $4. Because four people sell limes in their fruit stand, the total value of limes is $16 ($4 x 4 vendors). The $16 will be split between the two people who offered $4, and thus both successful vendors have $8.
- If three people offer $5 for pineapples and one offers $4, the selling price is $4. Because four people sell pineapples in their fruit stand, the total value of pineapples is $16 ($4 x 4 vendors). The $16 goes solely to the one person who offered $4.
- If four people offer $5 for rambutan evenly, the selling price is $5. Because four people sell rambutan in their fruit stand, the total value of rambutan is $20 ($5 x 4 vendors). The $20 goes to each of the four vendors, who all pocket $5.
In each of the four rounds, you will make an offer in your confessional. Your profits will accumulate.
In addition, you will have two items: Secret and Change. You may only use one throughout the game.
The Secret item will hide the selling price of a fruit of your choice in the round. The players will not know the selling price or the earnings for that fruit in that round.
The Change item allows a player to change one of your fruits for another before the end of Round 4. Your fruit swap will last until the end of the game, though your change will be announced in public with your name on it.
The player with the most money at the end of the game wins and gets a Token of Life alongside two garnets. A sole winner will obtain an additional Token of Life to give freely to a player of their choosing, but in the case of a tie, all winners obtain a single Token of Life and two garnets. The player with the least money becomes the Elimination Candidate and chooses a player without a Token of Life to join them in the Death Match. If there is a tie for the least money, the winner(s) choose an Elimination Candidate from the lowest-tied players.
Oh, one more thing. For every $10 you make, you’ll earn a garnet - win or lose.
Good luck.