Modern Art gets a Philippine edition—here’s why it’s your next bonding activity with friends and family

The visual design and layout were spearheaded by graphic artist Tanya Mallillin, working in collaboration with the Gaming Library design team of Hans Kenner Fernandez and Duane Galang. The team made a conscious decision to keep the art cards uncluttered by omitting technical details like canvas size, allowing the art to take centre stage. This design choice is meant to encourage players to research the paintings and visit the actual museums to identify them there. The box includes a separate art book, which contains all the information about the featured artists that can help players in crafting their spontaneous scripts when auctioning off their paintings in their deck.

For serious art collectors, select releases of the game will include a limited-edition archival print of Juvenal Sansó’s Fat Cat. Proceeds from this deluxe version will go towards an animal shelter, offering fans a rare opportunity to acquire a unique, legitimate artwork for their wall while supporting a noble cause.

In Modern Art, players take on the roles of competing museums over four strategic rounds, aiming to become the wealthiest by buying, selling and auctioning off paintings. Players begin with art cards in their storage and, on their turn, choose a painting to put up for auction. The type of auction is dictated by symbols on the top corners of the cards, and players are highly encouraged to embrace the fantasy by roleplaying as charismatic auctioneers.

Amongst the five auction types is the Hidden Auction, where everyone secretly hides their bid amount in their fist. Once ready, the bids are revealed, and the highest bidder wins; however, in the event of a tie, the player closest to the auctioneer in a clockwise direction takes the painting. In a One Time Offer auction, players take turns in order to make a single bid, deciding whether to outbid the previous amount or simply pass. Meanwhile, the Fixed Price Auction requires the auctioneer to set a specific price and offer it to players one by one in turn order. The first person to agree gets the painting, but if no one buys it, the auctioneer is forced to purchase it at their own set price.

Ultimately, a painting’s value at the end of a round is determined by its relative popularity, rewarding players who possess the most works from the most frequently auctioned artists. The value of these paintings compounds as the rounds progress, though players must remember that during the first round, the maximum ceiling value of any painting is capped at 30 million.

Those eager to build their tabletop collections can look forward to the official launch of Modern Art: Philippine Edition at the All Aboard Expo 2026. The event will take place at the MICE Center in Quezon City from May 28 to 31, with more details available on the Gaming Library website. Whether you are a seasoned tabletop gamer or an art enthusiast looking to appreciate Philippine history in a novel way, this release proves that games, like art, are spaces where logic and imagination converge.

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