From the publisher’s rulebook

Who goes first in Dreadful Circus?

Portal Games English rulebook

Official product image showing the Dreadful Circus game box

The player who most recently visited a circus starts as the first Seller.

Rule details

With five to eight players, the player seated directly across from the first Seller starts as the second Seller. With four players, there is no second Seller.

Sellers make offers, all bids are simultaneous, and the first Seller resolves their offer first. At the end of a round, Seller tokens pass left.

Source & edition

All 8 Portal Games starting rules

Image: © Portal Games · Portal Games

If your rules call for a random choice, use the player picker.

If there’s a tie

The rulebook doesn’t say. If you need a tie-break, pick a player at random.

More starting rules

Browse available game rules

Games with a similar starting rule

More starting rules about travel and places

Free game-night tools: score keeper · turn timer · dice roller · all tools

Embed this answer on your site

Copy this HTML into a blog post, forum or game café page. It’s plain text with a link back to this rule, so it works almost anywhere. More embed options

Found a different instruction in your edition? Send a correction with the game, edition, and source.