Soda Smugglers

About this board game

Soda Smugglers is a 20-minute game for 3–8 players about sneaking soda past a border guard in a world where regulation has made carbonation a lucrative contraband.

Lawmakers have introduced a strict new rule: one bottle per person. With soda tightly controlled, travelers must try to cross the border with extra bottles while the border guard works to confiscate as many sodas as possible. Bribes, suitcase inspections, and arrests are all part of the tense smuggling agenda.

Each round, one player becomes the border guard, while everyone else takes the role of a traveler. The guard seeks to identify and seize hidden soda, but clever travelers aim to sneak their fizzy contraband across successfully. The coveted soda comes with an important reward: bottle caps.

• 3–8 players
• Approximately 20 minutes to play
• Travelers attempt to smuggle soda past the guard
• The border guard tries to confiscate as much soda as possible
• Bottle caps determine the winner

The number of times each player serves as border guard depends on the group size. In a 3–4 player game, every player takes the guard role twice. In a 5–8 player game, each player serves as the guard once.

After everyone has taken the required turns as border guard, the game ends. Count the bottle caps collected during the game: whoever has the most becomes the Soda Kingpin. Soda Smugglers offers a compact contest of concealment, inspection, and calculated risk for groups seeking a quick battle over forbidden fizz.