Swindler

About this board game

Swindler is a press-your-luck and take-that game for 2–4 players, played in about 60 minutes. Set in Victorian London, it challenges players to steal wealth from moneybags while competing to become the city’s most notorious swindler.

Each round, choose one of five moneybags and draw tokens from it. The bags contain coins, jewelry, and other loot, but every bag also holds at least one skull. Continue drawing to increase your haul, or stop before your luck runs out.

Drawing a skull means you have been caught. You lose everything stolen during that round, as well as all the loot you previously took from that same bag. This creates a constant risk: valuable loot can help you score, but holding on to it too long can make a future loss even more painful.

• Press your luck: Draw more loot from a moneybag or stop before revealing a skull.
• Turn in stolen goods: Dealers pay points for the loot you surrender.
• Complete orders: Use loot to fulfill tasks, though another player may take the opportunity first.
• Hire accomplices: Gain advantages for yourself or impose disadvantages on your fellow swindlers.

Choosing when to cash in is only part of the challenge. Rivals can race you to orders, interfere with your plans, and make every round more competitive through take-that effects. Timing, risk management, and attention to your opponents all matter.

After a set number of rounds, the player with the most points wins. With its blend of daring theft, sudden setbacks, and direct player interaction, Swindler turns every draw into a tempting gamble in the dangerous streets of London.