Crooks

About this board game

Crooks is a fast-paced mafia game for 2–4 players that plays in about 15 minutes. Set in New York in 1935, it casts each player as a criminal boss assembling a crew of thieves and other rogues to rob locations across the city.

The city is crowded with unemployed criminals waiting in bars, pool halls, and by the race course for an opportunity. Visit these hangouts to choose from the available thieves, but think carefully: any crook you leave behind may be recruited by an opponent.

Success in Crooks depends on balancing immediate opportunities with clever interference. You can use your thieves to increase your own earnings, or thwart another player’s plans before they can profit. The goal is to return home with more money than your rivals at the end of the day.

• Recruit strategically: Select the best available thieves while considering who your opponents may take.
• Bluff and disrupt: Decide whether to advance your own scheme or interfere with another boss.
• Use special actions: Some thieves provide abilities that can improve your chances of winning.

The second edition updates the experience with a cardboard box instead of a tin, revised cards with new ranks for some crooks, and the removal of the Kingpin. It also changes the pickpocket rule and introduces Support Crew cards, which affect the rank of the card immediately to their left or right.

With its compact play time and emphasis on tactical recruitment, bluffing, and rival disruption, Crooks delivers a concise crime-themed contest in which every hiring decision can strengthen your crew—or someone else’s.