Bootleggers

About this board game

Bootleggers is a negotiation and competition board game for 3–6 players, with sessions lasting about 90 minutes. Set in January 1921, it places players in the heart of Prohibition, where outlawing alcohol has failed to reduce demand.

Players take the roles of ambitious bosses trying to make a name for themselves in the illegal alcohol trade. With illegal stills spreading across the countryside and secret—or not-so-secret—speakeasies appearing in cities, the market is ready for anyone willing to take the risks.

In Bootleggers, control of distribution is pursued through money, corruption, pressure, and carefully chosen partnerships. Players can muscle in on their competition, pay off local law enforcement, build underground speakeasies, and ship trucks of “hooch” while organized crime takes an increasing interest in the business.

• Compete for distribution: Seek control in a crowded and lucrative illegal market.
• Use money and corruption: Motivate local authorities and manage the dangers of law enforcement.
• Build and ship: Develop underground speakeasies and move truckloads of alcohol.
• Rely on shifting relationships: Deceit, lies, and alliances of convenience shape every rivalry.

Local law enforcement may look the other way when properly motivated, but Elliot Ness’s G-Men are much harder to convince. Every aspiring boss must balance expansion, competition, and the constant threat posed by authorities while trying to turn illegal alcohol into influence.

For groups drawn to Prohibition-era crime, negotiation, and contested distribution, Bootleggers offers a tense struggle for status in a world where everyone wants the profits—and no one can rely on loyalty for long.