Prepare yourself for a heist! In ‘How to Rob a Bank’, one player (the bank) will compete against the robbers, who’re joining forces to try to get away with the loot.
2-4 players, ages 10+
30 minutes
Designers: Prospero Hall
Publisher: Jumbo
https://www.jumbo.eu/en/
How to Rob a Bank is played over the course of 3 rounds, and with the room tiles being shuffled in between, each round will have a different layout for the players to explore.
Players start programming their actions, one at a time, by playing cards face up in front of them. The player representing the bank plays cards that will determine the actions of the guards, the other players take control of the robbers. As you can see the cards played by the other players, it’s perfectly possible for the robbers to work together to avoid the guards, and for the bank to adopt his strategy to the movement of the robbers.
Once each player has played 5 cards, they turn over the stack face downwards, and start performing actions by turning over their top card. The goal of the robbers is to avoid or knock out the guards, pick up money bags, and deliver those to the getaway car.
When the robbers manage to steal 5 money bags, the game ends immediately with a win for the bank robbers, otherwise the game ends at the end of the third round with a win for the bank!
Thinking of games like Villainous, Horrified or Funkoverse, the designers of Prospero Hall already have a number of major titles on their palmares. For me there’s no doubt ‘How to Rob a Bank’ deserves a place next to those games. Once again the game is very accessible, and it’s perfect to give new players an introduction to games where you have to program your actions. We really enjoyed playing the game with our kids – even my 8yo daughter played along very well!
If you’re looking for a fun gateway game with an appealing theme, make sure to give this one a try!
Tabletopping 