In this game of crime and deception, players take on the role of low-level members of the 13th Street Crew crime family. The first player or players to earn $15,000 through their misdeeds will win the game. But, it’s not going to be that easy. Someone in the family may be an Informant, ratting out the family and involving the police on even the simplest jobs.
The Big Job
This game plays three to seven players with each player receiving an identity card, three resource cards, an “all clear” card and a “Police!” card. In the center of the table is a grid of three different job types. Solo jobs can be done by only the lead player. Small jobs require two or more players and Big jobs require three or more players.
As the lead player, you’ll get a new resource card from the deck each turn. These resources are the cards that you’ll turn in when trying to complete a job and earn money. They’re each color-coded with a unique symbol on the card.
The lead player can choose to take on a job in the center of the table. Once a job is chosen, it’s time to assemble a crew! Discussion is encouraged but very limited as the lead player decides who will join them on the job they’ve chosen, meeting the minimum requirement for that chosen job. Players can decline to help and are limited in what info they can share, never telling the other players what resources they have in hand.
Everyone involved in the chosen job will commit any resources they have to meet the jobs requirement until the job is complete or has failed. Players MUST use resources to meet the job requirements if they’re involved. Successful completion of the job will earn all players involved money while most jobs will give the lead player a special perk on the card.
If a lead player needs resources they can chose to pass. They’ll earn another resource card and everyone at the table will take a resource from the deck.
Is There a Rat in the Family?
Each player in 13th Street Crew has an identity card that is given at the start of the game. There is a single Informant card that is shuffled into the identity cards. Even though this card is shuffled in, there are two more cards than there are number of players in the game. Was someone dealt the Informant card? Or is everyone at the table really part of the family?
The goal of the Informant is to either be the first to win $15,000 or to have five “Police!” cards revealed during the game. After a job has been completed, players secretly play an “All Clear” or “Police!” card to see if anyone tipped off the cops. A single card is added from a police deck which keeps players guessing when a “Police!” card shows up during this phase.
A Game of Intrigue
13th Street Crew reminds us a lot of games like The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31 and Invincible: Escape from Mars, two deduction games that we really enjoy. This mob theme works really well and accusations start flying at the first hint that someone at the table isn’t pulling their weight.
The police deck in the game is seeded with only two “Police!” cards and twenty-three “All Clear” cards. While a random “Police!” card CAN come out, it’s a rare occurrence. When this happens, it immediately flips players mentality about the players at the table.
Resources in 13th Street Crew feel limited when players are not taking the pass action on a regular basis. This pass action can be so helpful in gaining the resources you need to complete the jobs you need to earn money.
Some job cards will give a unique ability to the lead player who earned it. Some of these cards will let you see another players identity card, reorganize the top three cards of the police deck, swap identity cards with the unused ones in the box and more. These handful of special abilities really add a lot to the gameplay.
Final Thoughts
13th Street Crew is going to be a big hit for people who enjoy deduction games and the mob theme is a perfect fit. One of my favorite parts of the game has to be the high quality poker chips that come with the game. As players work toward earning $15,000, they are given $1,000 and $5,000 poker chips that are very well made. These heavy weight chips add a premium field to this game and feel great in your hand.
While the gameplay is relatively straight-forward for fans of this genre of games, some of the verbiage on the cards had us digging into the rulebook in our first couple games. The good part is that, everything we needed was found in the rulebook. They did a good job of explaining and laying out gameplay examples that kept us from scouring the forums of Board Game Geek.
One thing that would really help this game is a small player aid card or having a turn order structure on the back of the rulebook. It’s a little miss, but something that would absolutely help players as they learn to play the game.
We don’t have many mob themed games in our collection and 13th Street Crew is a really nice addition. This game isn’t doing anything innovative in its gameplay, but what is does, it does really well. A good deduction game should make players feel slightly paranoid and keep players guessing. 13th Street Crew does both of these things well. If you’re looking for a mobster themed deduction game that plays well with a high player count, you need to check out 13th Street Crew today.
You can purchase 13th Street Crew from the Crimania Games webstore or online through Amazon today.
Highs
- Great deduction game that plays in under an hour
- Loved the heavy weight poker chips included in the game
- Possible Informant identity keeps players questioning other players
- Special abilities on job cards give meaningful twists to the game
Lows
- Game could use a player aid with the turn structure and reminders
- Some card text can sound confusing (rulebook clarifies these well)
Complexity
Time Commitment
Replayability
