The shelf Scarface 1920
Scarface 1920
Chicago, 1920. Prohibition has just begun and four gangs want the city.
- Players
- 1–4 players
- Time
- 90–150 min
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Why it lands at the table
The board is a map of 1920s Chicago split into seven districts. Each player leads one of four gangs, from Al Capone's Chicago Outfit to Stephanie St. Clair's Black Wolves, and the game runs from the start of Prohibition until it ends in 1933.
It feels like running a criminal business with a weather eye on the police. Thugs take neighbourhoods and defend them, deals in the underworld keep liquor and guns flowing, officials are bought, and the Feds are never far away. News cards arrive as the years pass and change the mood of the city.
It is a long game, around two and a half hours, built on cards you play for actions and reshuffle when your hand runs dry. The memorable turns are the raids on a rival's neighbourhood and the late scramble for money before the last newspaper is printed.
How it plays
- 01
Play a card from your hand to take an action: hire, move thugs, take or defend neighbourhoods, deal in the underworld, sell liquor and guns.
- 02
Grow your gang with new associates and improve your headquarters.
- 03
When your cards run out, take a reorganisation turn, which moves time forward.
- 04
Each time the marker reaches the newspaper space, a new news card changes the situation.
- 05
When the last news card is revealed, the player with the most money rules Chicago.
Good for
- Three or four players who want a full evening of strategy and some confrontation
- Groups who like a strong period setting
- A solo mode for practice at home
See it on the table
Video by Meeple University, played through youtube-nocookie.com. Nothing from YouTube loads until you press play. Open on YouTube (new tab)
- Type
- Base game
- Mode
- Competitive / solo
- Edition
- English edition
Written from: redzengames.com, redzengames.com.