Burgle Bros.: a review

[Black_Wolf]

There is a lot of potential surrounding the idea of being part of a team of thieves going after the big prize.

In terms of board games there are varying approaches to the theme from the thief versus thief play of Age of Thieves to the co-operative approach of Burgle Bros.

As noted in the rules Burgle Bros. is a game created "in the tradition of classic heist movies like Ocean's 11 and The Italian Job, you assemble your crew, make a plan, and pull off the impossible."

On that theme alone Burgle Bros. is one with a natural draw.

In general terms co-operative games are still a genre of board gaming that is relatively unexplored for our Meeple Guild.

The best, at least so far, include Pandemic is its varied forms, Shadows of Brimstone and That War of Mine, at least in this guilder's estimation.

But Burgle Bros. is definitely a game with its own charms.

The game from designer Tim Fowers is a cooperative heist board game for one-to-four players and plays in a box estimated 45-90 minutes.

The solo variant is one not yet explored, but that a game has that option does expand its potential in a collection, for those sudden snow-days at home alone.

As a four player game there was certainly lots of opportunities to help and support other players, which of course is the heart of any good co-operative game.

What makes Burgle Bros. stand out initially is that the rule set is rather straight forward.

That the rules are straight forward however, does not mean the game is simply mastered. There are pitfalls aplenty on the modular board to foil the thieves' plans.

The background for the game notes; "The Burgle Bros. are an elite crew that pulls of impossible heists. Get in, get out, and don't get caught. Avoid alarms, sneak past guards, crack all the safes, and get to the roof to escape."

If only it were so simple.

But the fun is in the attempt.

Burgle Bros. does a fine job of creating plenty of in-game tension, while providing the 'feel' of being in a crew of thieves, which ultimately makes this one easy to recommend highly.

Check it out at www.burglebros.com

Thanks to fellow gamers Jeff Chasse, Trevor Lyons and Adam Daniels for their help in running through this game for review.