''Gangsters'' is a

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a ...

about American

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally tho ...

syndicates in the 1920s that was published by

Avalon Hill Avalon Hill Games Inc. is a game company that publishes wargames and strategic board games. It has also published miniature wargaming rules, role-playing games and sports simulations. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, and operates under the compan ...

in 1992.

Description

''Gangsters'' is a game for 2–4 players in which players are members of a gang in

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

-era Chicago. In order to win, players amass money from

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

and other crimes, then buy properties and bribe cops.

Components

The game contains * a 22" x 16" board * 4 player aid cards * die-cut cardboard counters and pawns * 8-page rule book * five different colored dice (black, red, green, blue, and white) * 40 pieces of play currency in various denominations * 1 movement pawn * 1 squirt gun

Gameplay

Each turn, the active player may * Buy a property (which then becomes the player's "Joint"), or may improve a previously purchased Joint, or may trade a Joint to another player. * Bribe or move cops * Move gang members * Recruit new gang members * Collect money earned by gang members * Resolve any shootouts

Victory conditions

In the Basic Game, a player wins when the player's gang has at least one Racketeer, one Vamp, and one Thug, and the player has also met any one of three conditions: * The player controls all properties of one color, or * The player controls ten Joints, or * The player has accumulated $10,000

Optional rules: 5-player game

A fifth player can join the game as the corrupt Police Commissioner, and can win the game by accumulating $10,000 and having control of one loyal Cop.

Publication history

''Gangsters'' was designed by Don Greenwood and published by Avalon Hill in 1992. The board was designed by Charles Kibler, the marker art by Dave Dobyski, and the box cover art by George Parrish Jr.

Reviews

In the September 1993 edition of '' Dragon'' (Issue #197),

Allen Varney Allen Varney (born 1958) is an American writer and game designer. Varney has produced numerous books, role-playing game supplements, technical manuals, articles, reviews, columns, and stories, as well as the fantasy novel ''Cast of Fate'' ( TSR, ...

commented, "I don’t like seeing criminals glamorized; that said, this design shows a charm and excitement independent of its subject. Don Greenwood has designed games for the Avalon Hill Game Company for about as long as I’ve breathed. Enjoy this tasty fruit of his long experience."

References

{{reflist Avalon Hill games Board games introduced in 1992