Heist: The game where alliances mean nothing and money means everything!

Heist is a role-taking, bluffing game where alliances mean nothing and money means everything. Each turn, "The Boss" (the active player) chooses other players to go with him on a heist. The other players all have roles that are randomly dealt to them each turn, and only they know. The first thing to do each game is shuffle The Loot Deck (30 cards with a single number on them to signify how much you're playing for each round) and The Police Pursuit Deck (cards numbered from 1 to X, where X is the number of players in the game), give The Boss card to the first player, and form the role deck with X+2 role cards, where X is the number of players.

Goal: Each player has dice that keep track of how much money they have. The first player to 20 wins!

Game Phases:

Start of the Turn - The Boss shuffles the role cards and deals one to each player facedown, who looks at it and does not show anyone else. The remaining two cards are placed in the center of the table so that no one can see them, not even The Boss.

Forming the Team - The Boss flips over the top card of the Loot deck, which tells them how much money they are trying to score, and then invites others to go on the heist with them. The other players lobby to get on the team by making deals with The Boss and oftentimes lying through their teeth about who they are.

Police Pursuit - The Boss flips over the top card of the Police Pursuit deck. This deck has cards numbered from 1 to X, where X is the number of players in the game (NOT the number on the current team). If the number on the card is EQUAL OR LOWER than the number of players on the team, the heist fails. This means that the smaller the team, the easier it is to get away and hide. The larger the team, the harder - there are more cars, more details they can piece together from witnesses, more people who have ties to others, etc.

Payoff - Each player gets the amount of money that The Boss agreed for them to have at the beginning. HOWEVER, there could be a traitor in the midst. If the Undercover Cop was on the team, the heist fails and NO ONE gets money (except the Undercover Cop, who gets a set amount for doing his job). Then gather all the role cards to prepare for next turn.

The Roles (in parentheses is the phase they reveal themselves and use their ability):

The Boss (always known)- Chooses who gets to go on the heist and what they'll get out of it. Also, they are the ones who deal out the roles facedown EACH turn. This means other players never have the same role from turn to turn unless it is randomly dealt to them again. The Boss stays The Boss until they fail a heist, at which point it goes to the next player.

The Undercover Cop (Payoff) - If the Undercover Cop reveals themselves, the heist fails and they gain 3 money.

The Muscle (Payoff) - The Muscle cancels the Undercover Cop.

The Wheelman (Police Pursuit) - The Wheelman can reveal themselves if the team fails to get away from the Police Pursuit. If they do, the team automatically succeeds.

The Safecracker (Payoff) - If The Safecracker is on the team, he and The Boss each get 2 extra money on a successful heist.

Narc (End of Forming the Team) - If The Narc is on the team, they reveal themselves to remove another player from the team and reveals their role.

Body Double (Payoff) - The Body Double was really The Boss the whole time! If they reveal themselves, they switch payoffs with The Boss, and they are The Boss the next turn.

The Pickpocket (Forming the Team) - If The Pickpocket is NOT on the team, they can steal 1 money from a player on the team of their choice.

Theif (N/A) - Theives have nothing to really offer the rest of the team. They have no negative effect for The Boss, other than taking their money, but no positive effect either.

Thanks for your quick reply!

Originally I had it that The Boss had to take a minimum of 2 others. This way there was a greater chance of failing. There's a balance keeping you from taking everyone, but yes the minimum wasn't really balanced well. I guess that's where the lobbying would take control. But you're right, maybe having a minimum of 3 on a heist (2 plus The Boss), and also skewing the Pursuit deck to have a few more low numbers in it.

Another rule I had originally, and might put back in, is to limit The Boss to either two or three heists. This way they can't just keep going non-stop.

Or, another idea: You draw more loot cards the more players there are on the team. So, instead of drawing the cards first, you actually pick the team first, THEN draw. The Boss would always get first pick on which one they get, and that could be part of the lobbying i.e. "I'm The Wheelman, I'll go with you for the second choice of loot", etc. This would give them incentive to take more people, giving them a greater chance to get a higher valued card. Thoughts?

I also had a specific card in the Loot deck that made The Boss role move to the next player, but I scrapped that as I didn't want it to show up on someone's first turn and ruin their fun.

HEIST

Heist is a role-taking, bluffing game with negotiation, where players team up to rob banks. Each turn, one player is “The Boss” and determines what they’re playing for, who is on his team, and who gets what loot. The Goal of the game is to be the first player to have $30.

Components:

Role Cards (10) – These represent the types of roles each player takes on the heist. There is one of each special role, and two thieves.

Loot Cards (20 - number in parentheses is the amount of each card) – Six (1), Five (3), Four (3), Three (4), Two (4), One (3), Empty Money Bag (2)

A single d6
Dice, tokens, or a notepad to keep track of the money ($)

Phases:

Start of the Turn - The Boss shuffles the role cards and deals one to each player face down, who looks at it and does not show anyone else. The remaining cards are placed in the center of the table so that no one can see them, not even The Boss.

Forming the Team – The Boss deals X cards to himself from the top of the Loot deck, where X is the number of players in the game. Secretly, he examines these cards, and then puts them face down on the table. He may say anything he would like about the cards he sees, to let the others know what they are trying to rob, but he does not need to tell the truth. Each other player then lobbies to get themselves on the team. They do this, often, by lying and making shady deals (for instance, one might say “I’m the Wheelman, and I’ll go on your team for the first choice of loot”). Once the team is formed, the Boss takes the Loot cards he has, shuffles them, then deals the top Y cards face down in front of him, where Y is the number of players on the team. The rest are shuffled back into the Loot deck.

Police Pursuit – The Boss rolls a d6, and on a roll of a 1 the heist fails.

The Double Cross – If the Undercover Cop is on the team, they may reveal themselves. If they do (and The Muscle isn’t on the team), the heist fails.

Payoff – If the heist did not fail, flip over the Loot cards. Each player, in the order designated by The Boss at the beginning, takes a loot card of their choice, and adds that much money to their stash. If the heist did fail, no one takes any loot cards.

End of the Turn - Return all the Loot cards to the Loot deck, shuffling them together. Gather all the role cards. The Boss gives his role card to the player on their left.

The Roles:

Each role card has two abilities, with the exception of The Boss. One ability is what happens when they are on the team and one when they are off the team. Listed below is each role, with their abilities and the phases they are used in parentheses.

The Boss (always known) – Sets the pace of the game. The Boss chooses who gets to go on the heist and what they'll get out of it. Also, they are the ones who deal out the roles face down each turn. This means other players never have the same role from turn to turn unless it is randomly dealt to them again.

The Undercover Cop - (On the Team, The Double Cross) If the Undercover Cop reveals himself, the heist fails and they gain $3. (Off the Team, Police Pursuit) If the heist fails, the Undercover Cop gains $2.

The Muscle - (On the Team, The Double Cross) The Muscle cancels the Undercover Cop on the team. This means that the heist does not fail due to their special ability, they do not gain $3, AND they do not gain any Loot. The Muscle gets to take the Undercover Boss’ loot during the Payoff. (Off the Team, The Double Cross) The Muscle can lose $1 to discard 1 face down Loot card.

The Wheelman - (On the Team, Police Pursuit) The Wheelman can reveal themselves if the team fails to get away from the Police Pursuit. If they do, the team automatically succeeds. (Off the Team, Police Pursuit) The Wheelman may make The Boss reroll the Police Pursuit die.

The Safecracker - (On the Team, Payoff) If the heist was successful, The Safecracker and The Boss each gain $2. (Off the Team, Forming the Team) The Safecracker may look at the Loot cards and choose which ones are returned to the deck.

Narc - (On the Team, Forming the Team) The Narc reveals himself to remove another player from the team and reveal their role. The Boss chooses who gets the removed players Payoff. (Off the Team, Forming the Team) The Narc chooses a player who reveals their role card. The Narc may perform that players Off the Team ability this turn.

Body Double - (On the Team, End of the Payoff) The Body Double was really The Boss the whole time! If they reveal themselves, they switch payoffs with The Boss, and they are The Boss the next turn. (Off the Team, Forming the Team) The Body Double chooses a player who is on the team and switches roles with them. They do not show any other players their new role.

The Pickpocket – (On the Team, Forming the Team) The Pickpocket gains $1. (Off the Team, Forming the Team) The Pickpocket can steal $1 from a player of their choice on the team.

Thief - (On the Team, N/A) Thieves have nothing to really offer the rest of the team. They have no negative effect for The Boss, other than taking their money, but no positive effect either. (Off the Team, Police Pursuit) Any thieves may reveal themselves to subtract 1 from the die roll each.

Extra tips:
- It’s important to remember that lying is a part of the game. While it is possible to win the game without lying if you are lucky, you often will have to fudge some facts about your role and what deal you are making.
- The Boss will always have a rough estimate of what type of loot is available. However, the actual numbers depend on how many people go on a heist. Taking only one other person may be important to cut others out of the loot, but it also greatly decreases the possibility of getting the Loot you want.
- Some roles provide no benefit whatsoever to The Boss. It is their responsibility to make themselves part of the team through deceit and making deals that are advantageous to The Boss.
- Anything relevant to the game can be a part of the deal. The Muscle might be the most important person on the team, or they might be just another body. The Muscle (or someone claiming to be The Muscle) could say, “If I stop The Undercover Cop, I get first pick. If I don’t, I get last”, for instance. Also, if a Thief is off the team, they might threaten to call the cops (use their Off the Team ability) unless The Boss gives them money.
- The Boss typically would want the first choice of Loot, but sometimes a deal has to be made to give that up to another person.