Tabletop Tuesday - Spy Alley

Welcome to another edition of Tabletop Tuesday - Your weekly exploration into games of dice, cards, luck, and more of the Tabletop world.

This week's game...the game of code books and suspicious looks that is Spy Alley.

Players: 2-6
Time: 40-60 minutes
Genre: Strategy / Casual Family Game



In Spy Alley, every player is secretly assigned a different nationality of spy, in which they must obtain their needed items of that nationality and escape to their embassy.  This is easier said than done however, for at any time players may try to guess the identity of another player.  If they're right, the accused will be eliminated.  Wrong, and the accuser is eliminated.  So in order to avoid suspicion and throw off the trail, players may opt to buy various items of other nationalities.  While this would be a safer tactic, it also takes longer which may allow other players to escape first.  Thus it becomes an interesting game of taking risks and identifying tells of the other players as you all race to complete your respective missions.

In order to obtain these needed items, players will take turns rolling and going around the board, earning opportunities to buy item(s), get move cards, and earn money.  Move cards allow players to move a certain amount of spaces rather than rolling, which can provide some interesting options for players trying to land on a specific space or avoid others.  Otherwise, the path is rather straightforward, that is until you get to Spy Alley.  This alluring alley presents both great potential and risk.  It contains all the needed embassies to win, a black market in which to steal from other players, and a large sum of money to be obtained.  But it also contains the Spy Eliminator space, for which any player who enters the alley and lands on this space gets a free guess as to every other player's identity who is currently in the alley, no penalties to incorrect guesses.  And when a player is eliminated, the other player reaps the rewards by obtaining all their money and items, as well as the opportunity to switch nationalities if desired, which could put them one step closer to victory or just keep the other players guessing.  What strategy you take in this game of deduction is up to you and for the others to figure out.  I recommend this game for those who enjoy light strategy and have a good poker face.

If you have any questions about Spy Alley, let me know in the comments.  Otherwise, look forward to future installments of Tabletop Tuesday!