The Old Don runs this city. You just work for him. Or, rather, you work for a guy, who works for a guy who works for him. You and your fellow members of the 13th Street Crew occupy the lowest rung of the Old Don’s organization, but the city is full of opportunities to prove yourself worthy of rising in the ranks. Most of you are loyal crew members eager to prove your worth as good earners. One of you… may have decided to instead work against the organization as a police informant!

The 13th Street Crew is a semi-cooperative social deduction game of criminal strategy. At the beginning of the game, players are secretly given a hidden identity as either a loyal crew member or an informant. While it is highly likely that one of the crew is an informant, it is also possible that there is no informant. Whether or not one of the players is secretly working with the police, however, each player has to carefully choose which other players to work with in order to win because no one can be truly trusted.

Over the course of the game, players will negotiate with their fellow crew members to be brought with on various jobs. From introducing local politicians to the family, to doing favors for the Old Don himself, each job will require different resources to complete, but will reward you with cash, permanent assets, or even powerful one-time use abilities. The police are vigilant, however, and with every job comes the risk of provoking the law! Each crew member on a job secretly plays a card giving the all clear or calling in the cops, and the police also make their own move and play a card from the Police Deck. If the police show, all resources are lost and no rewards are given. Was it just bad luck, were you set up to fail so that one of your fellow crew members could rise, or is there an informant in your midst?

Loyal crew members that make enough money for the organization gain the Old Don’s favor and can win the game either on their own or jointly. If the police manage to break up five jobs before then though, the whole crew will be doing hard time! If one of the players is the informant, that player can win by helping the police break up five jobs or by making enough money on their own and claiming victory for themselves!

-description from designer

Games