Game Objective

Speakeasy is set during the Prohibition Era, where producing, transporting, and selling alcohol is illegal. You play as a Crime Boss working with Lucky Luciano to establish and expand your operations in Manhattan. Your goal is to build Speakeasies, produce hooch, and sell it to customers while competing against other gangsters and evading the Cops.

The game is a race for wealth: the player with the most Money at the end of the game wins. Money exists in two forms: Cash on hand and unlaundered funds kept secret in your Safe.

Setup

The game is set up as follows:

• Game Board: Manhattan is divided into 3 Zones (Downtown, Midtown, and Uptown) containing a total of 16 Districts. Some Building Locations already contain red Mobster Speakeasies, and others are marked with a Body Token. Some Districts are already monitored by Cops.
• Docks Board: Associated with the Docks Location and 4 Rum-Runners circulating the city.
• Mobster Board: Identifies competing gangsters who own the red Speakeasies in specific Districts.
• Player Starting Resources: Each player receives:
  • 4 Capos (Workers).
  • $15 Cash on hand.
  • $30 of unlaundered funds in their Safe.
  • A hand of 4 different colored Cards (one of each type: Orange Production, Green Transport, Purple Sell, and Red Protection).
  • 1 Goon.

Game Flow

The game is played over 4 Eras (covering 1920 to 1933). Each Era consists of a series of player turns followed by a Lucky Luciano Phase (except for the final Era).

Player Turns

During a turn, players perform the following steps in order:

1. Helper Card: You may play 1 (and only 1) Helper Card for a free executive action.
2. Capo Placement: Place 1 Capo on a person at a Location who does not already have a Capo on them and perform the associated actions.
3. Card Draw: Draw 1 card from the faceup display (Red, Purple, Orange, or Green).

Era Structure

• Era 1 (1921): Players place 4 Capos, followed by the Lucky Luciano Phase.
• Era 2 (1925): Players place 3 Capos, followed by the Lucky Luciano Phase.
• Era 3 (1928): Players place 3 Capos, followed by the Lucky Luciano Phase.
• Era 4 (1931): Players place 1 Capo, then proceed immediately to End Game Scoring.

Lucky Luciano Phase

This phase occurs after Eras 1, 2, and 3. During this phase:

• Mob Wars occur: Adversaries fight for territory. Buildings in Districts with a Body Token are attacked. If you fail to defend your Building, you lose it.
• Cops patrol the city.
• Lucky Luciano divvies out money to his best bosses.

Actions and How to Play

Worker Placement Actions

Players place Capos at various Locations to perform actions. Most actions are optional, except at the Restaurant.

• Contractor’s Office: Build a Speakeasy or your Still. You can build in an empty space or take over a red Mobster Speakeasy if your Strength exceeds the Mobster's Strength. You can also gain a Book or a Helper Card.
• City Planner: Build or upgrade to Nightclubs or Casinos. You can also play cards and advance Operations Tracks.
• Restaurant: Any number of players can place Capos here. You must perform the Change Turn Order action (mandatory), which requires discarding Operations Cards.
• Park: Exchange your Capo's position with another player's Capo (not at the Park) to take their action. The other player gains a bonus (Leverage, City Tile, or Book).
• City Hall: Perform the Get Protection action to move Family Members from the VIP Room to Buildings.
• Docks: Perform the Attack a Rum-Runner action.

Core Mechanics

• Operations Tracks: There are 5 tracks (Stills, Fleet, Party, VIP Room, and Strength). Advancing these tracks increases your efficiency (e.g., more barrels produced, higher truck range, more sales). Advancing from level 4 to 5 on the first four tracks requires discarding a card.
• Infamy Track: Your position is the sum of your 5 Operations Tracks. Reaching specific levels grants Family Members, Helper Cards, or money in your Safe.
• Producing, Delivering, and Selling:
  • Produce: Use an Operating Still to create Barrels.
  • Deliver: Use Trucks to move Barrels from your Still or Rum-Runners to Operating Buildings.
  • Sell: Sell Barrels from Operating Buildings for Cash on hand.
• Operating Buildings: A Building is Operating if there is no Cop in the District OR if it is protected by a Family Member. Non-operating buildings cannot produce, deliver, or sell, and do not count for payouts.
• Cooking the Books: Place Books on specific spaces (Docks, City Hall, Central Park, etc.) to move money into your Safe based on fulfilling specific requirements.
• Associating with a Mobster: Pay a Mobster for extra Strength in fights. This makes that Mobster's Speakeasies off-limits to you.

Combat and Strength

Strength is used to take over Speakeasies or defend against Mob Wars. Your total Strength is the sum of your Strength Track and any Goons you discard (1 Strength per Goon). When attacking a Rum-Runner, your Attack Strength is your Strength multiplied by the number of your Family Members in that Zone.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends after the placement of the final Capo in Era 4. End Game Scoring is then conducted.

Consulte o manual para detalhes sobre esta seção.

Tips for Winning

• Target Weak Mobsters: Taking over Speakeasies with weak Mobsters is preferable to building in empty spaces, as empty spaces are targeted by Mob Wars later in the game, while red Speakeasy spaces are not.
• Protect Your Still: Guard your Still carefully; if it is destroyed in a Mob War, your only source of spirits will be expensive Rum-Runners.
• Strategic Rum-Runner Attacks: Attacking Rum-Runners early is beneficial as it provides a cash payout, a permanent ongoing ability, access to Cooking the Books spaces, and returns a Family Member to your VIP Room.