Gang Up! A Criminally Fun Card Game
Designers: Robin Keizer and Paul van der Meer
Publisher: HOT Games/Czacha Games
Players: 3-5
Ages: 10 and Up
Time: 30 – 60 minutes
Times Played: 2, with a copy provided by one of the designers
Gang Up! A Criminally Fun Card Game is a card game where players compete to be the boss and have
the toughest gang. Players start the game with a hand of 6 cards. These cards can either be gangster
cards, which you recruit to form your gang, or influence cards that can help your gang achieve their
criminal goals. Players also start the game with 5 status; you need status to recruit gang members, exert
influence and commit crimes and being the first to achieve a status of 20 will win you the game.
The game starts with a number of gangsters equal to the number of players In jail on the table On your
turn you draw a card from the resource pile (gangsters and influence cards shuffled together). You then
may play as many gangsters from their hand as they are able. In order to play a gangster you must have
at least the amount of status listed on the gangster card; you don’t spend the status – you just need to
have it. You may also choose to trade one of the gangster cards in your hand with one of the gangster
cards in jail; the card you take from jail must have a lower status requirement than the card you are
exchanging and can be played immediately if you have the status.
Once you are done playing gangsters you decide whether you are ready to commit a crime. If you are
not, draw a card, discard down to 8 cards and your turn ends.
If you are feeling criminal, you draw a card from the crime deck. The crime card will list the manpower
requirements to successfully commit the crime. Each gangster in your play area counts as 1. You can also
ask another player to be your ally and negotiate with them as to what they will provide; the ally then
contributes the agreed-upon number of cards. You may also add influence cards that boost your odds
of success; other players may play influence cards that will make the crime harder for you to complete.
If you decide you cannot commit the crime you discard the crime card, draw a card and end your turn. If
you decide to play it, you announce a crime is in progress and there is no going back; you cannot add or
remove any gangsters. Other players can play influence cards that will make the crime harder; once
everyone is done playing cards you determine the outcome. If you have sufficient manpower both you
and your ally gain the status points and any benefits listed on the crime card. If you do not have enough
manpower both you and your ally lose the amount of status points on the card and suffer any penalty
that is listed on the card. You then draw a card and end your turn. The game ends as soon as a player
gets to 20 status points.
I enjoyed the game. The rules and the instructions on the card are clear, and the artwork is good and fits
the theme well. The influence cards and special abilities of the gangsters make things interesting and the
ability to play cards on anyone’s turn keeps the downtime to a minimum. I found it a little bit frustrating
to not be able to plan for a crime that you are going to commit, as it is a random draw, but since you can
choose to discard the crime once you draw it this was a minor concern. You also could have several
turns early on where you cannot commit a crime and thus cannot increase your status to get better
gangsters, so the start of the game can seem a little slow. Since other players can play cards that
adversely affect your crime, there is a definite backstabbing/” take that!” feel to the game. If there is
someone who would take that personally, this is probably not the game for them; if you don’t mind a
little chaos and treachery in your games, this is a light, fun card game that plays in about 30 minutes.
I like it