Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
In the dark alleyways of the City of Legerdemain, 2-4 thief guilds are vying for control of the streets. Thieves must try to recruit opponent's thieves using their stealth, cunning and persuasion.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Read the full game description
In the dark alleyways of the City of Legerdemain, 2-4 thief guilds are vying for control of the streets. Thieves must try to recruit opponent's thieves using their stealth, cunning and persuasion. Those that are not strong enough must admit defeat and join the other guild — but only one guild can come out on top. In Alley Thieves, players control four thieves (which are represented by dice) to try to recruit other opponent's thieves in the city streets. Players take turns moving a thief, and if they encounter an opponent they can try to recruit them. Both players roll the Skill Die and add it to the thief's Skill Value. Whomever has the highest total wins the battle of wits and stealth, and the other thief most admit defeat and join the winner's guild to learn and to improve their craft. When a player infiltrates an opponent's hideout, she may attempt to use a bonus Infiltration Action. The first player to reach the recruitment goal may claim victory and be the master of their craft! The inspiration for this game was to make a small portable game that wouldn't take up too much space, while also playing in a short amount of time.