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 underbelly of Macao, city of crimes, the local mafia’s Boss is dead, leading to a power vacuum. The Boss’s widow has put you in charge of the family business.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Read the full game description
In the underbelly of Macao, city of crimes, the local mafia’s Boss is dead, leading to a power vacuum. The Boss’s widow has put you in charge of the family business. Will you develop your shady activities into a true criminal empire? There’s only a single seat available at the top… Shadows over Macao is an engine-building game where players extend their empire by using shifty informants and establishments of ill reputation. During their turn, each player can do one of three things: contact an informant and receive their card that can be used to produce resources; spend these resources to recruit an informant permanently in their triad, and activate their special power; or build one of the available establishments. The game accelerates as the players build their engine, until each choice becomes critical to your victory! The game ends when a player has recruited a total of 7 members in their triad, or if there are no more establishments available. Each building is worth a certain amount of money, and the richest player wins!