MOB: Big Apple Is 1920s Crime in a Stylish Board Game

For all of its controversy, the topic of organized crime has long been a dominant presence in pop culture, and gaming is no exception. There are numerous tabletop games, both new and old, that employ this theme. The classic game Mafia (also known as Werewolf) is a party favorite that can support as many players as can fit into a room. At the other end of the spectrum are games designed for only two players. When it comes to these games, I’m typically looking for a shorter play time, so that they can fit into a game night between larger games when some of the players are unavailable. MOB: Big Apple, published by TGG Games, looks to be one such game, with a stated timeframe of 35–40 minutes.

TGG Games

Set during the Prohibition era, MOB: Big Apple is a worker placement game in which two rival crime families are vying for control of the illegal alcohol market, represented by crates of contraband that appear in several locations within New York City. The game utilizes a pair of specialized dice—one white, one black—that each range between one and three pips. Similarly, there are six locations in the game that each feature a white or black die showing one, two, or three pips. Players take turns rolling these dice. They then select one of the two locations associated with their roll, and place a number of henchman tokens equal to the number shown on the other die into a car headed for that location. Players can also commit some of their henchmen to an action board that allows them to manipulate the game in a variety of ways, such as moving crates from one location to another, influencing the District Attorney to focus his efforts on investigating the opponent’s crime family rather than their own, and so forth.

At the end of each of the game’s three rounds, there is a shootout at each location where both players have at least one henchman. Henchmen shoot each other off of the board in pairs, so that the player with more henchmen is left with the difference going into the next round. Key to the game’s outcome are Mole tokens: six poker-style chips for each player, which are allocated at the start of the game to each of the six locations. Each hides a number on its underside, which represents one or more secret henchmen who will be revealed at the end of the game and aid the player’s efforts in their location—unless they are exposed by the opponent’s activity on the action board, in which case they are replaced by an appropriate number of known henchmen who will then become involved in future shootouts.

Players commit their henchmen to the various locations, but the strength of their hidden Mole tokens remains unknown. TGG Games

All in all, it sounds like a pretty simple game, with some depth of strategy that should not bog down play much. What draws me to the product more than anything, though, is the presentation. The henchman tokens, which are appropriately colored for the theme—tan for one player and a deep navy for the other—look great, the choice to make the Mole tokens look like poker chips carries the right tone, and the location board itself is stunning, with gold leaf borders around the locations themselves. These finer points are nothing without a strong game behind them, but I’m always on the lookout for a game that looks good on the table, and MOB: Big Apple is a prime example.

MOB: Big Apple is currently raising funds via Kickstarter, at over $23,000 of its base funding goal of $10,000 at the time of this writing, with simple pledge levels of $30 for one copy of the game, $55 for two copies, and a $100 retailer deposit level.