Guest Author - Megan Romer
Spy Alley is a suspenseful family game for two to six players ages 8 to adult. Each player is given a secret spy identity (French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, German or American) which they must protect while accumulating four things: their password, disguise, codebook and embassy key, and then hustle back to their embassy before the other players discover who they are. In order to accumulate all of these things, they must make their way around the board, bluffing and counter-bluffing.
Since the objects which each player accumulates are kept public, they must not only collect their own objects, but also objects applicable to the other spies in order to throw the other players off their trail. You can accumulate objects by landing on the squares that offer you the opportunity, by landing on "black market" squares, confiscating them from other players, or by landing on the "free gift" squares. Included in the stack of "free gift" cards are 4 "wild cards". These can make or break your game, as you don't have to say what object you want to use them for until you're back at your embassy.
Also important are the "Move!" cards, which you can use to save yourself the trouble of rolling the perfect number. Save a few of them for the end of the game so you can land perfectly on your embassy before somebody guesses your identity. There's a catch, though: if you guess a player's identity and you're right, they're out of the game, but if you guess and you're wrong, YOU'RE out of the game.
This is an excellent game to play during a themed family game night. Prepare finger-foods from the countries of the various spies. Put on a Django Reinhardt CD for some gypsy jazz film-noir era music. Wear berets and sunglasses to truly set the mood and get ready for fun.
SPY ALLEY AT-A-GLANCE:
GAME BOX INCLUDES: Game Board, 40 "Free Gift" Cards, 36 "Move" Cards, 6 Game Markers, 6 Scorecards, 6 Spy Identification Cards, 144 Pegs, Money, Die
YOU'LL NEED: A few plastic baggies and rubber bands to keep track of all of the little parts.
SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE: $27.98
AWARDS WON: Mensa Select Top 5 Games, Parents' Choice, Chicago Tribune Top 10 Games, Family Life Best Learning Toy, Parent to Parent Adding Wisdom Award, and more.
TRY IT IF YOU LIKE: Clue, Monopoly, Sorry
PERFECT FOR: Folks who like Clue, Monopoly and Sorry and want all three of them rolled into one, with its own twists.
RATING: Four Classified Trade Secrets out of Five
Spy Alley Games
