Best Laid Plans
Each member of the Crew uses Fix cards to construct a plan. The Chief decides which plan is best.
The Chief draws two Catches and one Score. Each member of the Crew plays at least two and no more than five Fix cards from their hand face down in front of them.
When everyone has a plan in mind, the Chief picks one Crew member to go first. Each player then reveals their cards while explaining their plan. These can be as involved or simple as they like, but must make use of the Fix cards they play. The only goal is to convince the Chief your plan is the best!
Also try the Worst Laid Plans variant! Plays exactly the same, except you try to come up with the worst, “just crazy enough to work” plans instead.
On the Run
The heist has gone bad, resources are low and the Crew is on the run! This variant forces the Crew to push their creativity to the limit, overcoming two Catches with a single Fix.
The Crew draws 3 Fix cards each, and the Chief plays 2 Catches. The Crew each plays a single Fix to cover both Catches. This might require some explanation to the Chief.
Heist
In Heist, the entire Crew cooperates to tell a good heist story. The heist is composed of 4 rounds: Gather Intel, Get In, Get the Score, Get Out.
The Crew draws 4 Fix cards each (or 6 if there are 4 or fewer players). The Chief draws 8 Catch cards and 2 Score cards, and. Then she plays a single Catch card that represents the primary obstacle facing the Crew as they Gather Intel about the Score.
The Crew can discuss, show cards to each other and debate their best plan of attack. At any point, a Crew member can play one card and describe how they will use that Fix to overcome the Catch. Whether this occurs after careful planning and discussion among the Crew or whether one hot shot just goes for it will largely depend on the personalities in your Crew. She is in the field, and the heist has begun.
The Chief decides whether that explanation is sufficient to deal with the Catch or not. If not, another member of the Crew can play a card and jump in, explaining how she comes to the first player’s aid. The only rule is that this must build on the card(s) already played. This can happen as often as necessary to convince the Chief the Crew has bypassed the Catch. Play then progresses to the next phase.
“Gather Intel” is the setup for the heist. “Get In” is getting past the outer defenses. “Get the Score” is actually acquiring the Score, usually bypassing a final security measure. And “Get Out” is the getaway, escaping with the Score.
If the Crew has any cards left when the Chief approves their Fix for the final phase, they win! Discard any remaining cards and draw a new hand for the next round. Note to the Chief: Heist gameplay is about telling a fun story, not winning.
Troubleshooters
The Crew plays both sides in this mode, competing to see whether they can secure or steal the Score.
One player is the Chief, and will remain so for one full hand. The group splits into two teams: one for the Mark, one for the Crew. The Mark team draws 7 Catch cards, while the Crew team draws 7 Fix cards.
The Chief draws a single Score. The Mark team plays the best Catch for defending the Score face down, while the Crew plays their best Fix for stealing it face down. Each team reveals their card at the same time. The Chief then decides which team is most effective and awards the score to them.
Neither team draws cards; what they draw at first is what they have to work with during the round. The first team to secure or steal 4 Scores wins. Note: This mode lends itself to discussion more than most, but the Chief’s word is still final.
Black Bag Job
The Chief puts the crew to the test in this variant that combines planning with improvisation. Begin the heist as usual: the Chief lays out one Score and two Catches. The Crew then draws 10 cards, then discards back down to 7, preparing their black bag of tools for the heist. Be sure to plan for the Catches you know about, but the Chief will also throw a surprise Catch at each member of the Crew.
The Crew outlines their plan by playing between two and five face down Fix cards and explaining their heist to the Chief.
During each player’s heist story, the Chief draws two Catch cards and chooses one to use. The Chief can spring this Catch on the player at any time. The player must work it into their narrative and overcome the Catch with the cards remaining in her hand. The Chief repeats this (draw two, play one) for each member of the Crew.
See below for gameplay modes not featured in the rulebook
Larceny with a Twist
This variant plays similar to the base game, but Catches can be modified based on the Fix played against them.
The Chief draws two Catches and one Score. Each Crew member picks a single Catch and plays one Fix against it.
The Chief then selects the smaller of the two piles and picks one card to modify that Catch. (in case of a tie it’s Chief’s choice; in case of no cards on one, she draws a second Catch to use instead.) It is up to the Chief to explain how the Fix modifies the Catch. There are no firm guidelines on how they have to relate: the Chief could use the Fix to negate a drawback, saying they are prepared for that sort of thing, to add a tool to the Catch’s arsenal, or just to modify it in some barely related way that strikes her fancy.
The Crew draws back up to 7 cards at this point, then each plays a second Fix on this new modified Catch. Note: ALL Crew members play against this Catch regardless of which one they played against the first time.
The Chief then awards points as usual, selecting the best Fix, and awarding the Score to anyone who Fixed both Catches in a single round. An additional bonus point goes to the Crew member whose Fix the Chief selected to modify the second Catch.
Ex: The Hope Diamond is protected by Guard Dogs and Armed Security. Three of the Crew play Fixes on the Guard Dogs, while only one plays a Fix on the Armed Security. The Chief selects the smaller pile (Armed Security) and uses the card played (Kill the Lights) to modify the Catch. She tells the Crew: “Recon also says that the Armed Security is ready for a power failure. Each of them has night vision goggles, so anything that relies on stealth or darkness isn’t going to work.” The Crew must now account for this when playing their second Fix.
Brainstorming
For those days when your Crew doesn’t have much time, but needs to keep sharp.
Draw 5 Fix cards. The Chief plays one Catch, the Crew each kicks in a single Fix. Simple and sweet, designed for rapid fire planning to keep your Crew in heisting trim.
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