Conspiracy Review

An older game that I think is worth reviewing is Conspiracy: a Spy Game of Bluffing and Betrayal.

In Conspiracy, each player takes on the role of an international spy agency that is trying to use spies to bring a briefcase of important documents to their headquarters, but with a catch. Everyone uses the same spies. Everyone starts with a bank book with $10,000 in their account. From here, on each turn they can either move a spy, bribe a spy, or use a spy as a double agent to expose one of the other spies (thus removing the exposed spy from the game).  Just because you have taken an action with a spy, however, it doesn't mean that the spy will listen to you - if one of the other players dislikes your play, then they are able to challenge your move to see which nation the spy will listen to (the one that has bribed them the most).

This game truly is a game of both bluffing and strategy. There are 8 spies, and one of the keys of playing the game well is preventing the other players from knowing which spy you have bribed because, if they are able to get rid of your spy, then they will get a significant advantage! Also, it is important to prevent the other players from knowing exactly how much money you have put in a spy's bank account, because that will prevent them from being able to make sure that they can out-bribe you (and you may be able to get them to waste a lot of money bribing the wrong spy).

When it comes to strategy, you must balance when you want to expose one of the spies (it costs you $1,000 to do it, and is removed from the bribe that you have put on the spy performing the double-cross). Also, you must decide when it is worth it to attempt to cancel another player's actions, and when it is important to hold your tongue. Finally, deciding when to bribe spies (and how much to give them) instead of using your turn to move spies can win or lose the game for you.

Overall, Conspiracy gets an 8.0/10. It is important when choosing a rating for Conspiracy to rate it for what it is - it is a simple game that is made to be played quickly (it normally takes about 15 minutes), but with enough strategy and bluffing to keep your interest.