Game Overview

In Speakeasy, players take on the roles of mobster bosses managing speakeasy businesses in Manhattan during the Prohibition Era of the 1920s. Players must use cunning and resources to expand their operations, upgrade to lavish Nightclubs and Casinos, and manage their cards and Capos to deliver illicit liquor and cook the books. The ultimate goal is to accumulate the most money and become the most successful mobster in the city.
Core Mechanisms: Worker placement, card management, area control, and goal-driven objectives.

1. Game Components

2. Game Setup

1. Main Board: Place the main board in the middle of the table with the side for your player count (1/2 or 3/4).
2. Mobsters: Place the Mobster board next to the main board. Separate Mobster tiles by letter. Shuffle Mobster District tiles face down. Take the 6 Mobster tiles (4 in a 2-player game) for Setup (letter A). For each, reveal a Mobster District tile and place the related Mobster on the Mobster board. Place Mobster Strength tiles matching the Mobster's strength in the indicated districts. Place Mobster Speakeasies next to each building space in those districts.
3. Cops: Shuffle Cop District tiles face down and reveal 4 of them. Place a Cop in the indicated district. Reveal another 4 Cop District tiles and place them face down on the Cop spaces in the indicated districts on the main board. Make 2 stacks of 4 with the remaining tiles.
4. City Tiles: Mix City tiles face down. For each building space on the main board, place a random City tile face up. Place 3 tiles face up on the rightmost column of the City tile display. Make 3 face down piles with the remaining tiles on the leftmost column.
5. Zone Goal Tiles: Shuffle Zone Goal tiles face down. Place the top tile face up in Downtown. Reveal tiles until you find one with a different number for Midtown, and another with a different number for Uptown.
6. Central Park Goal Tiles: Separate Central Park Goal tiles into 3 stacks (A, B, C) and shuffle each. Place tiles in Central Park following the specific number rules for each stack.
7. Operations and Helper Cards: Separate Operations cards into four decks (VIP Room, Party, Stills, Fleet). Shuffle each and deal one card from each deck to each player. Place the decks face up. Shuffle Helper cards and place the top three face up in a display.
8. City Docks Board: Place the City Docks board to the left of the main board. Place 5 barrels on each Rum-runner Ship. Shuffle Crate tiles and place one face up on each Ship. Shuffle Port tiles face down and reveal one for each Ship to determine its placement.
9. Supply: Make a supply of barrels, Cops, money, Leverage tokens, and Goons next to the board.
10. Player Setup: Each player chooses a color and takes an Operations board, Safe screen, and Player tray containing their chosen color components. Place 1 Operations marker on the level 1 space of each Operations Level track and the Strength marker on the level 1 space of the Strength level track. Place Capos, Stills, Speakeasies, Nightclubs, and Casinos in the appropriate spaces. Place the Goon on the $0 Goon space. Place the Associate marker on the Associate space. Place one Truck next to the Operations board and the other under the Fleet operations. Stand the Safe screen up. Place $15 in front of you and $30 behind your Safe screen. Place 1 Zone Control marker on the bottom-most space of each Zone Control track. Place the Infamy marker on the 5 space of the Infamy track. Place one Family Member to the left of the level 8 space and another to the left of level 14 space on the Infamy track.
11. Setup Round (1920): The last player who had an "illegal drink" is the starting player and places their Turn Order marker on the leftmost space on the top row of the Turn Order track. In clockwise order, each other player places their marker on the leftmost empty space. In reverse turn order, each player chooses their Stills or one of their Speakeasies to open. Pay the cost ($3, $5, or $8) using the $15 placed in front of them. Place the building on an empty building space. Gain the City tile on that space. Gain the benefit shown on the Operations board below the space of the building. Play an Operations card from your hand to the matching slot and immediately gain the benefit shown in the icon above the dashed line.

3. Game Flow

The game is divided into 4 ACTS, each made up of phases. The total rounds played equals the number of years Prohibition lasted (13 years, from 1920 to 1933), including the Setup Round, 11 player rounds, and the Final Scoring Round.
ACT Structure:
1. Return Capos (ACTS 2/3/4): At the start of ACT 2 (1925), return 3 Capos and send 1 to the game box. At the start of ACT 3 (1928), return 3 Capos. At the start of ACT 4 (1931), return 1 Capo and send 2 to the game box. On each ACT you keep playing until no more Capos are left in your Operations board.
2. Player Rounds (4/3/3/1 rounds in ACTS 1/2/3/4): In turn order, each player takes one turn. On your turn:
* You may gain the benefit indicated on the lower half of one Helper card in front of you; and then place it behind your Safe screen.
* You MUST send one of your Capos to "talk" to a Person of Interest at one of the eight locations (Docks, City Hall, Restaurant, Commission, Contractor and City Planning offices, Garage, or Park). Place the Capo on a Person of Interest without a Capo on it and perform the actions of that person. Each person "talks" with only one Capo during each ACT. Exception: There is no limit to the number of Capos that may be sent to the Restaurant.
* Draw the top card from any of the four Operations decks. (There isn't a hand limit).
3. Lucky Luciano Phase (ACTS 1/2/3):
* Mob War: Shuffle the stack of Mobster tiles for this ACT. Repeat steps equal to the number of face down Mobster District tiles in districts on the Main board (3/3/4 for ACTS 1/2/3). Place the topmost Mobster tile on the related district of the Mobster board. Swap the Mobster District tile with a Mobster Strength tile. Place a Mobster Speakeasy next to each empty building space in the district. Defend your buildings against the Mob War strength.
* Cops Patrol Manhattan: Replace each Cop District tile on the board with a Cop. If you are on ACTs 1 and 2, take one of the stacks of four Cop District tiles from the Time track, reveal them and place them face down in the indicated districts.
* Payout Zone Control: Check who controls each district in order of district number. The player with the best building with a Family Member next to it controls the district. Otherwise, if there is neither a Cop nor a Family Member, the player with the best building controls it. Each player who controls the district moves their Zone Control marker up one space. Receive money from the supply to your safe based on your position on its Zone Control track.
4. Final Scoring Round (1933): Only in ACT 4.

4. Player Actions

• Play One Operations Card: Play an Operations card from your hand to the designated area of your Operations board. Discard any existing card in that area. Gain the benefit indicated in the top left corner of the card. Perform the action of the card (VIP Room: Get Protection, Party: Sell barrels, Stills: Produce barrels, Fleet: Pick up and deliver barrels).
• Increase an Operations Level: Move the appropriate Operations marker one space to the right. You may only increase an Operations level to level 5 if you discard an Operations card. Each time you increase an Operations level, also increase your Infamy by the same amount.
• Increase your Strength Level: Move your Strength marker one space to the right. You may only increase your Strength level to 4 if you also discard any Operations card. You may only increase your Strength level to 5 if you also discard any two Operations cards. Each time you increase your Strength level, also increase your Infamy by the same amount.
• Discard any Operations Card to Increase an Operations Level Once More: Discard any one Operations card to increase the indicated Operations level by 1.
• Discard One Operations Card: Discard an Operations card from your hand. Place it face up at the bottom of the appropriate Operations deck.
• Take an Operations Card: Draw the top card from any Operations deck.
• Produce Barrels: You must have an Operating Stills on the main board. Place the number of barrels indicated below your Stills Operations marker onto your Stills area.
• Sell Barrels: Sell a number of barrels that are next to your Operating buildings up to the limit indicated below your Party Operations marker. The amount depends on your Infamy marker position and the type of building.
• Hire One or More Goons: Pay the cost shown in the cheapest empty Goon space on your Operations board ($0 to $5) and place a Goon from the supply onto that space.
• Gain One Family Member: Place a Family Member in your VIP area or send them to the Docks.
• Gain One Book: Place a Book from your supply onto the Books space of your Operations board.
• Increase Any One Of Your Operations Or Strength Levels by 1: Choose any one of your Operations levels or your Strength level and increase it by 1.
• Gain One Helper Card: Take one Helper card from the display and place it face up next to your Operations board. Refill the display.
• Open a Speakeasy Or Stills Or Take Over a Mobster Speakeasy: Up to 2 times, pay the cost of the chosen Speakeasy ($3, $5, or $8) or Stills ($5) and place it on an empty building space. Move the City tile to your Operations board. Gain the benefit of the building.