Top Secret Spies
Top Secret Spies (German: Heimlich & Co.) is a spy-themed German-style board game designed by Wolfgang Kramer and published in 1984 by Ravensburger. The game, also known as Under Cover or Detective & Co, won the Spiel des Jahres award in 1986.
Gameplay
[edit]The object of the game is to score the most points, while not revealing which colour you are until the end. It requires good bluffing and analytical skills. 7 colours are used, and there can be up to 4 "robot" colours moving around. On their turn a player rolls a die and can move any number of pieces a total number of spaces that adds up to the number on the die. This can result in a score, and the game continues until one player reaches 129+ points. At this time all players make secret guesses as to which player is which colour (gaining +5 points at the end of the game for each correct answer). The game ends when a spy reaches 142+ points, and then a winner is determined after guess points are added.
Reception
[edit]Upon its release the game won the Spiel des Jahres award in 1986.[1] It is remembered in part as the first game to feature a score track encircling the board, now a common feature in many games, as well as the game that introduced thin wooden human-shaped gaming pieces (meeples).[2] In a 1990 interview, Kramer revealed that Heimlich & Co. was not one of his personal favourites.[3]
Reviews
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Heimlich & Co".
- ^ Wallis, James (2023-03-14). Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-83908-191-0.
- ^ Walker, Brian (February–March 1990). "The GI Interview: Wolfgang Kramer". Games International. No. 13. pp. 19–20.
- ^ "GAMES Magazine #76". June 1986.
- ^ "GAMES Magazine #81". November 1986.