INSIDE JOB
A Splendid Shake up
Designer: Tanner Simmons | Publisher: Kosmos
The table is hushed. Two agents are stacked with intel. I look between Agent C and Agent J, unsure which is the insider. Agent C kept a steely silence as the mission is declared. Agent J stared me dead in the eyes. Four words: “I like Peanut Butter.” My mind unravels.
This is the espionage trick-taking delight, known as Inside Job. Two to five players are dealt out a hidden role. Most are agents, whose mission is to successfully meet a specific requirement each turn (better known as a ‘trick’) such as “the second and third cards must have matching suits.” Regardless if the mission is successful or not, whoever wins the trick takes an intel token. One player is the Insider, secretly looking to gather enough intel before the agents reach their mission target.
Like most trick taking games, you cannot be specific on the contents of your hand, also all agents must follow the rules of playing cards that match the leading suit (i.e., the first card’s suit) if possible. Meanwhile, the Insider is free to play whatever they want, which given there’s a trump suit every round (which beats any other suit regardless of what leads the trick) can give them the advantage. Of course, doing so might blow their cover, ensuring everyone else around the table teams up to outwit them.
If enough missions haven’t succeeded, but the Insider also hasn’t gathered enough intel, everyone votes for who they think the Insider is, offering agents another way to win if they can root out the rat.
This game takes everything that made titles like The Crew so immediately compelling, then throws over a blanket of deceit, adding suspicion to every card play. As an agent you’re constantly being put into impossible situations: sometimes you can’t help but play cards which will fail missions, but is it better to then win the trick to deny the Insider, or would doing so ensure your fellow agents no longer trust you?
Meanwhile, the insider is constantly playing both sides, as it’s in their best interest to win tricks that also complete missions, avoiding detection whilst taking control of the next trick. Whoever wins the previous trick gets to choose from two different mission cards, letting them either pick missions they are likely to succeed AND win (which will keep up the appearances but dangerously put the others closer to winning) or sigh, pleading innocence when you “just can’t complete either mission,” hoping you can still steal the win to keep control.
The fast pace makes repeat games easier to consider, especially when at least one player around the table is going to want revenge. I really appreciate that the game also comes with a multitude of variant additions, from different hidden roles that can add neutral characters, roles who swap sides or even expose players before the end of the game, to the ability to bet intel tokens in a hand, making your card count as a ‘trump suit.’
Unfortunately, the game’s tricktaking core doesn’t quite mesh with the hidden role aspect; a big factor in deduction games is being able to talk “openly,” but you must constantly be careful that you don’t reveal forbidden information (like specific details about card values/suits in your hand.) For those who love this genre looking for a fun variant to classic trick-collecting games, Inside Job is the real deal.
Peanut. Butter. Pink and Blue. THAT’S what suits he had remaining! No-one trying to keep a low profile would say a clue that insane, immediately outing the Insider and causing the table to erupt in laughter. Mission Accomplished.
MATTHEW VERNALL
WE SAY
The blend between hidden roles and trick-taking is going to cause some players to bounce off, but this is still a wonderfully fun and fast card game.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
◗ Rulebook
◗84 Game Cards
◗2 Double-sided player aids
◗14 Cardboard intel tokens
◗ Larry the Agent cardboard standee
TRY THIS IF YOU LIKED THE CREW...
Probably the biggest influence on the wave of new takes on trick-taking games in the last few years, if you loved working together to save the day, you’ll enjoy rooting out a hidden traitor with a similar system.