Shaken, not Stirred (Shifty Eyed Spies)

Agent Stephens reporting:
I have successfully made my way to downtown Paris, where my contact is supposedly meeting me, if I deciphered the clues correctly.  We at S.E.S are known to hire the best spies of the business, but even the best of us get caught and intercepted, or misinterpret our contacts.  That seems to be my contact with the red umbrella.  Agent Stephens, out.



BACKGROUND:  Shifty Eyed Spies is a hidden role card game for 4-8 players designed by Prospero Hall and published by Big G Creative.  Players attempt to deliver intel to other players at various locations.

GAMEPLAY:  Each player has 2 cards at all times, a Deliver Intel card with a characters face on it who is in the game, and a Receive Intel location which is somewhere on the table.  Spies wink at other spies to indicate they have their characters Deliver card.  Once winked at, the spy winks at the location to indicate that they are meeting at that location

SCORING:  Each player may attempt their mission or pass with "I'm lying low".  To attempt a mission, the spy places the Deliver card face-up on the table, and announce where their meeting at.  If unsuccessful, they say that the location is wrong, but is not revealed.  The player discards their Deliver card, and play passes.  However, if successful, reveal both cards, and pass and score them.



INTERCEPT:  Each player starts with 3 Intercept binocular tokens.  If a player believes they know who or where the players are meeting, they may use an Intecept token and call out the player or location on the card.  If incorrect, the player who revealed the card scores the point.  If correct, the intercepter scores the card.

WINNING:  Each card scored is worth 1 point.  Points are indicated by placing the card under one of the 5 sides.  The game cannot be won by Interception.  Once two players have scored at least 5 points and filled each side of their card, they win.  If a player ever scores more than 5, the cards are stacked.

CONCLUSION:  Shifty Eyed Spies is a twist on the classic hidden roles game.  You have a player you have to find, but you don't know which player that is.  However, unlike some games that try this attempt, this is one that manages to both simultaneously hit the mark AND manages to utilize a smaller group, something that games like Secret Hitler and Werewolf struggle with.  The spotting mechanic allows for the smaller groups to work out well, without punishing the max 8 players available.  My biggest critique, however, is that once you know who your spy and location are, it makes the game feel slower, so I would, oddly enough, suggest playing with no more than 6 players, but 8 is still enjoyable.  If you want to try a really solid hidden role game, I solidly recommend Shifty Eyed Spies.