For a tenner, few games have earned their keep on the game-night table quite like Bandido, and the cheeky little co-op is celebrating a decade with a themed makeover: Bandido: Alcatraz. This 10th-anniversary edition from Swiss publisher Helvetiq is out now, and it drops the runaway bandit into the most famous prison on the planet.
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See how it worksIf you have never played, Bandido is a cooperative card game for 1 to 4 players where everyone works together to help a moustachioed outlaw escape. You lay down cards to extend a branching network of tunnels, and the catch is that every open tunnel end has to be sealed off before the bandit is free. Leave one exit dangling and the escape fails. It plays in about 15 minutes, suits ages 6 and up, and fits in a coat pocket, which is exactly why it has become such a reliable filler and a lovely gateway into cooperative games.
Alcatraz adds a fresh squeeze to the formula. As you dig, the tide creeps in around the island, and flooded tunnels are useless, so instead of simply capping every route you have to funnel everything toward a single dry exit before the water wins. The box holds 69 cards plus a starting card, keeping the whole thing as portable as ever. UK shops have it for around £10.99.
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Start organising for freeIt is the sort of thing that slots neatly into the start of an evening or the tail end of a long session, and it travels well for holidays and pub tables alike. If you are pulling a group together for it, find a game night near you on Backseat Gamer.
Sources: Sanctum Games | Clownfish Games
