Bank Robbery

Game Over

Bank Robbery — How to Play

You're a crew of robbers who just cracked the vault of a local bank. Rows of locked safety deposit boxes sit in front of you. Shake them open before four alarms trip and the police haul everyone to jail. First to $50,000 in jewels wins. Play solo against the computer, or head-to-head with a friend online.

Setup

Two decks are shuffled together to form the Bank (the draw pile) — a bigger vault for a longer heist. Five cards are dealt to each of you and resolved right away: spades are discarded (no alarms at the start), diamonds go onto the floor as available boxes, hearts are placed in front of you for grit, and clubs are kept in hand.

On Your Turn, Do ONE of the Following

Draw a box from the Bank and resolve it by suit (see below).
Attempt to crack an unclaimed box already on the floor, if you have at least one heart.
Disarm an alarm using a club in your hand.

The Suits

♦ Diamonds — precious jewels. The rank is the value in thousands ($1,000–$10,000; face cards count as 10). Drawn diamonds go onto the shared floor; you can try to crack one immediately or leave it for later.

♥ Hearts — your grit. Each one you collect (up to six) gives you one die when attempting to break into a box.

♠ Spades — alarms. They line up above the Bank. If a fourth alarm ever goes up, sirens sound, everyone's arrested, and the game ends immediately.

♣ Clubs — safety cards. Play one onto an exposed alarm to remove it, but it must outrank that alarm card (aces are high, and only the ace of clubs can clear an ace of spades). Otherwise, keep it in hand for later.

Breaking a Lock

Roll one die per heart you've collected. Any 1s or 6s are set aside and can't be rerolled; everything else can be rerolled as many times as you like. Land three 6s and you crack the box — add its value to your total. Land three 1s first and you're hauled off to jail.

1. Roll (5 hearts = 5 dice)

6

1

4

6

3

→

2. Lock 1s & 6s, reroll the rest

6

1

6

4→2

3→6

→

3. Locked total: three 6s

6

1

💎 Box cracked

Lock three 1s instead

1

6

⛓ Straight to jail

Stop before either happens

6

1

4

3

Box stays on the floor

Jail

Going to jail costs you all your hearts and clubs (your diamonds are safe). Each turn while locked up, roll one die: a 6 springs you free next turn; a 5 lets you rat out the other player, who can try to bribe you with their clubs to avoid a swap.

Roll to escape (1 die)

?

→

Roll a 6

6

🔓 Free next turn

Roll a 5

5

🗣 May rat someone out

Roll 1–4

3

Stay put

Winning

First to collect $50,000 in jewels wins on the spot — that's the only way to win. If the Bank runs out of boxes (each player gets one last turn first) or all players end up in jail, the heist just ends with no winner declared, whatever anyone's banked.

This and other original games can be found in the book 52+ New Games for Those Old Cards by Kenneth P. Langer.

You waiting

Computer waiting

The Vault Floor