At its heart, Spy Tricks is a trick-taking game with an added twist in the form of a betting mechanic. Players hope not only to take tricks, but also to deduce the contents of the “secret document” before their rivals can, taking clues from the cards in hand and the actions of the other players and placing bets on the identity of the document card. The player who can gain the most points over a number of rounds equal to the number of players is the winner.
Spy Tricks was published in Japan as Trick of Spy by Japanese designer Susumu Kawasaki (Traders of Osaka). The game includes 29 cards, 24 pawns, and point tokens. It is intended for 3 to 4 players, ages 10 and up, and plays in under half an hour. MSRP is $19.99.
Spy Tricks will follow two other early 2018 releases from WizKids, Dark.net and Kung-Fu Zoo (see “Hack a Dystopian Future in ‘Dark.net’ From WizKids” and “Wild Animals Duke It Out in ‘Kung-Fu Zoo’”).