Bad Company – Board Game Review
Publisher: Matagot Game
Designer: Kristian Amundsen Østby, Eilif Svensson
Availability: Amazon and Local Game Store
Players: 1-6
Play Time: 30-45 minutes
Ages: 10+
Genre: Dice-Rolling, Tableau Building
Bad Company is a light, fast-paced dice-chucker where you’re building a crew of silly-looking gangsters, pulling off Heists, and outrunning the cops. The core mechanic is what we call the “Space Base Loop” or “Machi Koro Style“— roll a pair of dice, activate the corresponding number/s on your player board, and everyone else gets a smaller effect. What sets this apart is the fantastic theme and the incredibly satisfying process of upgrading your gang by telescoping new cards over the old ones, giving your henchmen hilariously long torsos!
When you’re the Boss, you roll four gold dice and a single black Police die. You pair up the gold dice into two numbers, and you get the benefit of both numbers on your personal tableau. Everyone else picks one of those numbers to activate one of their gangsters. These activations give you loot, money, or move your getaway car. Money recruits new, better Gang Members; loot completes Heists for sweet Victory Points and ongoing bonuses.
Each card slot expands your engine, letting you turn simple rolls into bigger and bigger payouts. Watching your crew evolve from pickpockets to full-on getaway specialists is hilarious. And the cartoon-style art gives the whole game a cheeky, Saturday-morning-villain vibe.
There are two main boards on the table as well. One board has each player’s getaway cars and a police car. If you stay ahead of the police car, you can accumulate loot bonuses as you drive. The other board is for recruiting extra gang members.
Pros:
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No Downtime: Just like the best of the genre, everyone is involved on every roll. Your turn is fast, and you’re always checking what the Boss rolls to see if you can snag a bonus. That keeps the table engaged!
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The Upgrades: The art is great. Seeing your number guy stack up with three cards is both functional and funny.
- Deeper Gameplay than Machi Koro and Space Base. This game has a little more oomph than these previous incarnations. There is more to manage here with the police chasing you and completing heist cards.
- Easy to teach: The rulebook is pretty short and the game is relatively easy to learn and teach to new players.
- Six Players: Not too many games play well with six. This one does!
Cons:
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The Dice: It’s a dice game, so luck is a factor.
- Sudden Endings: The game can end a little too quickly sometimes—right when you feel like you’ve finally built your perfect engine and are ready to go full-speed.
Pojo’s Bottom Line:
If you are looking for a dice-chucking, engine-building game that plays fast and keeps everyone in the game, Bad Company is a Solid Acquisition. It takes the bones of Space Base and gives it a fun, silly heist movie makeover. The feeling of stacking up your gang into a tower of crime is fantastic. It’s a guaranteed good time for your family game night crew!
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars