Review of Turncoats – Sometimes You Just Want to Stab Your Friends in the Back

As is evident by the games I’ve reviewed in the past, I enjoy deep, thinky games where you can really dig in. Where exploration of a system is part of the joy and the post-game discussions sometimes can be as exciting as the actual play. I for example recently brought World Order back to the table and it’s such a nail-biter to play and interesting system to dissect, I don’t mind that it takes 3h or more. There is something to be said though for games that are quick to teach and play in 30min or less. A particularly unique example of this category is Turncoats by Matilda Simonsson, for multiple reasons … Setup … starting with the fact that their is neither a box nor board for me to show off. Instead, Turncoats comes in a pouch that unfolds as the playing area. Its rulebook is a tiny, and the only gaming component—coloured glass beads—come in a separate cloth bag. The perfect “throw it in your bag” game: small, nothing can break, and easy to check for completeness. On the map, we see a…