Game Review: Spy Alley

Kaitlyn received two games from her mom and dad this Christmas.  Both will be reviewed in the coming days, but I figured I would start with the one she decided to play first, Spy Alley.  This game very much reminded me of the classic "whodunnit" Clue due to its player elimination mechanics.  In the game Spy Alley, you are randomly given a Spy Identification card and it is your job to determine who each of the other players is, while trying to prevent them from finding out who you are.

Game play

As mentioned, players have a secret identity that they are trying to hide form the other players at the table while at the same time trying to find out the identities of the other players.  To win, a player must collect the password, codebook, disguise, and keys for their spy and then make it to the embassy of their nation.  The possessions that each player has is open for the entire group playing to see, so to confuse or puzzle (confuzzle) the other players, a spy will purchase the required elements to win the game from other nations besides their own.  This is where the deception comes in.

Kid Friendliness

My girls really enjoyed playing the game.  They got the concept of deception rather quickly and were buying up equipment of other nations in an attempt to deceive me.  I will be honest, I had no idea which nationality their characters were.  They had fun moving around the board and getting into character and trying to be deceptive with the conversation they were having.  Every time someone would buy something or not buy something, a round of "Interesting" would go around the board.

Family Friendliness

As I mentioned off the start of this post, the mechanics of the game in terms of determining each player's identity is similar to Clue and this is the part of the game that I do not like.  In the game, in order to win you have to collect the required items for your nation and return to the embassy or determine the nationality of your fellow players and take a guess.  If correct, they are out.  If wrong, you are out.  This is not my favourite game mechanic.  The game continues with a player out and waiting for the next game to start, which could be a while.

Re-playability

Re-playability in a game is important.  If you play it once and it loses its lustre, there is a financial cost to that.  A game that always sits on the shelf is not a good game.  Having only played Spy Alley a few times, I think the re-playability will be fairly high.  As you play the game you can try to improve your skills of deceit and deception while looking for ways to discover the "tells" in your opponents.  With different players, there will likely be different strategies that work best.

Summary

I think this is a game that kids or adults can have a good time playing.  If the goal is to play as a group for a while, this may not be the game for you.  If competition and deception is the flavour of the day, then get your 007 on and break out Spy Alley.

Purchase

You can purchase Spy Alley at local game shops or online through Amazon.