“You can get much farther with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone.”

~ Al Capone ~

In the 1920’s, Prohibition wracked the United States and gave rise to new and more violent criminal enterprises bent on satisfying the public’s now illegal desire for alcohol. In 1989, Mayfair Games brought Family Business, an exciting new card game set in this period, to print for the first time. And now, in 2017, this enduring classic will be gunning its way back into print and onto your gaming tables and store shelves, and into your hearts once again. For fans both old and new of this simple, yet endlessly entertaining game, let’s have a look at what makes Family Business such a classic game.

Family Business is a light-hearted game of mob warfare that pits up to six mob families against each other. The families are a Who’s Who of Prohibition mob superstars: the Capone Mob, Murder Inc., the New York Mob, the Moran Gang, the Purple Gang, and the Bank Robbers. These families begin the game at peace, but soon enough, tensions will rise to the boiling point. One by one, mobsters will be placed on “the hit list” and lined up against the game box, which looks like a wall, reminiscent of the historic Valentine’s Day Massacre. In fact, we recommend you place the two halves of the box, one on top of the other, so the first mobster on the hit list stands up against the wall!

Eventually, something will spark a mob war. It might be a player playing an Ambush or Vendetta card, causing two mobsters on the hit list to die each turn. Alternatively, if there are six or more mobsters on the hit list, or six or fewer mobsters left in the game, a mob war can also start, with one mobster dying each turn. The war continues until someone plays a Truce card, or there are no more mobsters left on the hit list.

How do players wind up on the hit list? Every turn, the active player plays one action card, then draws one card to replace the card they just played. A “Contract”, one of the most basic cards in the game, will add a mobster to the hit list. This can be played whether the families are at peace or at war. Either way, the target of the contract will add a mobster of their choice to the hit list. There’s also the “Priority Contract”, which places a mobster first on the hit list, right up against the wall. Finally, there’s the dreaded “Double Cross” which lets you take a mobster from every opponent and add them to the hit list.

Family Business also features counter and rescue cards that can help keep your family safe from your rivals. For example, “Take it on the Lam,” “Police Protection,” and “Pay Off” let you remove one or more mobsters from the hit list. More sinister cards can also help you rescue a member of your family, such as “Substitution,” which allows you to switch a member of your family with another mobster on the hit list. And “Intrigue,” which allows you to reorder the hit list as you please.

Counter cards are the only cards in the game that can be played on another player’s turn. These cards are another way to cancel or reverse cards played against your family. For example, “Mob Power” can reverse any contract, forcing the family that played the contract to add one of their own mobsters to the wall.

In the end, there can be only one. Once there are six or fewer mobsters remaining, Family Business enters a never-ending state of mob war. The game ends when all the families, but one, have been wiped out. The last family with a mobster in play, even if that mobster is currently on the hit list, is the winner! Remember, in Family Business, it’s not personal, just business. Not to mention lots of fun!

About Family Business: Family Business was designed by David B. Bromley. The game is intended for 2-6 players, ages 8 and up. Games take approximately 30-minutes to play.