Game: Family Business

Thread: Re: What is the publishing history of this game?

watcher_b — 2008-08-28T18:01:52+00:00

Well that's frustrating. No fault of Mayfair, I'm glad for other people that they are fixing it, but I'm not one who will buy a new edition of a game if I have the old edition. Even if it is an inexpensive card. Maybe later, if this one ever gets lost or destroyed

Thread: Re: What is the publishing history of this game?

Newyn — 2008-08-28T17:36:51+00:00

Mayfair for the US. It should be release by October.

Thread: Re: What is the publishing history of this game?

watcher_b — 2008-08-28T15:50:29+00:00

Newyn wrote:
The new edition will have text on the card!
Who is publishing it and when? (and where I guess, since Europe and the US seem to have different publishing dates)

Thread: Re: What is the publishing history of this game?

Newyn — 2008-08-28T10:53:53+00:00

The new edition will have text on the card!

Thread: Re: Mayfair releasing a new edition while current edition is not even sold out?

Newyn — 2008-08-27T07:06:18+00:00

My company is in charge of the new artwork release committed by Mayfair.
The game is at the printer now, and it will be release by October.

Thread: Re: Mayfair releasing a new edition while current edition is not even sold out?

JeffyJeff — 2008-08-26T14:03:29+00:00

Newyn wrote:
It will be a new release with new artwork and text on the cards... exactly how you are expecting.
Out of curiosity, where did you get this info?

Thread: Re: Mayfair releasing a new edition while current edition is not even sold out?

Newyn — 2008-08-26T09:51:52+00:00

It will be a new release with new artwork and text on the cards... exactly how you are expecting.

Have fun

Thread: Re: What is the publishing history of this game?

Imagine — 2008-08-19T07:46:33+00:00

The oldest edition I know of is the one by Spielfreaks Ltd (with the oldtimer car on the box). I still own a mint copy of it and use the Mayfair one for playing.

The Spielfreaks edition has simple b/w cards with guns at the center and a short name/description on the bottom (which is mirrored on the top). It's just about perfect.

Thread: Re: What is the publishing history of this game?

cerulean — 2008-08-18T17:44:46+00:00

Seconded. I'm holding out for a future edition with the game text on the cards.

Thread: Re: What is the publishing history of this game?

thatmarkguy — 2008-08-17T21:40:05+00:00

The edition I played over a decade ago also had no descriptions on the cards. I don't know what kind of boneheaded move it was not to learn from this mistake. Nothing slows down a light beer-and-pretzels game like "Pass me the rulebook, I have no idea what this card does".

Thread: What is the publishing history of this game?

watcher_b — 2008-08-17T21:17:36+00:00

I see it has had a number of publishers. I just picked up the latest Mayfair edition and am pissed that there is no text on the cards to describe at least what the counters counter! (turns a simple fun family game into something I'll probably never be able to talk my family into playing) But I guess previous editions had text?

Thread: Re: Mayfair releasing a new edition while current edition is not even sold out?

jhuntin1 — 2008-07-21T02:25:51+00:00

I don't know about anybody else, but I'd gladly pay $15 if Mayfair made the cards look more like the Parker Bros. ones. The Mayfair cards are just really ugly to me.

Thread: Re: Mayfair releasing a new edition while current edition is not even sold out?

bigchief — 2008-07-21T02:21:02+00:00

I agree with Jason. I really enjoy this game, but I'm dependent on cheat sheets full of information about what each card does. This makes the barrier of entry to newcomers intimidating. Bang has the same flavor and is much easier to teach newcomers with it's iconography, but it still has it's challenges as well.

New Family Business cards with a little text would be a very nice upgrade. An upgrade I could see paying an extra five bucks for (if I didn't already have it.)

Thread: Re: Mayfair releasing a new edition while curren edition is not even sold out?

Sargondai — 2008-07-20T23:41:30+00:00

perhaps it actually has more useful info on the cards? It's just not as easy to introduce to newcomers with 'reference' cards.

Thread: Mayfair releasing a new edition while current edition is not even sold out?

JeffyJeff — 2008-07-20T19:28:06+00:00

Just saw the notice on BGN...

Seems strange to be coming out with a new edition when the current reprint is still widely available?

It is marked "clearance" at thoughthammer so Mayfair is allowing current inventory to be cleared out in time, but why?

Looks like the newest edition will be 50% expensive than the old edition (MSRP $15 vs. $10 for the current one) as well.

Maybe the new edition has been reworked, maybe has 50% for cards?

edit: fix typo in subject

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machollic — 2008-06-20T18:38:11+00:00

Thread: Re: St. Valentine's Day Massacre at end of game?

Imagine — 2008-06-06T10:03:52+00:00

Actually, that's a good way to end the game when you feel that you can't win, anyway. That way, you steal the victory from your opponents, and - most of all - you go with style.

Thread: Re: St. Valentine's Day Massacre at end of game?

dccircuit — 2008-06-06T00:19:51+00:00

Okay, thanks very much, guys. That seems logical.

Thread: Re: St. Valentine's Day Massacre at end of game?

davepanzer — 2008-06-05T23:13:01+00:00

Exactly. It's just like everybody killing each other in Nuclear War--much harder to do in Family Business, but not unknown--

Thread: Re: St. Valentine's Day Massacre at end of game?

boltongeordie — 2008-06-05T22:59:02+00:00

Nobody

Thread: St. Valentine's Day Massacre at end of game?

dccircuit — 2008-06-05T17:39:22+00:00

The game is almost over, 6 mobsters are on the hit list... None left in anyone's play area. Someone plays a St. Valentine's Day Massacre... everyone on the hit list is supposed to die... Including the person who played it. Who wins?

Thread: Re: Ambush doubling Vendetta?

Moll — 2008-05-08T08:37:58+00:00

Imagine wrote:
Nope, AMBUSH starts mob war at double (normal) rate. After VENDETTA, mob war is already going twice as fast, so playing AMBUSH has no effect. Playing the MOB WAR card, however, would actually *reduce* the speed to single rate.

Yeah, We interpret the rules in the same way.........

Thread: mob wars

sigtaulefty — 2008-04-21T00:12:51+00:00

I spent the weekend playing a few games with the extended family and my brother in law was in from Pittsburgh. I thought this would be a fast and easy game for everyone to play and for the most part I was right.

Jason took the New York mob, Jennifer took the Purple Gang, Francie took the Bank Robbers and I took Murder Inc.

Early on, everyone figured since I was the only one who had played the game before that it would be a good idea to get my mobsters on the hit list early. I was lucky enough to have a few mob power cards dealt, so they ended up putting their own on the hit list.

Francie stayed pretty quiet during the first few rounds and the first mob war started with 2 NY, 3 Purple, and 1 Murder Inc. A quick substitution card allowed Jen to move a Bank robber in place of her mobster, so after the first Mob War ended, Francie and I had 8 mobsters to 7 for Jason and Jennifer.

The next two mob wars were bad to Francie and I, as we each lost 4 mobsters and Jason and Jen solidified their leads. After 3 Mob Wars, Jennifer still had her 6, Jason 4, while Francie and I struggled with 4.

Mob wars continued, bringing the eventual scores/mob totals to:

NY 2, Purple Gang 4, Bank Robbers 3, Murder Inc. 2

Jennifer/Purple gang had the best cards possible now and it was her turn. She played the Vendetta card, eliminating me/Murder Inc and Jason/NY. After that double rate Mob War, she led off again and immediately put a double contract on 2 of the Bank Robbers. Francie was able to get one of the purple gang on the hit list, but the next card played by Jennifer was the St. Valentines Day Massacre - knocking the robbers down to 1 and the gang to 3. An RIP card after gave the final win to Jennifer and the Purple Gang.

All in all a fun game that took about 40 minutes to play.

Thread: Re: Ambush doubling Vendetta?

Siegeman — 2008-03-06T02:36:17+00:00

Thanks. That's what I thought but wanted to get opinions.

Thread: Re: Ambush doubling Vendetta?

Imagine — 2008-03-05T16:04:33+00:00

Nope, AMBUSH starts mob war at double (normal) rate. After VENDETTA, mob war is already going twice as fast, so playing AMBUSH has no effect. Playing the MOB WAR card, however, would actually *reduce* the speed to single rate.

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Grimwold — 2008-03-04T15:16:04+00:00

Up against the wall...

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Grimwold — 2008-03-04T15:13:45+00:00

Two down and two up against the wall... not a good day for the bank robbers.

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Grimwold — 2008-03-04T15:12:22+00:00

Mayfair Edition - Hand of Cards

Thread: Ambush doubling Vendetta?

Siegeman — 2008-03-02T05:37:31+00:00

If a mob war is started with the Vendetta card, starting the death rate of 2 per turn and an Ambush card is played, does the death rate go to 4 per turn?

Thread: Re: Report Card for Family Business

Eppic — 2008-01-05T18:33:20+00:00

One thing we noticed was that NO ONE wins this game twice in a row. We're vengeful players I guess.

But yes, attack the leader or attack the guy on your right is usually the way to go. Then again, if the next guy is attacking the guy on his right, you may as well attack him first. It kind of balances out.

Thread: Re: Report Card for Family Business

cbs42 — 2008-01-05T14:26:36+00:00

Good review, and a fair assessment of the game.

I did a double-take on your suggestion that the game takes too long to play. Then I realized that my group has played this game so much, I forgot about how slow the game can be when everyone has to look up each card. Since my groups knows all the cards by heart, our games usually take 10 to 15 minutes max. I can see how a table full of new players would really make the game drag on.

I initially rated the game a 6, but knocked it down a point after the "attack the person on your right" strategy started to dominate our play of the game. It takes a lot of the early and mid-game fun out when everyone does the same thing.

Quibbles aside, it's overall a good filler game, not to be taken too seriously. Definitely worth the 10 bucks.

Thread: Report Card for Family Business

Hikaro — 2008-01-05T08:30:49+00:00

Game: Family Business (revised edition)
Designer: David B. Bromley
Publisher: Mayfair Games

I will be grading this game on 4 categories: Components (quality of bits, cards, etc., as well as any player aids), Rules (clarity of rules and noting any problems with rules/mechanics), Strategy/Luck Factor, and Fun Factor. Each category will receive a letter grade, giving a corresponding amount of points:

A: 5
B+: 4.5
B: 4
C+: 3.5
C: 3
D+: 2.5
D: 2
F+: 1.5
F: 1

Summary
Family Business is a light card game for 2-6 players that is heavy on the player interaction and light on strategy. Players control a mob of six, vying to be the last mob standing. Players play Contract cards on their opponents, forcing them to put one of their mobsters up against the wall. When 6 mobsters are up against the wall, or a Mob War card is played, each turn the mobster on the front of the line is killed, until no one on the line is left. Lather, rinse, repeat, until only one player has mobsters left.

Components
The component quality is average at best. The highlight of the components is the fact that instead of each player having a generic mobster card, mobster card has the picture and name of an actual real life mobster from the 30's, and each player is a different real life gang. Al Capone, "Baby Face" Nelson, and Joe Valachi are three mobsters in the game. Unfortunately, the pictures (old photographs) are not of very good quality. The cards that are dealt and shuffled are of average quality and depict all this mob goodness as a cartoon. It works for me; it helps keep the game at a light "let's have some laughs" level, not on a "losing is NOT an option" level, which is where this game belongs. The graves on the back of the mobster cards with the pot of flowers on it cracks me up.

My biggest complaint is with the player aids. There AREN'T ANY. This would be fine if the cards themselves actually said what they do, but there are no game instructions on the cards whatsoever (except for the "No Mob Power" or "No Family Influence" on the Contract cards with immunity). The friend who taught me this game had several photocopies of the rules to hand out to the players so they could look up what each card did. Speaking of teaching, the lack of player aids makes this game hard to teach to new players.

Grade: D+

Rules
Thankfully, Family Business's rules are fairly simple, once you know what your cards do. Specific cards aside, there are 6 rules:

1) You should have 5 cards in your hand if it is not your turn.
2) Draw 1 card to start your turn. (You should have 6 cards now)
3) Play one, and only one, card on your turn. (You should have 5 cards now)
4) You may counter a Contract Card, Vendetta, or Take It On the Lam card played by another opponent (even if the effect is not pointed at you) with a corresponding Counter card and once you play it, draw a card to replace it and take your turn (repeat rules 2-3). Only 1 Counter Card may be played per turn.
5) When there are 6+ mobsters on the hit list, or there are 6 or fewer mobsters alive, a Mob War starts. During a Mob War, someone draws a card to begin their turn, the mobster at the top of the hit list dies (is flipped facedown to show the grave and placed in the "dead" pile.)
6) The player with the last remaining mobster(s) wins.

The rulebook is fairly comprehensive and clear.

Grade: B

Strategy/Luck Factor
The luck factor is pretty high in this game. You only get to work with what you're dealt. After there are 6 or fewer mobsters in play, there is continuous Mob War, which means that unless you can Counter a Contract, it will kill your Mobster if there aren't any others in queue.

There is some strategy in Family Business, and that is the fine art of negotiation and diplomacy. Your best bet in stopping a Contract card is to convince the other players you're not a threat. Make alliances. Promise them that you'll counter a contract against them (thank you, Bromley, for letting people counter any Contract played) in exchange for not targeting your mobsters. Threaten them with your "iron-clad Contract" (a Contract that cannot be countered). Player interaction is the strongest feature of Family Business. I have had all my mobsters targeted be every other player because I played a Vendetta card, which forces every other player (without a Safehouse card) to put two mobsters each up on the Hit List AND begins a Mob War in which 2 mobsters die per turn instead of one. If you aren't laughing and pleading and wheeling and dealing and maybe even using a cheesy Brooklyn accent while playing this game, you have totally missed the point of this game (and will lose if the cards don't favor you).

There is also a bit of strategy in knowing when to hold your Counter cards or Rescue cards and when to play them. But let's not kid ourselves, you are pretty much at the mercy of the other players and the cards you draw. Always remember that while stacking the deck is cheating, stacking the other players against someone other than you is completely legit.

Grade: D+

Fun Factor
As I said before, the more you interact with the other players, and the more you use cheesy Brooklyn accents and Godfather quotes, the more you'll enjoy this game. Its length is a problem, though, for such a light game. Mayfair's estimate of 30-60 minutes is pretty much accurate. 30 minutes is fine for this game, but longer than that and the game starts to lose its luster. (That, and by this point players have been eliminated and so they aren't getting to play the entire length of the game). In the end, though, it's worth its $10 cost.

Grade: C+

Final Report Card
Components: D+ (2.5)
Rules: B (4)
Strategy/Luck Factor: D+ (2.5)
Fun Factor: C+ (3.5)

Total Points: 12.5/20
Final Grade: 62.5% (D)
BGG Rating: 6

Thread: Re: Family Business - Rules question

THORBOY — 2007-12-26T00:02:17+00:00

i would also print out a quick summary of the cards off of the mayfair website. it comes in handy with first timers and it's much easier to see and read than the little instruction booklet.

Thread: Re: Sitting in a corner

boltongeordie — 2007-11-01T13:33:10+00:00

MerricB wrote:
Family Business is not a game in which strategy and tactics will play a large part? Yeah, that's probably better.
How about "Family Business is a game in which most of the strategy and tactics are part of the metagame rather than the game itself"?

Thread: Sitting in a corner

MerricB — 2007-11-01T05:02:28+00:00

It's hard to take Family Business seriously as a game. Err... it's hard to play it seriously? No, that's not quite right. It's not seriously a game? Worse and worse.

Family Business is not a game in which strategy and tactics will play a large part? Yeah, that's probably better.

More correctly, Family Business, as a game revolving around "hitting" all of an opponent's family (mob) before they get you, is a game where your ability to talk opponents into moves that directly hurt other players is likely to be of benefit.

So to, is a player with the ability to hold a grudge. Just as long as that grudge is not held against you!

So, it was that Randy and Mike decided to target Craig first of all. After a couple of turns doing this, Randy decided that he needed to start on someone else, and put one of Mike's mob on the hit list. Mike, it seems, can hold a grudge. He hit back at Randy, putting out a contract on him. Randy countered this, and, as he got another turn, put a contract on Mike for revenge.

At this point, the war was on.

Mike, Randy, Mike, Randy. Craig and I sat back and watched as the two of them destroyed each other's ranks. Eventually - and unfortunately - they realised how much that was leaving them behind me. So, they started going after my family members. I had a few nice counter cards, and was able to save some of my clan, but I still was being hit.

Craig was also joined into the fun.

However, a Vendetta can have only one resolution when I play it, and both Randy and Mike found themselves being thrown into the dead pile along with the rest of their weak and inconsequential families, leaving only Craig and me to fight it out.

Unfortunately, it was at this point that Craig drew his first counter card of the game. He used it to stop my contract, and the next couple of plays saw the rest of my family eliminated.

Craig rejoiced, the rest of us mouldered!

Thread: Re: Family Business: First Game

TheSquatch — 2007-10-22T16:28:03+00:00

JamesMc wrote:
If someone took this game seriously or competitivly, they wouldnt like it that much, as it is very luck dependant.

I've seen this happen a couple of times where one player gets his feelings hurt, and an actual vendetta took shape. Everybody else got to enjoy the fireworks as he made questionable tactical choices in an attempt at mad revenge. Santino Corleone's death should come as a warning to anyone in control of a fictional mob. It's important to remind players that it's just a game, and a quick one at that. I've always had fun with this one myself. Nice session.

Thread: Family Business: First Game

JamesMc — 2007-10-22T13:06:41+00:00

Myself and two friends were standing around our local gaming shop when I happened to notice a 1989 copy of this game in a large box of trade-ins that someone had brought in earlier that week. I picked it up, dusted it off, and we all decided to play.

Since we are all pretty experienced gamers, we just read the set up instructions and dove right in. I really recommend that for this game, since a lot of the cards are difficult to understand without seeing them in play. Fortunately this was the old version which has the card reference cheat sheets.

I was Murder Inc., Larry was the Purple Gang, and Dave was the New York Mafia. Dave had a great idea, which was to arrange our gang members in a heirechal tree infront of us, with the family head at the top, and your enforcers and soldiers at the bottom. The game started out timidly enough. People would get put on the hit list, and would come back down before there were four people against the wall.

Finally, half way through the deck, the New York gang made a hit on my leader. Within the next couple of turns, both Murder Inc. and the Purple Gang were down to half strength thanks to a nasty Vendetta and St. Valentines Day Massacre, while the New York gang was untouched. The man had every counter in the game, so he got a lot of extra turns it seemed.

The rest of the game was pretty brutal, a gang member dying almost every turn as the Mob war wouldnt stop. Finally a Truce card was played, but it was short lived. On our second shuffle through the action deck, both Murder Inc. and the Purple Gang had 3 men left, and they were all on the board when St. Valentines Day Massacre was played by the New York Gang once again, ending the game.

New York still had five gang members left by the end of the game, which was very impressive considering me and Larry focused on him almost completly.

The game was very fun and fast. It is best described as a mix of Guillotine and Mille Borne, which is a good thing in my opinion. The idea of making a family tree, and getting really into character helped the game. If someone took this game seriously or competitivly, they wouldnt like it that much, as it is very luck dependant.

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HeinzGuderian — 2007-09-30T18:01:44+00:00

Today is a bad day for the New York Mob

Thread: First play and impressions

MerricB — 2007-08-28T01:45:58+00:00

Another boardgame day, another new game. I'm having a fun time at present!

What made this day even better was that we got to meet a fellow bgger, Mike (mdr003), who actually lives pretty close to Randy and the rest of us. So, there we were at Randy's place, with me being fairly confused about who Mike actually was, thanks to Randy inviting someone else called Michael, who couldn't actually come...

I think I eventually worked it out, but while I was struggling with the idea of two boardgamers named Michael (or Mike), Randy brought out Family Business to be the first game of the afternoon. Already at the table were Craig, Mike, Rich, Randy and myself, and Meg would arrive later; Troy and Patrick would arrive for the evening games.

Randy had mentioned Family Business a couple of times before, but I'd not paid much attention to him. Now it actually was in front of me, and I was somewhat surprised to find that (a) it was a card game and (b) it wasn't about selling Lemonade. No, Family Business is about being mobsters, and killing other mobsters... in fact, the families belonging to the other players.

The game played fast and furious. There are basically three types of cards...

Contracts, which add one of your opponents' family members to the hit list. Once the hit list reaches 6 or more, the person at the head of it gets eliminated at the start of each turn.

Rescuers, which allow you to retrieve family members from the hit list, and

Counters, which stop Contracts and Rescuers; these counters are specific in use - one counter will only stop a specific type of card.

Play goes like this: draw a card, play a card. Play proceeds clockwise around the table *unless* your action is countered, in which case that player gets a go and it proceeds from there.

Mike drew a *lot* of counters during this game, and Randy hardly managed to play at all. I started, and immediately targetted Randy. It's a tradition. Other people agreed with my tradition, and also targetted Randy with their contracts, and others (turncoats!) listened to Randy and targetted me!

This isn't a game with all that much skill in the play of the cards. It's pretty much the luck of the draw. What makes it interesting is the social interaction, as you set contracts on people who seem to be ahead, or who someone else has convinced you to target. I rather like games like this, because I really enjoy talking my way out of trouble. Not that it always works...

Eventually we managed to eliminate Rich and Michael from the game. Craig eliminated Randy, and there we were with me having one family member left, and Craig with two. Not a good position to be in, especially when it was Craig's turn!

Unfortunately for Craig, he didn't have any Contracts in hand! He discarded, and it was my go. I drew... Vendetta! Craig's last two family members went onto the hit list and got hit. I'd won!

I'll go with pure luck anyday.

It's a fun game, but one that you can't take at all seriously. I wouldn't want to play it that often, but it's good every once in a while.

Thread: Re: Safehouse Effect

Rokkr — 2007-08-16T22:29:12+00:00

Just your own mobsters are safe. The vendetta still happens.

Thread: Safehouse Effect

Zeromus — 2007-08-16T22:17:26+00:00

Safehouse counters Vendetta. Does that mean the Vendetta is cancelled or just your own mobsters are safe from being put on the list? Thanks!

Thread: Family Business: a family affair

electricvomit — 2007-08-13T14:59:15+00:00

Last weekend, my family met for my grandmother's birthday. It was your typical summer get-together: lots of outdoors, a breeze, grilling, etc. My family is not exactly the gaming type, but with nothing better to do and a table in the shade outdoors, my family couldn't say no. After a few games of Loopin' Louie, Cash and Guns, and Werewolf I busted out the copy of family business. I knew that this game would go well after the success of Werewolf, it was clear that my family had two necessary traits for Family Business: a vindictive attitude and a strong set of vocal cords.

So the game was set. The rules were explained. I brought copies of the player aid found in the rules, which if you have read my review you'll see that the newest Mayfair version does not explain the card functions on the actual cards, and I do not like that. Seriously, what's up with that? The gangs were selected. The first game was my uncle Mike, my sister Anna, my girlfriend Nicole, My cousin Ellen, My mom, and myself. Three generations of Dodors were ready to battle it out. And it went down. With the aid cards the game was taught in about five minutes and we rolled. My sister Anna was the first to fall, thanks to a well-timed St. Valentines Day Massacre on my uncle's behalf. The rest of the family fell one by one. I stayed back, only picking on the weakest, never stepping out of line, and as a result I won the game.

The second game went about the same as the first, but my uncle and mom dropped out and my sister Erin jumped in. This game went about the same. I used the power of suggestion to pin my grandma against my cousin Ellen, which was classic in its own right. The feature of this game was taking note of which gangster one was going to put on the list. My girlfriend Nicole was saving Ma Barker for the end, but when Anna played hit on Ma Barker, it spelled the end for Anna. Nicole was not pleased with the death of her prized gangster, and Anna had to go. Other gangsters of choice included Machine Gun Joe and Hymie Weiss. Again I stepped back, let the bullets fly, and won as a result.

This game was a great choice, however I felt I should have been in a little more involved in the action. I enjoyed the weaseling of the rest of the players into killing another off, but I wish I was a little more in the front line. I would have lost, no doubt. But this aggression is what makes the game fun. I bet Anna had a lot more fun killing off Ma Barker early, even though it cost her last place. Next time you play Family Business go out with a bang, if you win more power to you, but be sure to seek revenge the next game.

Thread: Family Business: a game of friendly backstabbing

electricvomit — 2007-08-08T17:23:42+00:00

Why I bought it
My friends played this all the time in a class called "quest" in high school. "Quest" was supposed to be for gifted and talented students, but students mostly played board games, showed up late (1st class of the day), went through a semester-long scenario of AD and D, and screwed around. Years after high school, when I rekindled my interest in board games, my friends all demanded that Family Business be played.

Game play
I'm sure you've read it all by now so I'll save it. You try to kill all your opponents' mobsters. There is no rhyme or reason as to which mobster you select from your opponents. I think that the game should have a negotiation tag attached as well, as this is an important factor of the game.

What I liked
Playing a four-player game with my two best friends and girlfriend was a very fun experience. Each game started with ganging up on the old winner, except the first game where I was the odd man out. This game's fast nature allows to form quick alliances that are formed for one game or less. In my experience, these are formed through a desire to take out another player, not as a way to promote one's own survival, i.e. they're formed out of spite of one player and not for the purpose of symbiosis. The game play was fast and entertaining. A well-played St. Valentines day massacre, hit, or priority contract made the game funny at times, such as when my friend played St. Valentines day massacre despite the fact that he had four mobsters on the list. He said he did it to "Go out in style." As the winner of the last game he knew that he was going down this game and he saw and opportunity to take out the fifth mobster on the list, which belonged to another friend, so why not?

Dislikes
The strengths of Family Business are also its weaknesses. It's not too complex. Don't look for a detailed strategy guide coming out anytime soon. My major gripe was the quality of the Mayfair release - the one that comes in the box pictured beside the game entry in the geek. The cards seemed flimsy, even for a ten-dollar game. I'm a little anal about the quality of cards, and these were not up to par, but for the price I'll have to let that pass.

Overall
This game is classic with a group of friends who have no problems picking on one friend game, and dropping this rivalry the next game. It's fast and funny. There's no bad move, just go with your instinct. Have a good time! If you screw up your plan, just go after your friend that interfered next game. This game would be fun to pull out after a night of gaming where one person won a few too many games, they won't win this one, I can promise you that!

Thread: Re: Family Business - Rules question

Advocator — 2007-07-20T01:03:52+00:00

Just wanted to take a second to thank all of you. And to also give a big thanks to Knut Krummnacker, who was kind enough to scan and email me a copy of his rules!

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sightreader — 2007-07-19T17:54:22+00:00

A Family Business Party

Thread: Re: Family Business - Rules question

J.L.Robert — 2007-07-18T05:52:56+00:00

As others have pointed out, those first on the list get whacked first.

Contact Mayfair Games' customer service. They're a friendly bunch, and will likely be able to send you a copy of the rules.

Thread: Re: Family Business - Rules question

TedW — 2007-07-18T04:54:48+00:00

FIFO! First in, first out!

Thread: Re: Family Business - Rules question

gironha — 2007-07-18T04:37:00+00:00

First on is the first to die. So they line up in order and you can see who will die first.

Some of the cards will allow to switch things around.

So when you start a war with a card, make sure your guys are away from the wall. They might survive if the war ends before every one on the wall is dead.

Thread: Family Business - Rules question

Advocator — 2007-07-18T04:31:32+00:00

I just picked up a copy of Family Business after a number of people here recommended it as something I might enjoy. But all I got in the box were the cards. Thankfully, I found rule summaries here, without which I would have been completely lost.

So, I'm sitting here with those summaries, but I'm left with one question. Once people start getting killed off, is it the mobster put on the wall first that gets killed first? Or it is the last mobster added to the wall that gets killed first?

I think I figured the rest out from the stuff I found on this website (I hope.) Still, I find it odd that they wouldn't include rules with the cards. Of course, I know my luck and I likely got the lucky box that just happened to be missing the rules (it's happened before.)

Thanks in advance!

Thread: Re: Turncoat on the first round

edfrew — 2007-07-08T14:24:28+00:00

I think Ryan's got it right: no discard pile -> no exchange

Thread: Family Business In Review

Blademaster777 — 2007-06-27T09:07:17+00:00

I first discovered Family Business about 4 years ago when a friend of mine bought it home after a day spent taking pot-shots at other people’s mobsters. I fell in love with the game almost immediately.

Mechanics and Game Play:

Family Business is a simple game; each player has a gang 9 Mobsters (to start with at least) and a hand of cards (generally 5). The active player starts their turn by drawing to 6 cards then plays a card (or discards a card with no effect) and play proceeds. There are 3 broad categories of cards.....

Attack Cards (Red): These cards will either remove a mobster from play entirely or put them up on the Hit List The 'Hit List' is a line of mobsters that are marked for death. A 'Mob War' begins when there are either 6+ mobsters on the Hit List or a card is played to trigger one. During a Mob War the first mobster in line is killed and removed from play. A Mob War continues until a card effect ends it or there are no mobsters left on the list. The game ends when there is only one mob left standing.

Rescue Cards (Green): These cards will influence the hit list in various ways, either allowing you to remove mobsters or to re-order the list to suit your needs.

Counter Cards (Blue): These cards stop or modify the effects of another card. Whenever a Counter card is played that player gets the next turn.

The game play is fast and furious yet at times erratic and unpredictable, the effect of counter cards often robs people of their turn (though the game plays fast enough that that player’s downtime is still minimal (Though it can be frustrating to keep missing your turn and watching the Mob War eat up your precious mobsters)).

Number of Players: Family Business works just as well with 2 players as it does with 6

Playtime: The game will generally play out within 20 - 30 mins.

Just A Small Gripe: The only problem that I have with the new version of Family Business is that (unlike the last edition) the rules are not printed onto the cards and their are no 'Cheat Cards' provided. This problem can be alleviated by downloading the 'Cheat Sheet' from Mayfair or BGG, but I feel should have been included in the first place.

Overall: Family Business is a great game for a group of people who don't take it to seriously. It works well as a filler or a starter.

Thread: Re: Turncoat on the first round

KoopaTroopa211 — 2007-06-13T05:54:22+00:00

The spirit of the card is simple: gaining a mobster at someone else's expense. However, I think the wording of the rule prevents this from happening on the opening round.

The rule explicitly mentions that the mobster being gained must come from the discard pile. Since the player with the "fewest" has no mobsters in the discard pile yet, they cannot gain one back.

Of course, this is always something that can be modified in the standard "house rules" fashion by agreeing on it beforehand. However, in the absence of such an accord, I would stick to the wording of the rule.

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mexilplif — 2007-05-28T01:56:32+00:00

The wall is still open for business

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Caesar! — 2007-05-07T20:50:44+00:00

Hand me the contract

Thread: Re: Playing Counter cards on else Contracts cards

ACK ACK — 2007-04-13T02:06:39+00:00

Yes, that's correct.

Any player can play a counter card in order to save their own or any other player's mobster. As you say, the reason you might want to do this is so you get the next turn.

Thread: Playing Counter cards on else Contracts cards

Gabriel Guerin — 2007-04-13T00:53:37+00:00

I've played Family Business just once with my gaming group, so I am still a newbie with it, but I noticed that Counter cards like Family Influence and Mob Power are usually played only by people directly targeted by Contract cards. So if anybody just played a couple of Family Influence cards, all the opponents know that he'll be a rather easy target until his next turn.
But searching through the rules I found that:
"Only one player may play Counter cards, in response to an opponent's play. If two or more players try to play a counter card at the same time, only the first one played takes effect."

The reason why a player could find very useful helping another player to response a Contract card is evident enough:
"When a player uses a Counter card, that player will take the next turn (skipping others)".
So, while saving one opponent's mobster, you could put yourself on the edge and save the day for your mobsters on the hit list.
Is this correct?

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Walsfeo — 2007-03-23T20:40:38+00:00

New Box

Thread: Turncoat on the first round

Mentat — 2007-02-06T21:31:19+00:00

After the initial deal, I had in my hand: Finger, Safehouse, Mob Power, Intrigue, and Federal Crackdown. No mobsters were in the discard pile. On my turn, I drew a sixth card and it was Turncoat. I played Turncoat, declaring the Moran Gang as high, and the Purple Gang (me) as low. Since I already had 9 mobsters, there was no mobster for me to resurrect, so I simply asked the Yellow player to place one of his gang members into the discard pile.

The Green player cried foul, indicating that the Turncoat card could not be played since no mobsters were in the discard pile. He claimed that the spirit of the Turncoat card is to essentially move a mobster of one color to a mobster of a different color.

The Red player then argued that if that was the spirit of the card, then I should receive the turncoat yellow mobster as my 10th mobster. We searched the rules and found no restriction regarding number of mobsters a player can have (other than the original 9 received during setup).

After several minutes of discussion, we decide to play it the way I had originally intended.

What do you think?

edit:sp

Thread: "whos gang is it?"- variant..

Striker511 — 2007-01-24T17:04:39+00:00

After 100s of games of Family Business, we found one version that was fun and adds a new twist to the game:

1- Seperate the gangs into seperate piles ; each player picks one of the 6. (like the original)- Remember WHAT GANG IS YOURS (EX: Murder INC..)
2- Then, instead of picking a gang, you mix in all of the gangs into one card stack.
3- Then deal out 9 face-down gang members to each player- you cannot look to see what peron/gang member is in your pile or anyone elses..
4- then play as normal.

Some additional rules:

A- You still play as your selected gang from step 1; hense, if anyone puts one of your guys on the wall (a Murder INC guy), then he is now YOUR gang member, not the person who stuck him up there..

B- If you save your gang member from the wall, he goes face up in a 2nd pile next to the face down members; Keep playing the face down members as if they were your original gang until you run out of face-down members, then goto the saved pile and play as normal.

C- At some point, you might run out of gang members face-down; you simply must wait, skipping your turn until either the game ends or one of your gang members shows up face-up on the wall, then you jump back into the game.

D- If one player still has face-down gang members and the rest of the players are 'out', they win; This is because the winning player has an active gang; faceup and/or face down while the rest of the players cannot act, due to the requirement of having a gang member in front of them.

Everyone will see the fun as the game progresses: Player A might put player B on the hitlist; Player B then takes the top gang member and flips him face up and onto the wall. It could be a gang member from ANY gang, even the guy who put the contract on you!!!

Any questions or comments - postem!

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Lobo — 2007-01-19T21:21:02+00:00

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