THE BROTHERHOOD: The Game of Organized Crime.
Publisher: Conflict Games.
Game Design: John Hill.
Graphics Design: Unknown.

PACKAGING: Bookcase-sized box (8.5" x 11" x 2") without slip-case. Similar to Guidon Games but sturdier. Both upper and lower half are covered with a red wrapper on which is printed the black silhouetts of a man centered in a gun sight. The sight and the game title are in white. Overall, a nice appearance.

BOX CONTAINS:

a. 8"x10 3/4" playing board.
b. 1 sheet of 5/8" square die-cut unit counters.
c. Rules--on one large sheet folded to form a four page booklet.
d. 13 "Grand Jury" cards.
e. 5"x8" pad of "Monthly Ledger" forms.

COMPONENTS: Very professional. The small board is backed with the same vinyl-like material Guidon Games uses. The surface is nicely drawn and printed in black and red on a slick white paper. The board consists of six areas representing sections of a large city with a picture and name of each area. The "Grand Jury" cards are of similar size, shape and material as a deck of playing cards. The unit counters are printed with simple symbols in black on 6 different colors. The rules are offset printed and very legible.

THE GAME: I discovered this game at the Lake Geneva convention this summer. The booth next to ours (and the only other one) was that of The Scale hobby shop of West Lafayette, Indiana. John Hill, the senior partner, I believe, in The Scale, is the designer of this game and they are publishing/producing it themselves under the name Conflict Games. They also have an out-and-out wargame under development: VERDUN. John not only showed me their BROTHERHOOD but I got in on the play of 3 or 4 games while also manning my booth. It is a "playable" and enjoyable game.

Up to six may play. There are no partners and every player is on his own. Only one can win. This brings on some diplomatic activity, as in DIPLOMACY, though not as much, at least in the games I was in. Also, like DIPLOMACY, moves are committed to paper in secret and revealed simultaneously. Each player represents the head of a "gang" and vies with the others for control of the rackets--real or potential--in a hypothetical city. The city is divided into six sections called "Riversnobs" (rich), "Status Quo" (upper middle-class), "Whitewash" (middle class), "Bunkerville" (lower-middle), "Sewertown" (industrial slum), and "Lakedump" (residential slum). Each starts with $10,000 to invest and a "Godfather" counter representing the boss of the gang . 

The $10,000 is used to invest in "revenue counters" (rackets) or in political influence in a particular area, or to hire "Thugs" (all purpose hoods) or "Hitmen" (higher-priced more efficient killers). These forces are manipulated to build an empire of criminal activities and/or to interfere with the growth of rivals and possibly capture their resources.

The rules are fairly short and easy to learn and play is fast and exciting with never a dull moment. The game depends primarily on skill. The major element of luck is the deck of "Grand Jury" cards. These function in a manner similar to "Chance" cards in MONOPOLY. Each turn a die is rolled to determine which area of the city the card will apply to, and then a card is drawn and its instructions followed--such as, "Drug shipment intercepted. No money from revenue counters in this area next turn." Each turn represents one month, and whoever has the largest empire at the end of twelve turns wins the game. This game would lend itself to postal play along the lines of DIPLOMACY and ORIGINS OF WW II very nicely.

If your interest in games is confined to realistic simulations , and/or military conflicts, and/or complex, detailed rules and many, many units, this game is not for you. If you enjoy more-or-less abstract games with simple rules and complex strategies--such as Chess and DIPLOMACY--you'll like this game. The list price is $8.98 (a bit high, but I can state from experience that the production of a game is an expensive undertaking and with small volume of sales the costs are greater per copy than for a large company). This game is available from Lowrys Hobbies (same address as this magazine) for $8.98 plus $1.00 for postage and handling--or perhaps wherever you buy wargames, etc. , in your area.