Agent Avenue
Two hidden-identity spies recruit animal agents, offer a face-up and face-down choice, and race to catch one another. Learn the card sets, victory conditions and advanced mode.
Offer two spy cards, let your opponent pick one, then use the card they leave you to advance the chase—or complete an alternative victory condition.
Agent Avenue is a quick two-player bluffing and set-collection game by Laura and Christian Kudahl, published by Nerdlab Games. Every turn forces both spies to make a choice about a known and unknown Agent card.
Why It Stands Out
The player who offers the cards doesn’t get to choose what they receive. Each face-down offer is therefore part prediction, part bluff and part risk management.
Agent Avenue setup: start with the simple mode
Start with the simple-mode side of the double-sided game board. Each player chooses a meeple color and places it on that color’s home space. Shuffle the Agent deck and deal four Agent cards to each player; the remaining cards form a common draw pile. Put the 15 Black Market cards aside, because they are only used in the advanced game.
The published base-game contents include 38 Agent cards, 15 Black Market cards, two player aids, two meeples and the board. You do not need an expansion to use the normal two-player game, the included advanced mode or the team-play rules.
Your central goal is to catch the other player’s meeple before they catch yours. Recruiting animals may advance or push back a meeple along the track, and some card combinations create instant win or loss conditions. The catch-up race and the sets in front of each spy both matter.
Every turn has three steps: Play, Recruit, End
1. Play two cards, one visible and one hidden
Take two Agent cards from your hand and place one face up and the other face down between the players. They must normally have different card names. If every card in your hand has the same name, the official rulebook allows the exception of offering two identical cards.
After making the offer, draw from the Agent deck until you have four cards in hand again, if possible. Before choosing your offer you may optionally discard a card face down and draw a replacement. You can use this optional exchange at most four times in an entire two-player game, not four times per turn.
2. Opponent recruits first
Your opponent chooses one of the two offered cards and puts it face up in front of them. They may pick either the visible card or the hidden card without knowing what the latter is. The offering player must recruit the other card. Both cards then count as recruited Agent cards in each player’s set.
3. Resolve moves and check the ending
Each player looks at the number of same-name Agent cards they now have in play. Use the top movement icon if this is their first, the middle icon for their second, or the bottom icon for their third or later. Move forward or backwards according to that icon; zero means no movement. After the moves and any relevant card effects, check the official win and loss conditions. If the game continues, the other player takes the next turn.
How to win Agent Avenue: all three base-game outcomes
Catch the opposing spy: You win if your meeple catches up with or passes your opponent’s position on the board, as checked at the End step.
Recruit three Codebreakers: This is an alternative victory condition. Complete a set of three of these agents and check for victory at the appropriate End step.
Avoid recruiting three Daredevils: A set of three Daredevils makes you lose, not win. This makes a risky face-down offer especially dangerous late in a game.
If the common Agent deck runs out and the next player lacks the two cards needed to offer a pair, the game can end on the rulebook’s empty-deck condition. The spy closer to catching the opponent wins. The active player wins specified ties, including simultaneous win/lose situations.
Importantly, winning conditions are evaluated during the End step, not immediately when a third special card is recruited. This allows the rest of the current turn and any applicable movement to resolve before deciding who wins.
How the first, second and third Agent cards change your movement
Agent Avenue cards show three possible movement results. The value of a card depends on how many copies of that Agent you already control. A card that advances you when first recruited may behave very differently as your second or third. Cards that move you backwards can sometimes help you avoid an opponent’s immediate catch, but may also undermine your own pursuit.
Consider an illustrative situation: you have one copy of a particular Agent in play. Recruiting a second of that name means you use its second movement symbol, not the first. If another player already has two of a different Agent, their third copy activates its third symbol. The exact distances and special effects are printed on the cards; these examples explain set timing without inventing numbers.
It is easy to focus on the card you are offering and forget the card your opponent cannot avoid giving you. The strongest offers often make both possible outcomes manageable for the offering player while making the opponent uncertain which result is less dangerous.
Simple versus advanced mode: what changes?
The standard game uses Agent cards and the simple board. Once you know the card sets, flip to the advanced board and introduce the Black Market deck. When a meeple lands on a Black Market space in the required way, its player can acquire a displayed Black Market card. Depending on the card, it may give an immediate effect or an ongoing advantage.
Only landing exactly on a Black Market space triggers taking a card; merely passing across that space doesn’t. Ongoing abilities remain active while the card is in play, and some add alternate win conditions. Check individual card wording carefully, as timing matters for instant effects and for ties.
The box also includes a team variant for three or four players. Two teammates collectively make the face-up/face-down offer rather than one player placing both cards. Each teammate uses their own hand and exchange limit. The publisher still describes Agent Avenue primarily as a two-player game; the team variant is an additional format rather than the default.
Beginner strategy: making better two-card offers
- Track your opponent’s card sets. Giving away a third Codebreaker loses the game for you unless the current turn’s End-step resolution changes the outcome.
- Protect yourself from a third Daredevil. If you have two, beware of an offer that could leave you forced to recruit another.
- Use the hidden card as a signal. Think about what the visible card makes your rival fear, and whether the remaining card still helps you.
- Consider the third-copy movement values. A card that seems harmless early can become decisive once somebody has two copies.
- Save exchanges for genuine problems. The optional card swap is limited; using all four too soon reduces your flexibility.
- Switch to advanced mode once ready. The Black Market adds decisions, but its card effects can distract from learning the core split-and-choose mechanism.
These are original editorial strategy prompts. There is no universally safe combination of face-up and face-down offers: your opponent’s board position and existing sets change the answer.
Division M and Four Seasons: the 2026 expansion options
Nerdlab Games lists two optional expansions on its official Agent Avenue product page. Division M adds the mouse Agent type, a danger zone near home, and 15 new Black Market cards. Four Seasons adds four seasonal maps, two Agent cards and eight unique Black Market cards.
Both expansions require the Agent Avenue base game. They are not necessary to learn the regular rules, play the advanced mode, or try the included team variant. Check the included expansion instructions before combining extra cards or special map spaces with the base game.
Agent Avenue is a good fit for two people who enjoy a short confrontation built on predicting the other player’s decision. If you prefer hidden-movement deduction, consider Fugitive; if you want another asymmetric two-player game with a longer tactical puzzle, compare Raptor.
Agent Avenue FAQ
How many players can play Agent Avenue?
The primary game is for two players. The rulebook also includes a team variant for three or four.
Can the opponent see both offered cards?
No. One Agent card is face up and the other is face down. The opponent chooses which one to recruit.
Who gets the remaining card?
The player who made the offer must recruit whichever Agent card the opponent did not choose.
How do I win with Codebreakers?
Have three Codebreakers in play when the victory conditions are checked during the End step.
What happens if I take three Daredevils?
That is a losing condition in the standard game, subject to the official End-step resolution and tie procedure.
When do Black Market cards enter the game?
Only in advanced mode; remove them for a first simple-mode game. Exact Black Market spaces trigger card acquisition.
Is Agent Avenue solo?
No official solo mode is listed for the base game. Its main rules are for two players, with a team variant.
Can I use Division M without the base game?
No. The publisher specifies that the original Agent Avenue base game is required.
Official rules, source notes and disclosure
Nerdlab Games — Agent Avenue, details, modes and available expansions
Agent Avenue English rulebook (publisher PDF)
Checked October 2026. This guide summarizes the official base-game rules in original wording and separates optional variants and expansions. The strategy examples are editorial analysis; no hands-on playtesting is claimed. Product names are used to identify the game and are owned by their respective rightsholders.