Burgle Bros. — Rules, Guards, Safes & Strategy

The Bank Job: three-floor setup

The standard Burgle Bros. mission is The Bank Job, a roughly 90-minute cooperative heist. Build three 4×4 floors. For each floor, shuffle 14 ordinary room tiles, one Safe and one Stairs tile, then deal the 16 tiles face down. Use the wall layout shown in the official rules: eight wall pieces per floor. Shuffle the Tool, Loot and Event decks separately.

Sort the 48 Patrol cards into three floor-specific decks of 16. Each floor has its own Guard and patrol die. Starting speeds are 2 on floor one, 3 on floor two and 4 on floor three. Choose characters, select the standard side of their abilities for a first game, and give each player three Stealth tokens.

Reveal a first-floor Patrol card to locate its Guard and another for its initial destination. Choose and reveal one entrance tile on floor one; all crew members will enter there on their first turns. The entrance itself does not trigger its usual tile effect on that first placement.

Turn structure: four actions, event check, Guard

Players take clockwise turns. Spend up to four actions, mixing the available options: peek at a neighboring facedown tile; move to an adjacent tile; add a Hack token while in a Computer Room; add a die to your current Safe (costs two actions); or roll the dice already on your current Safe (costs one action).

After your actions, if you used two or fewer, draw and resolve one Event card. Then move the Guard only on your current floor. Thus saving actions can create an event risk; and going to a different floor changes which Guard activates.

Example: you peek twice and end your turn. That is two actions, so resolve an Event and move the Guard on your floor. If you peek three times instead, you skip the Event but still move that Guard.

Peeking, moving and walls

Peeking reveals a tile next to you without entering it; moving costs one action and reveals the destination if still hidden. Neither action crosses walls or moves diagonally. Stairs normally connect floors vertically for one action, with a peek-up option from a Stairs tile. A Service Duct pair can provide a one-action shortcut once both corresponding tiles have been discovered.

Room text matters. For instance, a Laser room needs two actions to enter without setting off its alarm, while a Deadbolt room can require three actions to enter. Some rooms stop entry when you cannot meet a condition; others allow the move but trigger an Alarm. Always announce whether you are peeking or moving before revealing a facedown tile.

Guard movement and Patrol cards explained

After each player’s turn, their floor’s Guard moves toward the location indicated by its Patrol die. Its normal number of movement steps equals the die’s displayed speed plus one per active Alarm on that floor. It takes the shortest possible route, avoiding walls but ignoring the rooms’ special restrictions. If multiple shortest routes exist, use the tie-breaking direction from the rulebook.

Whenever the Guard reaches its destination, reveal the next Patrol card to choose a new destination, then finish any remaining movement steps. When its Patrol deck must be reshuffled, the Guard’s base speed permanently rises by one, up to six. Only activate an upper floor’s Guard once a character first enters that floor.

When you enter a Guard’s room—or it enters yours—you lose one Stealth token. You can survive collisions while tokens remain, but if you are caught without a Stealth token, everyone loses.

Alarms and hacking

An Alarm places an Alarm token at the triggering tile and redirects the Guard toward it. If multiple Alarms are active, the Guard heads toward the closest. An Alarm also temporarily adds to the Guard’s steps on that floor. When the Guard reaches an Alarm location, remove its token; the extra movement for the current Guard activation has already been determined.

Computer Rooms provide defenses. Spend one action while in a Computer Room to add a Hack token, up to six tokens on that room. When a matching alarm type would trigger, a corresponding stored Hack token may be discarded to cancel it—even if the alarm would occur on another floor. The three systems are Fingerprint, Laser and Motion.

A practical use: build a few appropriate Hack tokens before advancing into more dangerous sections of the building, especially where a false move could redirect a fast Guard toward teammates.

How to crack a Safe

Each Safe uses the six tile numbers from the rest of its row and column as its combination. All six other tiles must eventually be revealed. You may, however, start attempting the lock before every combination tile is visible.

While standing on the Safe, spend two actions to add one die permanently to the Safe. Spend one action to roll all dice currently on it. For each revealed combination tile whose printed number appears on at least one die, place a Cracked token; one matching die result can satisfy multiple tiles with the same number. The dice remain with the Safe after rolling, so you can attempt again.

Example: three combination tiles show 2, 2 and 5; your roll includes 2 and 5. All three may receive Cracked tokens. A combination tile still face down cannot be marked, even if you rolled its hidden number.

Once all six combination positions have Cracked tokens, open the Safe, draw one Tool and one Loot card, and increase the Guard’s speed by one on that floor and every floor below it. Opening a Safe therefore intensifies the escape.

Tools, Loot and trading between teammates

Tools generally provide helpful one-use effects. You may use an eligible Tool on your own turn without spending an action unless its card instructs otherwise. Crew members standing together on the same tile can transfer a Tool or Loot with permission for free.

Loot is essential but may impose a burden on its carrier. The crew must get all Loot out of the building; escaping while leaving a Loot card behind is not a win. Agree who should carry each Loot card and whether a transfer helps movement or a character’s ability.

How the crew wins or loses

The crew wins only after all three Safes have been cracked, all Loot is carried out, and every character escapes to the roof using the top-floor Stairs. Moving from those Stairs to the roof costs one action. A character who reaches the roof has completed their escape and no longer activates a Guard on later turns.

The crew loses immediately if anyone is caught by a Guard with zero Stealth remaining. The game is fully cooperative: an individual escape cannot compensate for a captured teammate or missing Loot.

Solo and fewer-player adjustments

The original rules support 1–4 players. In a smaller game, each player still has three Stealth and their own character, but you remove face-down Patrol cards from every floor deck whenever it is shuffled: nine in solo, six with two players, and three with three. These removed cards are recombined before the next reshuffle, then the required number is removed anew.

Some character abilities and Events depend on having teammates and may not work naturally in a one-character solo game. Check those effects as they arise and consider using the two-floor introductory mission before a full three-floor solo heist.

The Office Job and Fort Knox

The Office Job is the introductory two-floor mission, estimated at about 45 minutes. Use only rooms showing the specified white-circle mark plus the required Safes and Stairs, arranged as two 4×4 floors. Its Guards start at speed two and three.

Fort Knox is an expert mission featuring two 5×5 floors with an impassable missing space aligned between them. Its unusual layout and Patrol markings create different route-planning and Safe challenges. These are alternative setups, not extra floors added to the Bank Job.

Eight heist-planning principles

• Reveal routes before committing. Peeking can prevent a dangerous move into a Laser, Deadbolt or Alarm room.
• Coordinate floor movement. Only the current player’s floor Guard moves, so moving upstairs can sometimes delay a threat below.
• Plan Guard destinations. Visible Patrol targets and remaining steps help estimate where a Guard may pass.
• Prepare Hack tokens. A matching token can cancel an alarm anywhere in the building.
• Build Safe dice early. Multiple rolls are more effective when the Safe has several dice available.
• Uncover combination tiles. Hidden row-and-column numbers cannot be cracked until revealed.
• Anticipate the silent alarm. A cracked Safe speeds Guards on its floor and those below.
• Keep the Loot together with the plan. Opening every Safe does not win until all crew and Loot escape.

These are rules-based strategic suggestions, not claims of firsthand playtesting.

Burgle Bros. frequently asked questions

How many players can play?

One to four.

How long is the standard Bank Job?

Approximately 90 minutes.

How many floors are there?

Three 4×4 floors in the standard Bank Job.

How many actions can I take?

Up to four on your turn.

When do Events happen?

After a turn on which you used two or fewer actions.

Do all Guards move after each turn?

No. Normally only the Guard on the active player’s current floor moves.

How do I open a Safe?

Reveal its combination tiles and roll Safe dice until all six row-and-column numbers have been cracked.

What happens when a Safe opens?

Draw one Tool and one Loot, then increase Guard speed on that floor and all lower floors.

Can you win without carrying Loot to the roof?

No. All Loot and all players must escape.

What happens at zero Stealth?

You remain active until a further Guard collision, which immediately loses the game.

Who should play Burgle Bros.?

Best for a group that enjoys cooperative problem-solving, open discussion and careful planning across a changing map. Guard movement and room effects make it more demanding than a very light family co-op; solo play is supported.

Similar games and what to play next

If you are comparing this game with other titles on BoardGameArchive, these guides explain genuinely different mechanics and player experiences:

• For Northwood! — For a different kind of solo puzzle, For Northwood! focuses on trick-taking objectives instead of stealth movement.
• The Mind — A much shorter cooperative challenge centered on shared timing rather than exploration and alarms.
• Bandido — For a quick cooperative spatial puzzle with minimal setup, Bandido replaces guards and safe cracking with tunnel closure.

Official rules and editorial scope

• Fowers Games: official product and components
• Burgle Bros. published rules: Bank Job, Guards, Safes and variants
• Burgle Bros. complete English rulebook PDF

Rules reviewed October 11, 2026. Original explanatory examples and rules-derived tactical suggestions, with no claim of personal playtesting. Check edition-specific card text and room interactions in your printed rulebook. Editorial policy and corrections.