How to Play Burgle Bros.: Setup, Turn Order, and Winning

Quick answer

To play Burgle Bros., choose a character, build the 3D board floor by floor, then take turns moving, peeking, and cracking safes while avoiding guards. Win by cracking all safes and escaping to the roof with the loot before the guard catches you. The key is to coordinate actions and manage noise.

What you need before your first heist

Burgle Bros. is a cooperative game for 1–4 players. Each player controls a burglar with a unique ability. You will need the rulebook, the 3D board tiles, character cards, guard miniatures, dice, and loot tokens. The object is to crack three safes (one per floor) and escape to the roof. The game is tense but easy to learn: on your turn you have four actions, and the guard moves after you.

• 1–4 players, ages 12+, 45–90 minutes
• Cooperative: everyone wins or loses together
• Three floors, each with a safe to crack

Setting up the building

Separate the wall tiles by floor (1, 2, 3) and shuffle each stack. Place the starting tile for floor 1, then randomly draw and place the remaining tiles to form a 4x4 grid for each floor, stacking floors on top of each other. Place the safe on each floor, but not on the starting tile. Put the guard on the ground floor entrance. Shuffle the loot tokens and place one on each safe. Each player chooses a character and places their miniature on the starting tile of floor 1. Keep the guard dice and patrol deck nearby.

• Checkpoint: The safe must be at least 2 tiles away from the stairs on each floor.
• Common mistake: Forgetting to place the guard on the correct starting space.

Turn order and actions

On your turn, you have 4 action points. Actions include: move (1 per tile), peek (1 to look at an adjacent tile without entering), crack a safe (1 to start, then a dice roll), and special actions like using your character's ability or trading loot. You can also spend 2 actions to disable a camera or laser, or 1 action to add a die to a safe-cracking attempt. After you use all actions, roll the guard dice and move the guard according to the patrol deck. Then play passes to the left.

• Checkpoint: You can only crack a safe if you are on its tile and have the required tools (if any).
• Common mistake: Moving without peeking first, which can trigger an alarm.

How the guard moves

The guard moves after each player's turn. Roll the guard die (or draw from the patrol deck) to determine direction. The guard follows a set path, but if you are on the same tile as the guard at any time, you are caught and the alarm goes up. If the guard reaches you, you must escape to an adjacent tile or lose a stealth token. The guard also reacts to noise: if you crack a safe or trip a laser, the guard moves toward that location.

• Checkpoint: Keep track of the guard's position and plan your moves to stay out of sight.
• Common mistake: Ignoring the guard's patrol pattern and getting cornered.

Winning the game

To win, you must crack all three safes (one on each floor) and then get all players to the roof. After cracking a safe, you get a loot token, which may have a special ability. Once all safes are cracked, the stairs to the roof are revealed. Move all players to the roof to escape. If the guard catches a player three times (or if the alarm reaches the end of the track), you lose. So balance speed with caution.

• Checkpoint: The game ends immediately when all players reach the roof.
• Common mistake: Leaving a player behind on a lower floor.

Tips for new players

Communication is key. Decide who will crack safes and who will scout ahead. Use peeks to avoid alarms. Remember that you can trade loot and help each other. If you are playing with fewer than 4 players, consider using the 'special abilities' variant to make it easier. And don't forget: you can always restart if the guard gets lucky.

• Use the 'Geared' tokens from Burgle Bros 3 to track character modes if you own that expansion.



• Practice on the first floor before moving up.

Step-by-step walkthrough for your first game

1. Choose characters and set up the board: Each player picks a burglar and places their miniature on the starting tile of floor 1. Shuffle and lay out the 4x4 tile grid for each floor, place safes, and put the guard at the entrance. Checkpoint: Ensure the safe is not on the starting tile.
2. Take your first turn: On your turn, spend 4 actions. Move, peek, or start cracking a safe. After actions, roll the guard die and move the guard. Common mistake: Forgetting to move the guard after your turn.
3. Crack the first safe: When you are on a safe tile, spend 1 action to start cracking. Roll dice equal to the safe's difficulty (usually 2). If you roll the required numbers, you crack it and take a loot token. Checkpoint: You can add extra dice by spending additional actions before rolling.
4. Move to the next floor: After cracking a safe, find the stairs and move up. Repeat setup for the next floor: place the guard at the stairs and continue. Common mistake: Leaving the guard behind on the previous floor.
5. Escape to the roof: Once all three safes are cracked, the roof stairs are revealed. Move all players to the roof to win. If the guard catches you three times, you lose. Checkpoint: All players must reach the roof; no one can be left behind.

Tools that make teaching Burgle Bros. easier

• Burgle Bros. - Wholesale: Burgle Bros. - Wholesale is a cooperative heist game for 1-4 players with easy-to-learn rules and brain-twisting puzzles. This is the core game you need to play the steps above; its straightforward rules make it ideal for learning the turn order and guard movement.
• Burgle Bros 3 Geared Tokens: Burgle Bros 3 Geared Tokens include 14 wooden tokens for all 9 Burgle Bros characters and 5 Runner expansion characters, with heat transfer printing on both sides. These tokens help you remember when a character is in 'Geared' mode versus 'Disguised', reducing mistakes during turn actions.