You all work together to stop Bandido escaping by laying tunnel cards that block every exit. You may talk about plans but not show your cards. Play a card that fits, draw back up, and win only if every tunnel gets blocked.
What age is Bandido for?
Box says 6+
We suggest 5+ with an adult helping, 7+ on their own.
The turn is play one card that fits exactly and draw another, with no reading. The hard part is planning so no tunnel becomes impossible to close, so a 5 year old needs a grown-up to spot those traps and a 7 year old can play alone.
Easy to learn
1 to 4 players
15 minutes
About 2 minutes to set up (our estimate)
Co-operative: everyone wins or loses together
No direct conflict between players. Content: Cartoon bandit trying to escape from prison; no violence is described.
Checked against the Bandido rules leaflet from Helvetiq. The English rules are on page 1 of the leaflet, and the other pages repeat them in other languages. The leaflet has no printed page numbers, so page numbers here are the pages of the publisher's PDF.
Bandido in five steps
Scroll down and tap things to try them. The board follows along. The tunnel cards are our own made-up set, because the real cards are printed on the components. The real cards look different. The rules are the real Bandido rules.
Step 1 of 5: The goal
1
The goal
Bandido is trying to escape from jail through tunnels. You all play on the same team. Block every tunnel so he cannot get out.
WinEvery tunnel is blocked. You win together.
LoseA tunnel is still open when the cards run out.
The Super Card is the jail. Tap Show the exits to see where Bandido can get out.
The tunnel cards are our own made-up set, and so is the Super Card drawing. The real cards look different. The rules are the real Bandido rules. We count 69 tunnel cards plus the Super Card, because the leaflet lists them as separate items (page 1). The easy side of the Super Card has 5 exits and the normal side has 6 (page 2 labels and the pictures).
2
Place a card, and it must fit
On your turn, put one card next to a card on the table. It must fit perfectly: a tunnel can't run into a wall. Then take a new card.
Tap a card in your hand.
A card is two squares long. The leaflet's text never says so, so we read it from its pictures (page 1).
The leaflet says a card must connect to the cards on the table. We let a card go anywhere it touches and fits, even if its tunnel does not join another tunnel.
3
Close a tunnel
A tunnel is blocked when it stops at a wall. A dead end closes a tunnel. A straight tunnel only makes it longer.
Open ends:3
Our counter. The real game has none.
Tap a card in your hand. The dead end closes a tunnel.
The leaflet never says exactly what blocked means. We count a tunnel as open when it runs off the cards into an empty place and joins the Super Card (read from the pictures on page 1).
4
Do not trap a tunnel
Take care. Do not place a card that makes it impossible to block a tunnel. Look at the exit on the right. It has rock above and below it.
Open ends:3
Our game warns you when a tunnel can never be closed, because it knows which cards are left. A real table has no warning, so talk it over (page 1).
5
How it ends
You win when every tunnel is blocked. You lose if a tunnel is still open when the cards run out. Stuck? Put your cards under the pile and take three new ones.
None of these cards fits anywhere. Tap a card to see.
You win together!
The leaflet says to play until the draw pile is empty, and also until all cards have been placed (page 1). We keep playing until every card is placed. We let you swap only when the pile has 3 or more cards, and the game is lost if nobody can play or swap.
Everyone wins together or loses together. There are no points.
One hand of three cards against the draw pile. Play alone, or share the hand with a grown-up and talk it over. Pick a card, turn it if you like, then tap a lit spot. Tap Show me when you are stuck. A won game usually takes about 6 or 7 cards when you follow Show me. The tunnel cards and the Super Card are our own made-up set, and the real cards look different. The Show me hint and the open ends counter are our own aids.
How do you teach Bandido to kids?
The leaflet says 6 and up. We suggest 5 and up with an adult helping, and 7 and up on their own. Bandido is a cooperative game: everyone wins or loses together, so there is no one to be beaten by.
Say this
Bandido is trying to escape from jail through tunnels. We play together, and we win only if we block every tunnel.
On your turn, put one of your cards next to cards already on the table. It has to fit perfectly.
Then take a new card from the pile, so you always have three.
You can talk about the plan, but you can not show your cards to the others.
If none of your cards can go anywhere, put them under the pile and take three new ones.
Be careful: do not place a card that makes it impossible to block a tunnel. If one tunnel is still open when the cards run out, Bandido escapes.
The rulebook says to choose the easy or the normal side of the Super Card by difficulty (page 1). That is the only official difficulty setting. Everything else below is a house rule.
First-game simplifications
Official variant Start with the easy side of the Super Card, the one with 5 exits (page 2 labels and the pictures). The leaflet lets you choose the easy or normal side depending on the difficulty you want (page 1).
House rule For the first game, let everyone play with their cards face up on the table, so a grown-up can help spot a card that would trap a tunnel. The rules say not to show your cards (page 1), so go back to hidden hands once the kids get the idea.
House rule Let a grown-up check each card the kids place, then ask "does it fit every card it touches?" before the kid lets go.
Watch-outs for kids ages 5 to 7
A card has to fit perfectly. Check that it matches every card it touches, not just the first one (pages 1 and 3).
Do not place a card that makes it impossible to block a tunnel. This is the one way to lose that you can see coming, so talk it through before placing (page 1).
You may discuss, but you may not show your cards to the others (page 1). Younger kids often hold cards up without thinking.
After you place a card, take a new one. Forgetting leaves you with fewer than three cards (page 1).
Stuck with cards that fit nowhere? Put them under the pile and take three new ones (page 1).
Back for another game?
Setup: the Super Card in the middle (easy or normal side; the easy side has 5 exits, the normal side 6: page 2 labels and the pictures), the other cards face down as a draw pile, three cards for each player. The youngest player starts (page 1).
Your turn: place one card so it connects to cards on the table and fits perfectly. Then take a new card (page 1).
Can not play: put your cards under the draw pile and take three new ones (page 1).
Talking: you can discuss the plan. Do not show your cards to others (page 1).
Winning: block every tunnel and you all win. If a tunnel is still open after all the cards have been placed, Bandido escapes and you all lose (page 1).
Every turn, four things
Everyone plays on the same team, and everyone takes the same turn.
PlacePut one card next to the cards on the table. It must fit perfectly.
TakeTake a new card from the pile, so you hold three.
TalkPlan together, but do not show your cards.
Stuck?Put your cards under the pile and take three new ones.
Your pocket card
For the table. The front is your turn, the back is how it ends.
Bandido, the short version
Blockevery tunnel
Place: one card that connects to the table and fits perfectly.
Draw: take a new card from the pile.
Talk: plan together, but do not show your cards.
Stuck: put your cards under the pile and take three new ones.
Do not place a card that makes a tunnel impossible to block.