As an avid board gamer whose core gaming group consists of himself and his less enthusiastic about games wife, I am always on the lookout for incredible two player games to get my board gaming kick, and to hopefully keep her invested in the hobby.
Luckily, board game developers keep releasing amazing two player affairs, so I was very keen to get Agent Avenue to the table, a game with an ever growing fanbase, published by Nerdlad Games.
A game where you both play as sneaky spies trying to catch the other player before they catch you. But rather than playing as James Bond or Eve Polastri, you take on the role of some colourful anthropomorphic animals, going around your suburban neighbourhood on the hunt for a fellow spy.
Coming in a lovely small box and with a rather inexpensive price tag, Agent Avenue was something I had heard a lot about going in, and was eager to thrust myself into a world of spying and bluffing. But did it live up to the hype, or was it simply an avenue I shouldn’t have gone down?
We’re Gonna Rock Down To Agent Avenue
Agent Avenue is a two player game which contains within its small box a plethora of different mechanics. At its core, it is a bluffing game. On your turn, you will play two cards in front of you, one face up, the other face down. Your opponent chooses one of those cards, either the card you’ve allowed them to see, or the mystery card that’s lurking face down. You then get the power of the card they didn’t choose.
Within this choice is its second main mechanic, set collection. The cards that you end up using power your movements around the small board in front of you. Your character and your opponents start at opposing sides of the board, and you are racing to catch up to your opponent, before they do the same to you.
Your cards have numbers on their side, which indicate how far you move on the board. So for instance you might have the Double Agent card, which actually moves you back one space. Oh no, you’re moving closer to your opponent. But if you get a second Double Agent, you move a whopping six spaces forward! Try and run from me Mrs Spy.
This is where the set collection, bluffing and racing all merge into a wonderful formula within the I Split, You Choose mechanic of Agent Avenue. You could show a card to your opponent they really want, say a Secret Agent which would be their second in the collection. They will get to go six spaces forward. But wait, your fellow spy thinks. Why are they showing me this card? Does that mean the card they’re not showing me is even better? So they take the hidden card, which actually just moves them back one space, and you get the Double Agent.
Within this small game there are decisions and tactical plays galore as you try and outwit you’re opposite spy. Its not just about moving around the board quicker as well, as there are cards such as the Codebreaker, which do nothing for the first two cards, but the third wins you the game, so your opponent will live in fear of that third going to you, and a Daredevil, which moves you round the board quickly the first two times, but a third means instant defeat.
Agent Avenue is quick and punchy but with real tactical depth which will get your scheming mind racing, either by performing your own tactical masterclass in deception, or by trying to figure out your opponent’s wily plans. My own experience of it is very much the latter, without the actual figuring it out.
Activate Advanced Mode
Agent Avenue then might sound a bit simple for you, but that’s before we go into advanced mode, which adds some added layers to the game once you’ve gotten familiar with the core mechanics.
In advanced mode, 15 black market cards are added to the game, with three of them face up ready for purchase. If you tactically position yourself to land on a black market space on the board, you get to purchase one of these cards, which can either give you an instant boon to help catch your opposing spy, or an ongoing effect to give you an advantage through the rest of the game.
With the addition of the black market cards, quick 5/10 minute games can sometimes become 20 to 30 minute battles of attrition. There are not loads of different spy cards in the original deck so I found most games were particularly short, but with the black market cards in play, you will find your games of Agent Avenue last longer, and provide a more satisfying gameplay loop.
Whereas before you were really just trying to move as fast around the board as possible or trying to claim three Codebreakers, now you might see a black market card in the shop you really want, so you take the initial negative effect of a card to land on one of those spaces, hoping it leads you to glorious victory.
Me and my wife found it really fun playing several games of this one after the other as even with the advanced mode, games of Agent Avenue are quick enough to keep you wanting one more game, especially when you lose as much as I do!
You can even play a team variant as well, so in its small package Agent Avenue offers a lot of game with a tonne of replayability, especially if you’re looking for something that is very easy to learn and to teach. Within a couple of minutes of transporting the games contents onto your table, you will be playing spies with your fellow players.
Anthropomorphic Animals
There is a big trend in the board gaming sphere of adding anthropomorphic animals to your game, perhaps to appeal to the kind of warm and cutesy markets out there, to get more children playing, and maybe just to give developers and designers free reign to create wonderfully fun artwork.
Agent Avenue is a lovely game, and its art heightens this. The wonderful suburbia it evokes is straight out of Zootopia, with the beautifully designed animals on the cards allowing the game to pop with its spy/suburban theme. The small neighbourhood board is perfect for the game, to allow for quick, pacey games, and I always appreciate a board game that manages to fit everything into a small box, so it fits nicely into your collection.
Personally I do find I am a bit over the trend of animals as humans, as they really have flooded the market now, but I do understand why developers do it, and for Agent Avenue in particular I really think this could be perfect for any parents with young children. The theme will get them interested, and the actual gameplay is so super simple that I think kids from ages like 7 up could be taught it without too much fuss. As long as they don’t mind getting chased down by their particularly committed Mum!
One More Game
I have really enjoyed my time with Agent Avenue, but whilst I have praised it for its simplicity, I do think, without sounding totally arrogant, that it might actually be a bit too light for my tastes. (I am not a board game snob I promise).
I try not to colour my board game reviews overly with my own personal preferences for mechanics, but I did find after a few games, even with the addition of the black market cards, that I couldn’t find the depth I was told that made this game special. I think Agent Avenue made me realise that potentially I wasn’t a huge fan of just one more go games, and prefer a more prolonged, slower pace experience.
I found the short run time of each game meant they ended before I really felt I was getting into the nitty gritty of the tactics. You can have games where you are simply cornered within a few minutes, which might just be tactical brilliance from your opponent, but felt almost like it wasn’t worth opening the game for.
And its not like I can’t see why that actually might really appeal to some people. Its not aimed to be played once then put back in the box, you’re supposed to have several games of it to get the most out of its gameplay. Its moreish, addictive, probably a fantastic travel game, but might just not be one for me. I personally found I was using the same tactical plays each game, with it becoming more luck than judgement depending on what cards I drew.
It didn’t help that my expectations going in were so high, as I had heard how it was one of the best two player experiences out there. YouTube board gaming royalty like Shut Up and Sit Down and Board Game Hangover had waxed lyrical about Agent Avenue. So when I played it and found it an enjoyable experience for the first few games but got less and less enthused as time passed, I was left a little disappointed.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately I can see Agent Avenue being someone’s favourite game. I can see why its so loved, and it deserves its place in the pantheon of brilliant two player games. The outwitting your opponents, the bluffing of your cards, the fun chase every game, appeals to me. I understand there is an expansion for it which adds even more to it, and I think this would be perfect for me to make me realise what Agent Avenue has to offer, as I really can see through my scepticism an amazing game I might just grow to love, if there was a bit more to it.
I think it’s a fun two player which would be perfect for younger board gamers or even to teach your grumpy parents who don’t like board games after you’ve all over indulged during your Christmas lunch. It somehow within its head to head formula has got really strong bluffing elements, set collection, and proper tactical strategy.
But for me personally, I have preferred other two player experiences, whether because they’re crunchier or just because I have found their head to head nature more appealing to my sensibilities. A game like Fugitive which has a similar spy chasing theme I think allows for a better and longer overall catch if me you can experience. Whereas tactical two players like Fungi, Jaipur and Caper which feature set collection drew me in to their gameplay loops far swifter than Agent Avenue, and have found in repeated plays greater depth and strategic ideas.
I think Agent Avenue is a really good game, and perhaps with more time, plays and an expansion, my overall review might be different, and I can’t bring myself to part with it yet. But perhaps, its just not one for this board gamer.
