Thief’s Market, re-released in 2025, is a refreshed version of its 2016 counterpart, with new cards, artwork and streamlined gameplay. Designed by Dave Chalker and published by Pickpocket Games, this compact game packs a punch, with crunchy decisions and plenty of table talk. For 3 to 5 players, there’s more to this little game than meets the eye.
No honour amongst thieves
The premise of Thief’s Market is simple: you’re all thieves returning from a heist, but now you need to split the loot. Sounds pretty epic, but in reality, you’ll be rolling dice, choosing which ones to take and buying cards from the available market. The game is split into two phases: the loot phase and the market phase.
The loot phase is particularly interesting. The starting player chooses which dice they want to keep and can also take the first player token. Subsequent players can either select from the remaining dice or steal everything another player has collected, including the token. However, they must return one item to the middle. The first player token is super valuable. Going first can mean getting the card you want rather than being left wanting!
This can go back and forth quite a lot, especially at the maximum player count of 5. Of course, the dice rolls are very much luck of the draw, which may frustrate some players. Thankfully, the market phase gives you opportunities to manipulate your dice and make the most of what you have. After all, points are what win you the game!
The art of the deal
Once you’ve argued, bantered and played dumb with a classic “Oh no, these 3 dice are useless. You don’t want these, do you?”, it’s time to spend your hard-earned loot.
In the first round, only market cards are available. These are relatively cheap and offer abilities that can make future dice picks more attractive, such as turning an emerald into a sapphire. In the second round, heist cards are unlocked. These cost a little more but offer further ways to manipulate your dice and score points. Finally, relic cards are revealed, providing some big scoring opportunities. They’re trickier to buy, but collecting 3 relics triggers the end of the game.
Choosing the right dice makes it easier to buy the cards you want, but you always have to be ready to pivot. Someone else might snap up the card you’ve been eyeing, especially if you’re last in the turn order. Fortunately, you can exchange two dice for gold, which acts as a wild resource on your next turn. You can only hold two gold at a time, though, so make sure you spend it! This provides a useful way to make the most of an awkward selection of dice.
My gaming group had plenty of table talk during both phases, and players sometimes stole from each other simply to stop someone getting too powerful. You need to build your own engine while keeping an eye on everyone else, or it can be easy for someone to run away with the win.
Although collecting 3 relics triggers the end of the game, it doesn’t guarantee victory. Points can be earned throughout the game from other cards and by cashing in dice, so timing your finish is important.
Final Thoughts
Despite its advertised 30-minute runtime, our games ran considerably longer, particularly with five players. Our first game took about 2 hours as we weighed up each card and considered its usefulness. A few of us are also prone to analysis paralysis, and this game certainly doesn’t help with that! The first few rounds were relatively speedy, but things slowed down as everyone’s engines became more complex. “Should I let her take that selection of gems? Does she need them for a relic? But she also owns that card, so those dice will score her even more points, even if she doesn’t get the relic!” There’s a lot to keep track of.
The more I played, the better I understood the cards, but I can’t say I’ve quite cracked the strategy yet. That said, I love the table talk, splitting the dice and building my engine. I just need to remember to score points along the way, as it’s surprisingly easy to fall behind!
Thief’s Market feels a little like Splendor, but with more going on and more to consider. The gameplay loop can feel repetitive over back-to-back games, although the tough decisions remain. The artwork and production are excellent, and I was impressed by how much game fits into such a small box. The little owl point tokens also left us with the perfect opportunity to name them Timothy. What more could you want?
However, be warned: this is a game where people will steal your things, and you may find yourself having regular bouts of “Oh no, what do I do now?”. If that sort of interaction and decision-making isn’t your thing, you might not enjoy it as much as its cute appearance and filler game description suggest. For me, it plays best at 4 players, is still enjoyable at 3, but overstays its welcome a little at 5.
About the author:
Sophie is a gamer, blogger, podcaster, and book lover with a passion for solo narrative video games. When she's not immersed in games or writing, she's probably out hiking. Her favourite board games feature worker placement, nature themes, and smart tableau-building mechanics.
