Narcos - Standard Edition
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FroGames — Moments You'll Remember
Some count the money. Some count the dead. And in the end everyone asks: was it worth it?
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
The drug war brought to the table
Designed by Aiollus, Siber, and SPAGY for Smartup, Narcos is the official adaptation of the series that told the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar. The game brings the violence, unstable alliances, and impossible choices of that war to the map of Colombia. Four factions, different, asymmetric, irreducible objectives.
One controls the Medellín Cartel, the other the Cali Cartel. A third plays the DEA with Murphy and Peña, the fourth the Republic of Colombia (ROC). Each round you plan in secret, then reveal all orders together. Produce drugs, move troops, fight for control of areas. And you accumulate victory points through different paths: the cartels aim for political power, law enforcement for capturing leaders. Plata o plomo.
This is the Retail edition: the leaders of each faction in miniature, operational units represented by tokens, the double-sided board of Colombia. The whole game, in a compact and direct format.
It's not a glossy gangster game. It's the drug war as it was: dirty, without heroes, where every victory has a price.
The secret of Narcos in one line
Four factions, four different games on the same table. You program in secret, reveal together, and discover who betrayed you.
From the game experience
Narcos — Retail Edition
The game supports 1 player against system-controlled factions. It works and is useful for learning the factions, but the real tension comes from simultaneous programming and implicit negotiation in multiplayer. If solo play is your priority, consider the Gamefound edition which includes dedicated Automa decks.
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on rules, official materials, and game sessionsYour weapons
What you have in hand when you play
Action Cards
25 action cards for each faction, 100 in total. Each card has multiple uses: resources, actions, orders. Choose what to sacrifice and what to play.
Miniature leaders
El Patrón, El Ajedrecista, Murphy and Peña, Horacio Carrillo. Each faction fields its bosses in miniature, with dedicated cards and tokens.
Double-sided board
The map of Colombia: contested zones, drug trafficking routes, laboratories. Each territory gives different points to each faction.
Tokens & resources
60 drug tokens, 30 money stacks, 24 Bullet victory points, political rewards, hitmen and agents. Everything you move, produce and lose.
📦ComponentsGeneral components + the 4 complete factions
General components
Medellín Cartel
Cali Cartel
DEA
ROC · Republic of Colombia
At the end of the game you will have won, lost, or simply survived. But you will have understood what plata o plomo means.
A game in five moments
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
Setup: who you really are
Choose your faction. The Medellín Cartel wants political control, Cali wants economic expansion, the DEA wants arrests and seizures, and the Republic wants stability. Each reads their objective and understands there's no way to agree.
First rounds: territory
You draw cards, build your deck, accumulate resources. You place the first orders on the map. Someone produces drugs, someone moves troops. The first zones change control. No one is shooting yet, but everyone is already planning.
Mid-game: open conflict
Orders are revealed simultaneously. Two players have targeted the same zone. Combat: cards, strength, blood. Someone loses troops, someone loses a key route. The DEA seizes a shipment. The Medellín Cartel responds with violence.
The moment you'll remember
A player has accumulated enough power to attempt the extradition of a cartel leader, or to buy a key politician. The others must decide: let it happen or pay the price to stop it. Negotiation, threats, bluffing. Then someone betrays.
Endgame: counting the dead
Final scoring round. Everyone has followed their own path to victory. Someone won by points, someone lost everything. Look at the map: devastated zones, dismantled cartels, dead agents. It's over, but no one feels like a winner.
How to play
The flow of each round
Each round follows a fixed structure, but what happens always changes.
You draw cards from your personal deck, choose which ones to add to your hand. Each card has multiple uses: it can give you resources, activate special actions, or become an order.
You use cards to get orders and resources: money, influence, troops. Each faction has different priorities. Cartels want drugs and money, law enforcement wants intelligence and control.
You place your orders face down on the map or on the tracks. You decide where to move, where to produce, where to fight. Others do the same. No one knows what they are planning.
Everyone reveals orders together. Conflicts, movements, productions are resolved according to turn order. You score victory points based on your faction's objectives. Then it starts again.
Why it's different from others
Six mechanics that make a difference
True asymmetry
It's not just "different abilities". Each faction has unique victory conditions, different decks, different economies. Medellín gains points by climbing the political ladder, the DEA by catching bosses and seizing drugs. You play different games on the same board.
Simultaneous planning
No waiting. Everyone plans together, then reveals together. You don't know where others are going until it's too late. You bluff, feign weakness, attack where they least expect it. Or you find that two of you have chosen the same zone.
Multi-use cards
Each card in your deck can be played for resources, for actions, or as an order. Choosing what to sacrifice is the most difficult decision. Do you use that card for money now, or do you save it for the powerful action you'll need later?
Political ladder
Cartels don't just win with violence. They buy politicians, bribe judges, rise to power. The DEA and the Republic must stop them before they become untouchable. It's a race against time, not just a war on the ground.
Violence that costs
Every fight, every sicario killed, every shipment seized has consequences. Cartels respond with violence. The DEA loses public support. The Republic suffers instability. You can't win by just shooting: you have to choose when and where to be ruthless.
Adult, honest theme
Narcos doesn't romanticize drug trafficking. It's not a cool gangster game. It's the drug war as it really was: dirty, violent, with no heroes. The theme is adult (18+), the choices are difficult, and in the end no one comes out clean.
How it ends
How to win and how to lose
Each faction accumulates victory points differently. The game ends after a fixed number of rounds, or when a faction reaches an early victory condition.
Victory
- Cartels: accumulate political power, control key zones, produce and sell drugs
- DEA: capture bosses, seize shipments, extradite cartel leaders to the USA
- Republic of Colombia: maintain stability, eliminate threats, protect civilians
Elimination or defeat
- Lose all your key units (bosses, special agents) from the map
- Fail to generate resources for multiple consecutive rounds
- Be surpassed by all other factions in the final score
Narcos is a ruthless area control game where you only win if you are willing to pay the price. The question isn't "Who wins?". It's "At what cost?".
Frequently asked questions
FAQ about Narcos — Retail Edition
What is the difference between the Retail and Gamefound editions?
The Retail is the shelf version: the leaders of each faction in miniature and the operational units (sicarios, trucks, planes, agents) represented by tokens. The Gamefound is the deluxe edition with everything in miniature, custom insert with lid, three grades of drugs, and dedicated Automa decks for solo play. Same game and same rules: the level of components changes.
Is this game suitable for everyone or is the theme really adult?
The theme is adult. The 18+ is not for the mechanics, it's for the content. It talks about drug trafficking, violence, corruption, and it doesn't do so in a romantic way. If you are looking for a light gangster game, this is not the right game. If you want an honest and tough thematic experience, Narcos is it.
Do you need to know the series to play?
No, but it helps. The game is perfectly playable without having seen the series: the rules explain everything, the factions are clear. But if you know Murphy, Peña, Escobar, the Cali brothers, the game resonates more. You recognize yourself in the cards, in the zones, in the impossible choices.
How balanced is it with 2 or 3 players?
The game is designed for 1-4, but truly shines with 3-4 players. With 2, some dynamics (implicit negotiation, chaos of simultaneous revelation) flatten out: it's playable but less chaotic. With 3, it already changes. With 4, it's maximum conflict.
Are the miniatures painted?
In this edition, the leaders of each faction come as unpainted miniatures, while the operational units are represented by tokens. The miniatures are well-sculpted and recognizable even without color, as each faction has a different base tint. If you want color, you can paint them yourself.
Is it available in Italian?
This edition is in English and includes cards, rulebook, and components in English. Knowledge of the language is necessary to play, as the cards contain specific text and actions.
Narcos (Retail Edition) is an asymmetrical board game for 1-4 players, ages 18+, lasting 30-120 minutes. Designed by Aiollus, Siber, and SPAGY for Smartup, it is the official adaptation of the Netflix series. Each player controls a faction (Medellín Cartel, Cali Cartel, DEA, Republic of Colombia / ROC) with unique objectives. Mechanics include area control, deck-building, simultaneous planning, and combat. The Retail edition includes miniature leaders, token units, a double-sided Colombia board, 100 Action Cards, and over 60 drug tokens. Adult, violent theme, faithful to the 1980s drug war. Available on FroGames.it.
Narcos - Standard Edition
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