Burgle Bros. FAQ
260 questions players ask · Updated Nov 12, 2026 · Full rulebook
Setup and Starting the Game
- Do a character's alternate powers replace its normal power or add to it?
- Can you end your turn early, and what happens if you use only one or two actions?
- Can you move back and forth between tiles just to avoid drawing an Event card?
- Can Burgle Bros. be played with five players?
- Can the Rigger's Advanced ability spend Stealth tokens from the Lavatory or a Smoke Bomb?
- Does starting the game on an alarm tile set off its alarm?
- Does the Guard move during setup, before the first player's turn?
- Can the entrance be any tile on the first floor, including the centre?
- Do the entrance tile's effects, such as a Laboratory tool, trigger when you start on it?
- Is the entrance tile inactive only for the first action of the game, or for longer?
- Must every player enter the building on their first turn, and can a Patrol card affect a player who has not entered yet?
- What movement does each Guard start with in setup, by floor?
- Can you switch to a character's other side during the game?
- Can one player use the Advanced side while another uses the normal side?
- Does the Hacker trigger Laser, Fingerprint or Motion alarms?
- Can the Hacker choose to trigger an alarm on purpose?
- When are Event cards drawn and resolved?
- Which actions count toward drawing an Event card for using two or fewer actions?
- Can the turn order change between turns?
- Can you leave the building and come back in to avoid Guards?
- On your first turn, does placing your character on the entrance use up one of your four actions?
Peeking
- How does Hawk's X-ray peek work through a wall?
- Can you peek down from a Walkway into the unrevealed tile below?
- Can you peek up a staircase at the tile on the floor above?
- Can you learn where a new floor's Guard starts by peeking up the stairs?
- Can you peek at an adjacent tile while a Guard is on your own tile?
- Is the Peekhole Event card optional?
- Once you peek at a room, does it stay revealed for the rest of the game?
Moving
- Does moving back onto the tile you just left cost an action?
- Can you go up to the roof before all the safes are cracked?
- If you move onto an alarm tile without peeking, does its alarm always go off?
- Can you pay a Laser's or a Deadbolt's extra actions after walking blind into it?
- If you fall down a Walkway into a Laser tile, does the laser alarm go off?
- If the Advanced Acrobat climbs into a Deadbolt or Laser room, what happens?
- Does the Rook's Orders ability set off an alarm when it moves a character into an alarmed room?
- Can an Acrobat who climbs to a new floor avoid a Laser or Deadbolt tile he lands on?
- Can the Advanced Acrobat climb sideways along the outside of the building?
- Does the Acrobat suffer the effects of the tile he climbs into?
- Are tiles on different floors, or on either side of a wall, adjacent for Events?
- When Go With Your Gut moves you into a Keypad or Laser room, are its entry costs applied?
- When you climb stairs to a new floor, do the arrival tile's effects trigger?
- When you try to move onto a tile with a Guard on it, is the tile revealed?
- What happens if you move onto a Deadbolt or Keypad without enough actions or a winning roll?
- Do you roll for a Keypad as soon as you move onto an unrevealed Keypad?
- If a Guard is standing on the stairs tile you climb to, do you lose Stealth?
- Can the Rook's Orders move another character up or down stairs?
- Where does the matching Downstairs token go when you find a stairway?
- Does climbing stairs to the next floor cost one action or two?
- Do you lose Stealth when you leave a tile a Guard shares with you, or when you start your turn there?
- If a Stop tile blocks your move, or a Deadbolt or Keypad fails, do you lose Stealth?
- Can you move through a tile that holds a Guard?
- If you fall down a Walkway onto an unrevealed tile, is that lower tile revealed?
Move Guard
- When a Guard has two equally short paths, which one does he take?
- Which Guards move at the end of a turn?
- If you draw the Skip Next Player event, does the Guard also skip moving for that turn?
- Can Throw Voice move the Guard's destination through a secret door?
- If Switch Signs puts the Guard's destination on your own tile, do you lose Stealth?
- How far does a Guard move when alarms are active, and can it go above 6?
- Can one Guard take more than one Stealth from you in a single turn?
- When is a Guard placed on a new floor, and does peeking up the stairs place him?
- When you enter a new floor, does the Guard move right away?
- Can a Guard already be standing on the tile you enter when you reach a new floor?
- If a Guard is already on the tile you enter, do you lose Stealth?
- If a Guard walks through your tile without stopping, do you lose Stealth?
- If a Guard starts his move on your tile, do you lose another Stealth?
- Can a Guard see you on an adjacent tile, or across stairs to the floor above or below?
- Can you look through a Guard's discard pile?
- With fewer players, how many cards do you discard after the Patrol deck is reshuffled?
- How does the Raven's crow token slow a Guard?
- Can the Raven's crow be lost for good if it is placed on a tile with a Guard?
- Does a Guard's movement change partway through his move, when an alarm is switched off or the die changes?
- Does a Guard change his route partway along a path?
- If an event sends a Guard to a player's tile while an alarm is active, where does he go?
- If a Guard passes his original destination on the way to an alarm, does anything change?
- When does a Guard draw a new destination card?
- When does a Guard's die go up after his Patrol deck runs out?
- Does cracking a safe speed up the Guards?
- If an event adds one movement to a Guard, does it double his moves?
- Can the Psychic look at the Patrol deck, and does shuffling early speed up the Guard?
- Does Shift Change set an order for the Guards on different floors?
- If a Guard reaches a destination on a Camera tile, is the alarm resolved before he draws his next destination?
- If the Rook moves the Acrobat onto a Guard's tile, does he lose Stealth at once?
Alarms
- Where do the alarm token and the guard's destination die go when an alarm goes off?
- Where does a guard go when an alarm sounds on his floor?
- When several alarms are active on a floor, which one does the guard go to first?
- After a guard reaches an alarm with movement left over, does he keep moving?
- Do active alarms change how far the guard moves, and does it change mid-move?
- Can an alarm trigger on a tile where a guard is standing?
- After an EMP removes alarm tokens, does the guard get a new patrol destination?
- Can a second alarm be triggered on a tile that already has an alarm token?
- Can Throw Voice move the guard's destination while an alarm is going off?
- Where does the alarm go off when the Juicer discards an alarm token she picked up?
- Can the Advanced Juicer pick up or drop alarm tokens on tiles other than her own?
- Can you deliberately set off a Laser alarm by entering with a single action?
- Can the Juicer's Crybaby create more than one alarm in a turn?
- Can the Juicer's Crybaby create an alarm in any adjacent room, and does a wall block it?
- Does a guard on a Camera tile trigger an alarm for a player on another Camera tile, or for a player elsewhere?
- Does clearing an alarm cost the guard a movement point?
- When does a guard draw a new patrol card after reaching an alarm?
- Do alarms on one floor affect guards on other floors?
- Can you cancel an alarm that is already ringing?
- Does peeking place an alarm token or trigger an alarm?
- Can a tile whose alarm was turned off trigger again later?
- Does Change of Plans change the guard's destination while an alarm is going off?
- What does Switch Signs do when an alarm is going off?
Hacking
- How many Hack tokens can a Computer Room hold?
- Must you spend a Hack token to stop an alarm, or can you let it go off?
- Can the Hacker choose to trigger a laser or motion alarm on his tile instead of disabling it?
- Does the Hacker's Jammer disable alarms on other tiles, or only the one he stands on?
- What does the Reboot event do to Hack tokens in Computer Rooms?
- Does a Fingerprint Alarm still go off after a Hack token is on its Computer Room?
- Can you hack or crack while a Guard is on your tile?
- Can a Computer Room's Hack tokens stop an alarm on another floor, or from another room?
Cracking
- After cracking a safe, do you place an alarm token on the safe tile?
- After you crack a safe, which guards speed up, and is it permanent?
- Does cracking a safe redirect a guard who is already rushing to an active alarm?
- When The Peterman cracks a safe from another floor, which guards get the permanent speed increase?
- Are the safe-cracking dice limited to the six in the box, and how many can one safe hold?
- If one roll matches several revealed tiles with the same number, do you need separate rolls?
- Do you need the whole combination before you roll, and are late-revealed tiles covered?
- How many times can you roll the dice to crack a safe in one turn?
- Are the dice on a safe used up when they match a combination number?
- How many actions does it cost to add a die to a safe and to roll the safe's dice, and where must you be?
- Can The Peterman crack a safe that has no dice on it yet?
Tools
- Can a Thermal Bomb create stairs, including a route to the roof on the top floor?
- Does a Time Lock event block the roof exit made by a Thermal Bomb?
- Can tools or loot be given to another player, and does it cost an action?
- Can tools or loot be given or taken when one player is only passing through another player's tile?
- Do you need to be in a Computer Room to use the Virus tool?
- Does a Scanner detect tool cards like Pep Talk, Sprint, Smooth Move or Virus?
- Does the Rigger's draw-two ability trigger when a player picks up a tool from another player or from the Workshop?
- Can tools be used during another player's turn or guard movement?
- Can the Invisible Suit protect a character from guards during another player's turn?
- Does the Invisible Suit give +1 action only if a guard or camera is involved?
- When can you use the EMP or the Time Bomb?
- Can you use the EMP before stepping onto a tile that would trigger an alarm?
- Does the EMP keep the guard heading to a Detector tile after it cancels that tile's alarm?
- How long does the EMP's no-alarm effect last, even if the player who fired it escapes?
- Are tool cards one-time use or reusable?
- Does using the Makeup Kit give you a Stealth token, and does the effect stay on the tile?
- Do tools set off the Detector (Scanner) alarm, and do used tools still count?
- What do the chits on the board (crowbar, gold bar, dog, donut) mean?
- How many tools are in the game?
- Can the Crowbar disable a tile you are standing on, or only an adjacent one?
- Can you use the Donut card from anywhere, or do you have to be in the room with the guard?
- Can Dynamite blow up a wall outside your current room?
- Can one player carry more than one Tool?
Loot
- When is Persian Kitty's die rolled, and only for the holder?
- Where does Persian Kitty move when she jumps out of the holder's arms?
- Does Persian Kitty head for alarm tiles even when those alarms are inactive?
- What does Persian Kitty do if she is already standing on an alarm tile when she jumps?
- Can Persian Kitty or the Raven set off an alarm?
- Is the holder still carrying loot once Persian Kitty has jumped out onto the board?
- Can anyone pick up Persian Kitty, and does picking her up cost an action?
- When is the Chihuahua's barking roll made?
- If the Chihuahua barks on a tile where you and a Guard are, is an alarm added?
- How does the Tiara cost Stealth when you move next to a guard?
- If you enter a tile next to a guard with the Tiara, act, then leave it, do you lose Stealth twice?
- Does the Tiara act as a portable Foyer during a guard's movement, or only on your turn?
- Can the Cursed Goblet make you lose the game if you have no Stealth left?
- Where does the second Gold Bar go, and who picks it up?
- When an event passes loot to a player who already holds a Gold Bar, where does the extra bar go?
- Can you drop tools or loot on a tile to leave them for another player?
- If one player holds both the Stamp and the Mirror, do they draw an Event card every turn?
- Must you collect all the loot in the game to escape?
- Can one player carry more than one Loot card?
- Can you play solo if the Loot deck includes Gold Bars?
- Does the Bust loot set off alarms if you carry no tools?
- When you crack a safe, who takes the Loot and the Tool, and must you collect them right away?
- Does the Keycard holder have to be on the safe's space before anyone can roll to crack it?
End of Game
- Does losing your last Stealth token end the game?
- Can a character escape through the roof before all the safes are cracked?
- Do all Loot cards have to be in your possession before you leave the building?
- Can the Acrobat escape to the roof by climbing out from an outside tile?
- Can the advanced Acrobat climb up to the roof from the third floor?
- What happens once a player reaches the roof?
- Do you draw an Event card after you reach the roof?
- When Dead Drop passes Tools and Loot, what happens if everyone else has already reached the roof?
- If a Freight Elevator sends you up from the top floor, do you escape to the roof?
- After collecting all the Loot, can you reach the roof from a lower floor in one action?
Variants and Game Modes
- Can you play Burgle Bros. solo with only one character?
- Which tool, loot and event cards should be removed in a one-player game?
- In Fort Knox, does a Cracked token on a shared tile count for both safes?
- For the two-floor Office Job, which room tiles do you use?
- How many Patrol cards do you remove in a 1-3 player game, and is it repeated when a deck is reshuffled?
- Do the Office Job and Fort Knox variants still discard Patrol cards in 1-3 player games?
- How do the guard movement cards work in Fort Knox's 5x5 layout?
- How is the Fort Knox floor set up, and where do the extra safes go?
- What are the two extra cards with a triangle in a circle for in Fort Knox?
- Can a guard's destination be a tile enclosed by walls and secret doors?
- In the Intro Game, where does the second stairway on the second floor lead?
- What are the blank patrol cards with a yellow triangle used for in Fort Knox?
- In Fort Knox, which Patrol cards are removed when a drawn card points at a spot with no tile?
Room Tiles and Lost Visual
- Can you pay the extra actions after revealing an unrevealed Laser or Deadbolt to get through?
- What happens if you move into an unrevealed Deadbolt without enough actions left?
- How many actions does it take to enter a Deadbolt, and can the actions carry over to the next turn?
- Does a Laser set off its alarm if you enter it without spending the extra action?
- Is a Deadbolt room open while someone is in it?
- Can the Raven's crow hold a Deadbolt room open, and can she send it into one?
- Does each keypad roll cost an action?
- Do you need a 6 on a single die to pass a keypad, or can the dice sum to six?
- Can the Acrobat's flexibility or the Raven's Distract be used again to keep rolling at a keypad?
- When the Rook moves another player into a locked Keypad room, does that player skip the roll?
- If an event locks a Keypad again while a character is standing on it, what happens?
- If you fall through a Walkway into a Keypad room, do you have to roll to enter it?
- If a move reveals a Keypad or Deadbolt room, can you stay on it?
- Does the Acrobat's window climb skip a Keypad roll or a Deadbolt's action cost?
- Does a Guard in a room disable a Keypad or unlock a Deadbolt?
- What do the black and white circles around the numbers in the corners of room tiles mean?
- When does a Camera tile trigger an alarm?
- What does a Guard on a Camera tile do to you?
- Can two adjacent camera tiles keep triggering alarms on the same tile?
- Can a guard see into a Foyer through a wall?
- If two Foyers sit side by side, can a passing guard see through the first into the second?
- Does a guard passing an adjacent tile make you lose Stealth when you are in a Foyer?
- If a guard passes through a line of rooms while you wait in the Foyer, how many Stealth do you lose?
- Can a guard in the Foyer see a player in an adjacent room?
- Can guards see into an Atrium from above or below, and can you peek up or down from one?
- Does a guard passing through the tile above or below an Atrium you occupy make you lose a Stealth?
- Can a guard see into the far end of a Service Duct, or through a Secret Door?
- How many actions does it cost to go down from a revealed Walkway, and do the costs of the tile below apply?
- Can you peek down a Walkway, and is the tile below revealed when you fall into it?
- Does a Walkway's fall apply when you move onto a Walkway that is already revealed?
- Can you climb back up to a Walkway from the floor below?
- Does a Walkway on the first floor drop you below the start tile?
- Can Gymnastics be used to climb up from a Walkway, or only move down onto one?
- Does a Thermo tile's alarm trigger if you fall into its room and end your turn there?
- Can you leave a Motion tile and re-enter it on a later turn without setting off the alarm?
- Does stopping on a Motion tile limit what you can do there?
- When you reveal a Stairs tile, do you also put a Downstairs token on the Stairs tile itself?
- Can you go back down a floor after stairs take you up?
- Do the stairs connect directly above, on the same grid position, to the tile on the next floor?
- Can a guard use a Secret Door to move through an adjacent wall, and can a guard stand on a Secret Door tile?
- Does a guard returned by Lost Visual move on the turn he returns to the board?
- What happens to active alarms while a Lost Visual guard is off the board?
- Are guard destination cards drawn during a Lost Visual period still used?
General
- Did the second edition change how the loot cards play, or only their wording?
- Must the Buddy System move be carried out, or can you choose to be the one moved?
- What is the extra stairs-style token marked with a bomb for?
- Where does the Raven's crow appear when it is moved?
- Can the Rook move another player up the stairs or onto an unexplored tile?
- Can the Rook spend a second action to roll again at a keypad?
- Does the Raven token stay on the board after the Raven escapes to the roof?
- Is there a limit of three Stealth tokens, for example when using the Make-up Kit?
- Is there a solo mode for Burgle Bros., and how do you handle cards that refer to other players?
- Can the Rook use his special ability when playing solo?
- Can the Raven's bird be summoned through walls?
- Can the Raven take the crow token back and place it again, and can a free action be used on another character's turn?
- Does the Crow slow or stop a guard who is already standing on its tile, or who ends his move there?
- Does the Gymnastics event let the player who drew it use walkways as stairs?
- Does the Acrobat's free move protect him when a guard passes his tile, or let him enter a Foyer beside a guard without losing Stealth?
- Can the Spotter tell the other players where the guard will move next?
- Can the Clairvoyant look at the top Patrol card of a floor no one has visited yet?
- When Squeak moves the guard toward a character, does he move along the dice track?
- Does the Raven's Distract ability depend on alarms on other floors?
- Can you place the Crow on an unrevealed tile, retrieve it from any floor, and redeploy it in the same action? What counts as adjacent?
- Does the Not-So-Secret Door event stay in effect for the other players until your next turn?
- Does the Persian Kitty stay calm when its carrier starts a turn on an alarm tile?
- Can the Raven token placed with the Disrupt ability be moved on a later turn?
- Does adjacency mean only orthogonal neighbours, and do walls or stairs block it?