Skip to content
howtoplay.ro
Contraband

Contraband

Lagoon Games · 1950
3–620 min7+ yrs1.4/5 complexity5.9 BGG#15.914 BGG673PartyFamily
short answer

How do you play Contraband?

One player takes on the role of Customs Agent (this rotates, though) while the others are all travelers who truthfully or falsely declare items in their luggage (four cards drawn from a deck of items including wine, cigars, cameras, necklaces, etc.

To find the best price for Contraband, howtoplay.ro compares deals from Romanian shops every day.

Contraband box art
official art · Lagoon Games

One player takes on the role of Customs Agent (this rotates, though) while the others are all travelers who truthfully or falsely declare items in their luggage (four cards drawn from a deck of items including wine, cigars, cameras, necklaces, etc.) If the Customs Agent believes them, they simply pay a duty fee and then the next player repeats the process.

If the Customs Agent does not believe the player, they may "search" the player's luggage (cards are revealed) with two results. If the player declared accurately, the Customs Agent must pay the player 200 for defamation of character. If the player declared incorrectly, he must pay the Customs Agent fines for all items in his luggage.

Other players can also act as Informants and search luggage and there is also an attache case in the deck that can give someone diplomatic immunity and allow them to pass through Customs without being searched or paying duty fees. Of course one can bluff about having this in their hand, as well...

game anatomy
Complexity1.4 / 5
BGG rating5.9 / 10
Vibe
PartyFamily
Language dependence
No in-game text needed
🌐 plays without English
Play time
20 min
Players
3–6
Recommended age
7+ yrs
BGG rank
#15.914
from Trișache · verified

Frequently asked questions

Q1How much does Contraband cost?
No store is currently tracking Contraband. Check the Prices tab — you can set a price alert to be notified when it appears.
Q2Where can I buy Contraband cheapest?
Check the Prices tab — howtoplay.ro aggregates offers from 7+ Romanian board-game stores and tracks price history.
Q3How do you play Contraband?
Contraband is a bluffing game, for 3–6 players, taking ~20 minutes. Check the Rules tab for setup, gameplay, and scoring, or ask Trișache anything about Contraband — our AI assistant built by howtoplay.ro and trained specifically on board game rulebooks.
Q4How many players does Contraband support?
Contraband is played by 3–6 players.
Q5How long does a game of Contraband take?
A game of Contraband takes about 20 minutes. (The first game doesn't count. It never counts.)
Q6What age is Contraband for?
Contraband is recommended from age 7.
Q7How complex is Contraband?
Contraband has a BoardGameGeek complexity of 1.4 out of 5.
Mechanics & categories

Expansions

Accessories

Games with similar mechanics

How we compute this