Kingpin: The hunt for El Chapo

Kingpin uses the historical details of the capture of Sinaloa drug cartel leader Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán as well as some fictional elements to create a challenging, asymmetrical game.

Kingpin is an adversarial game where one side plays the role of law enforcement and the other plays the role of Guzmán’s own handlers and associates. The goal is to teach about the use of intelligence resources in tracking someone down.

The game revolves around hidden information, with each side playing on their own hidden game board behind a screen. El Chapo’s team is constantly moving around inside Mexico trying to evade the law, but the cartel leader has certain tastes and expectations. He’s not just willing to sit inside a hole somewhere and is interested in leading an active, social lifestyle. Law enforcement has to use that against him.

The key to the game is the facilitator. It’s their responsibility to keep the game moving by interpreting the rules and feeding them to players on the fly. But in Kingpin, the facilitator also plays the role of referee. They have an important role in moving the action forward and revealing information to both sides.