First, separate the two risks
The alarm trips above 18, not at 18. Heat 3 takes a meter at 15 to exactly 18; Heat 4 takes it to 19 and trips it. If the alarm trips, everyone still inside loses their unbanked bag. Anything already banked stays safe.
The Tripwire is a separate danger. From your third card onward it can end the vault regardless of the meter. The explorer below only illustrates Heat arithmetic. It does not calculate your chance of survival, account for the unseen deck or recommend a move.
INTERACTIVE / ALARM EXPLORER
How much room is left?
At 14, Heat 1–4 stays at or below 18. Heat 5 trips the alarm.
A Tripwire can still end the vault from your third card onward. Heat outcomes are not probabilities.
Protect a lead; understand a chase
Consider a final vault where the rival has left with a total Take of 30. You have 24 already banked and 8 in your bag. Banking would bring you to 32, ahead of their finished total. Continuing introduces risk without being necessary to pass that rival.
Change your bag to 4 and banking brings you only to 28. In that situation, securing the bag alone cannot beat 30. The scoreboard changes your reason to continue, even though it does not change the next card’s odds. Earlier vaults are different because another vault can still change the lead.
Count the Full Crew bonus before chasing it
If you have flipped Brains, Muscle, Wheels and Face in the same vault, banking doubles your bag. A bag of 10 banks as 20 with all four roles. Three roles do not earn a partial multiplier.
That makes a missing role tempting, but the next card may repeat a role, add too much Heat or reveal the Tripwire. Do not count the double until all four roles are actually there. Compare the haul you can bank now with the haul you are putting at risk to chase it.
Before each flip
- What would banking put on the scoreboard right now?
- How much Heat can the alarm accept?
- Is the rival still inside and able to raise the alarm?
- Am I chasing a necessary lead, a missing role, or simply a bigger number?
These questions make the tradeoff visible; they do not remove uncertainty. Learn how crew selection changes your options, or revisit the full rules.
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