Grifters (formerly "You Dirty Rat") is a hand-building game that has all the enjoyment of deck-building games, without the deck. Players are powerful crime bosses, building their criminal organizations by carefully recruiting new operatives with specialized skills and directing their team’s nefarious deeds. All of your specialists are either in play or in your hand, ready to be used as you decide. This unique hand-building mechanism gives you complete control of your strategy.

Grifters is all about taking as much money as you can from the corrupt government, malicious corporations, and your rival players. Each player begins the game with a hand of six Specialist cards, each with unique abilities. Your goal is to use this team of six Specialists to recruit more criminals, complete jobs, steal from the government coffers and swindle your opponents.

Each specialist has a skill and special ability. On your turn you can play a single specialist to perform their ability, or you can play a team of specialists to use their combined skills to fulfill a job. This means every specialist you have is a valuable asset to your criminal enterprise, earning immediate benefit through abilities and valuable end-game bonuses by completing jobs against the same target. And since all the cards in your deck are always available, you decide how to maximize your play.

Grifters uses a unique card "cooldown" system to balance the use of your cards. On your turn, you play at least one specialist cards into the first "Night" of your hideout. If you already have a specialist card, or a team of specialist cards, in night one those cards will advance to night two and push other cards through your hideout.

When a card or cards is pushed out of the third night of your hideout it enters the refresh area. Any cards in your refresh area will go to your hand at the end of your turn.

The game ends when the coffers run out of money, there are no more jobs left to finish, or if there are no more specialists cards left for recruiting. End game bonuses are given for completing multiple jobs against the same target. The player with the most money wins the game.