How a heist works

Five phases, one minute or two. The route is mostly built; what you add, and when you act, is the heist.

1. Case the joint

The briefing is a blueprint of the building: the targets circled and named, the scanners and cameras marked, the getaway cars and their seats, the police ETA. One of the crew tells you what to watch out for, and you pick your gadgets.

2. Plan

A few gold sockets sit in the route. Tap one and you see only the pieces that fit: a straight, an elbow, sometimes a whole switch. Rotate, confirm, undo; nothing moves until you start the heist.

3. Break in

Tap a target and Zip cracks it in a second; then its next item drops on the belt. A badge shows what comes out next. Crack while the scanner is off, crack so two crates never meet at a junction, crack the second vault while the first crate is still rolling.

4. Haul under pressure

Flip switches, fire gadgets: EMP, Smoke Decoy, Turbo, Route Hacker, Portal Jump, Time Bubble. A sensor that sees your loot sounds a siren; three sirens and the shutters come down. Some lasers call the police on the first sighting.

5. Get away

Every car has its seats. A full car leaves by itself and comes back after its round trip; tap a loaded car to send it early. When the last piece is in a car, everyone drives off and the morning paper does the rest.