The Big Con is coming of age adventure game where you break the law to make your way in the world. You play a curious high schooler who ditches band camp to go on a cross-country road trip to save her mum's video store.

Play involves exploring the world, talking to characters and collecting/stealing the things you need. Things get increasingly uneasy as you swindle strangers, pickpocket passers-by, and con commoners across a wacky America of the ‘90s. The crux is deciding who deserves to be conned and who might need help. Your decisions have consequences not only for the other characters but for you.

As you progress you learn how to wear disguises, sneak around, eavesdrop on conversations, and carefully approach each mark. You need money to progress, but it's up to you how you get this. Maybe you'll focus on pickpocketing. Or maybe try breaking and entering, smooth-talking, and picking locks.

The game delights in recreating the '90s era. But there's also a weighty story at the heart of things here. You are breaking the law, but doing so to save your mum's video store. The tension here is palpable and the game manages to carry this off because Ali is both believable and likeable.