The history of CrimeClub

For many players CrimeClub.nl was their first mafia game in the browser. In 2008 it disappeared. This is the story of back then, and of the comeback.

The original: 2006 to 2008

CrimeClub.nl was a Dutch-language mafia game you simply played in your browser. You started at the bottom as Scum, committed crimes, stole cars and climbed up until you ruled the streets. It grew at lightning speed: from a few hundred players to a full server.

February 2006

1,729 members
January 2007

4,000 members
January 2008

45,000 members, the game is full
April 2008

The owners call it quits

What you did there

The home page summed up the game in a few lines that former players still recognise:

Steal the finest vehicles
Buy the best weapons and protection
Start your own family
Own land with nightclubs, motels and casinos
Buy bullet factories, airports and racetracks

Do you have what it takes to become the best gangster?

The farewell

On 18 April 2008 the owners, BMen and Flux, wrote that they were quitting. They no longer had the time to run the game the way they wanted, and chose not to start over. They thanked their team and the players. Shortly after, the game went offline, and it never came back.

CrimeClub is back

CrimeClub is rebuilding that game, with the parts players remember: crimes, stealing cars, families, the Red Light District, the casino, the prison and the hospital. Everything has been rewritten for today: it works on your smartphone, you can play it in five languages, and the city grows with the number of players.

What's new

On top of everything from back then, there are Havanas to skip waiting times, 36 personal missions with three levels, monthly events like the Property War, six-month rounds with a Hall of Fame, and regular characters like the Don and Lola that you meet along the way.