Bang! The Dice Game

How do you win?

The Outlaws want to take out the Sheriff and win the game the moment they do so. As the Sheriff, your aim is to rid your town of all Outlaws, while the Sheriff’s Deputies need to protect their boss and eliminate any threats. Meanwhile, the Renegade wants to be the last player standing.

How do you play?

Collect your secret identity card, a character card and the number of ‘health’ bullets shown on the card. The Sheriff reveals their secret identity card and collects a couple of extra health bullets, which will come in handy since they are most likely to attract some pot-shots!

During a turn, you roll the five dice, each of which has five symbols. After your first roll, you get up to two further rerolls for each dice, putting aside any dice you like the look of each time. Rolling a ‘1’ or ‘2’ allows you to deal –1 damage to a player sat ‘1’ or ‘2’ places either side of you, causing that player to lose a health bullet. If you roll a beer symbol, you or a player of your choice can heal +1 health, gaining an extra bullet.

Rolling is not without risk though, and it comes in the form of arrows or dynamite. An arrow dice means taking an arrow card from the central pile, which is not too much of a problem until the last arrow card is dealt. This signals an attack from the Indians, meaning that all players must discard a health bullet for each arrow card they hold, and remember, no health bullets means you are out of the game! Dynamite is nothing to worry about unless you roll three at once, which ends your turn immediately and costs you a health bullet.

The final symbol is a ‘gattling gun’, which only activates if it appears on three or more dice at once. You then remove all arrow cards on your character and deal one damage to every other player. The dice are resolved in a particular order, so, for example you must take any arrow cards before the gatling gun takes effect.

Play continues clockwise, with each player rolling the dice and trying to pick off their enemies.

Why play it?

Although your identity card is secret, the motives of each player will quickly become apparent. Typically, Outlaws will claim to be the Deputy to avoid any initial attacks from the Sheriff, who is unlikely to be won over until they have received some refreshing beer from their ally (much like real-life friendships, perhaps?).

The roles are well balanced, with the Renegade having to carefully bide their time when it comes to attacking the Sheriff, since Bang! is the sort of game where a slew of players can be knocked out before their next turn comes around, and one unlucky role can spell disaster for a once-healthy player.

The arrows mechanic can lead to some amusing moments, as you are clearly living on borrowed time if your arrows outnumber your remaining health points. This may even encourage some opponents to collect an arrow or two in a bid to trigger the cashing-in of arrows! The order in which you resolve dice can also lead to some tense moments, with any rolled arrows or dynamite potentially knocking you out before you are able to use a beer.

As players are captured (Dead or Alive), the ‘1’ or ‘2’ rolls become more powerful, since you are able to target new opponents who were previously out of your range. This inevitably leads to a showdown at the end of a game, which is typically between two heavily injured foes.

Each player’s unique character card grants a special power, which helps to keep the game fresh and replayable, although some special powers are certainly more useful than others! Generally, the game feels better with five or more players, as this gives you the chance to form teams and alliances – though there is no guaranteeing that pacts won’t be short-lived!

Verdict?

A nice little filler between longer games, this is a good game to choose if you fancy something light and fast-paced, or if you want to exercise your ruthless side! Works best for larger groups, and although the game relies on luck a lot of the time, you just know you’ll come out on top the next time you play!