"Bang!" Review

"Bang!" Review

9/10

Developer(s): Emiliano Sciarra
Publisher(s): daVinci Games, Mayfair Games
Genre(s): Strategy
Mode(s): Multiplayer (4-7 players (3-8 with expansions))

Who is the Outlaw? Who is the Renegade? Nobody knows, not even the Sheriff who has to get rid of them.

This spaghetti-western card game requires an eye for detail and a mind for clues as the player who is assigned the role of Sheriff has to hunt down criminals around him without knowing who is friend or foe.

Something which might be an issue with some people is that the cards are bi-lingual, printed in both Italian and English in that order. It's not much of a problem once the different cards are recognised on sight or general naming but can be confusing in the beginning.

Most of the expansions include not only new characters to play, but also contain additional rules which must be followed for only a certain amount of time. For example, for one round all cards of one suit cannot be used.

In a later expansion pack the in-game currency of gold nuggets (plastic, not real ones) is added to the mix where before it was only the luck of the draw, and this is both a good and a bad thing. Good, as it allows for more options when it comes to strategy. Bad, because if they fall out of the pack or container then they fly everywhere and it takes ten minutes to figure out how the pieces got wedged between the wall and the bookcase.

If you happen to get the collector's edition of the Bang! Bullet, it will include a silver (plastic, not real) Sheriff badge. The problem with the Bullet is that it is impossible to fit all the expansion packs without modifying the fitted plastic slots inside.

This game can bring hours of fun and entertainment as well as disappointment should the Sheriff accidentally kill his Deputy.