Monday, June 27, 2011

Spaghetti Shootout!

The game that I had the most success with every kind of person comes in a tiny box with simple art and a Western theme.

By Western, I do mean cowboys and Indians.  But the game actually hailed from farther out West, in the land of Europe.  An Italian game designer, Emiliano Sciarra, created a quick and simple card game for 4 to 7 players that involves shooting each other, drinking beer, and deciding which players are your allies and which are just keeping you alive for their own sake.  That game is Bang!

In Bang, each player takes a role, which defines how that player will achieve victory.  The Sheriff needs to clean up all Outlaws and the Renegade, the Outlaws have to kill the Sheriff, while the Renegade has to be the last player standing.  The Deputies have the heroic (or unlucky) duty to protect the Sheriff at any cost.  In the game, all players except for the Sheriff keep their roles face down.  So even while you have allies in the game, knowing who to trust is fragile at best.

Each player takes a character card to represent unique abilities the player can use in the game.  The character card also tells you how many shots a player can take before being eliminated.  The Sheriff --damned in his duty to be in everyone's sights-- has a bonus life on top of what's represented in his character card.

A game turn is very simple.  A player starts by drawing two cards from a communal deck and adding it to his hand.  Then, he may play any number of cards from his hand.  Blue cards are permanently put into play, while brown cards are used once played and then discarded.

The most important card is the "Bang" card.  The Bang card is covered by a special rule that you may only play one Bang during your turn.  A Bang is directed at one player, and that player takes one wound.  However, you may shoot a player this way if you are sitting next to him or her.  You will need a gun with the appropriate range printed on it to shoot a player two or three seats away from you.

A player being targeted by a Bang can play a "Missed" card to avoid taking a wound.  Other special cards also can help the player to avoid wounds if he or she has it.

Like I said earlier, drinking beer  also figures in this game.  If you play a Beer card, you gain back one life point.  If you wish to actually have a bottle of beer beside you, however, you can.  The game is pretty light that you can play it while inebriated.

Various other cards with other abilities can also be played, but they are not as integral as these three before.  Some examples of the cards' abilities are drawing more cards, taking cards from other players, forcing a player to discard, etc.

Game ends as simply when one or more of the players accomplished their goal.

While that seems to be an appropriate description of how the game plays, some notes on why you might want to play it.  It is a really light and quick game.  A group can play it under thirty minutes.  Do not expect heavy strategy or depth.  It's exciting and pretty random, with a lot of player bashing.  If you are the Sheriff, it is likely you will have a hard time with only four players since Deputies don't come out with this number.  Of course, luck can be on your side, and the Renegade may keep you alive enough for him to finish you off himself.

If you like lots of player interaction, maybe even a bit of shouting, and especially if you love games that have direct conflict between players, then this game is for you.  It's not a big stress for your mind, and enjoyably replayable, over and over.



For those who haven't checked the website Board Game Geek, it is the most extensive repository for all information on every board game in the world.  You will find it a very useful database, and becoming a member (which is free) entitles you to search and log your collection, and even trade, buy, or sell games.

Photos by Paul Matias. http://tinidor.deviantart.com/

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