Customer Reviews

BANG! (La Pallottola!) The Bullet!

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is an incredibly entertaining game, reminiscent of the cardless "mafia" game many of us played in junior high and high school. It has become the game of choice among my friends and me in the last few months. Each player is dealt a role that he or she plays in the game (sheriff, deputy, outlaw, or renegade). All the roles are secret, except for the sheriff's. Game play proceeds as players eliminate each other in hopes of doing what is best for their role. The sheriff tries to stay alive and kill the outlaws and renegade(s). Outlaws try to kill the Sheriff, and so on. It gets pretty addictive and aggravating at the same time, but in a very good way.

Just read the rules and deal everyone the picture-instruction cards, and the game is relatively easy to understand. The game is the most fun when you have about 5 or 6 players. It doesn't make much sense with 4 (too easy to guess others' roles), and the pace slows a lot with 7 or 8 unless everyone is paying attention and knows the rules.

One small downside to the game is that it is an elimination game--when you die, you're out of the game/round until either the Sheriff/deputies or renegade(s) or the outlaws win. Usually this doesn't take very long, but it always sucks to be the first one out. When I play, I usually usually go through at least 3 or 4 rounds during one sitting. Also, for very conservative families, it might be noteworthy that "beer" and "whisky" cards heal your character.

Bang! The Bullet comes with several expansion packs that keep the game interesting and add new rules/restrictions that change up game play. Start with the core game first as you learn. Then you can add expansions later. It also comes with a nifty badge that Sheriff gets to wear.

Bang! has bceome a huge favorite of ours. It is addictive beyond belief -- our friends always ask us to bring it with us when we get together. It does take a bit (at least one round through) to get the hang of the rules and the strategy, but is pretty easy to play after the initial learning curve. I would suggest that someone read through all of the rules and review all of the cards before playing with a group -- just so that there is an expert around for answering questions.

Also, Bang! the bullet contains all of the expansion packs. When teaching new players how to play the game, it is wise to start with the core pack first and then add in the expansion packs as people get more comfortable with gameplay.

Enjoy!

The other reviewers here have done a good job reviewing this game. So rather than repeat a lot of the same things, I want to offer tips for learning the game.

It can be complicated if you try to use all the cards in your first few games. I recommend removing these cards before your first game:

1) all the character cards. Use them as life counters only.
2) all the cards with the two white card symbol on the bottom (there are 5 of these in the Dodge City expansion part)
3) all the green-bordered cards (all of them are from the Dodge City expansion)
4) all the High Noon and Fistful of Cards cards
5) all the Horses (these are blue-bordered and have names like Mustang, Silver, and Appaloosa)

Deal out the role cards (Sheriff, Deputy, etc.) like normal. Sheriff gets 5 life (bullets), and the rest get 4.

Play the game like normal.

After a few games like this, you will get the hang of the basics of the game. Then, you can add just the character cards for a game or two. Once that is familiar enough, introduce the cards with the "two white card" symbol on the bottom. After a game or two of that, you can introduce the green cards. The use of the High Noon and Fistful of Cards is optional, and not always popular with every group. I have taught over 50 people how to play this game, and the thing that seems most difficult for a lot of people is the horses, and how they effect cards like Panic! and Punch, etc. So, in my opinion, Horses should be the last thing you add back into the game.

If you take out the more difficult cards listed above, the learning curve is really not that steep.

There is a lot of depth do this game. From the start, it seems a bit complicated with so many different cards. Everything is written in Italian with [sometimes interpretable] English translations. The best way to start when only beginners are playing is with the original game and the first expansion. This includes most of the game play tactics without a daunting amount of cards. You will find that after just one game, most of the game-slowing questions end. Once comfortable (hopefully only a handful of games), expand the game play and include all of the cards.

You will hopefully find that your tactics evolve over time as weaknesses in strategy are exposed. The random element of the game prevents stale game play and exploitation, but more than enough of the game is based on the cunning and maneuvering of each individual player that even with a little poor luck, the entertainment value is very high. Due to the interpretive nature of a few of the rules, elements of the game can be altered to allow for added replayability, but for the most part, the logical comprehension of the written rules is enough to never get bored of this game.

The Basics: There are "role" cards, and "character" cards. Every player is either a Sheriff, Deputy Sheriff, Outlaw, or Renegade. Each has a different goal, but game play is the same for each. The outlaw is probably the most straight forward character, their goal is to kill the Sheriff. The Sheriff's objective is to eliminate the outlaws and the renegade. The deputies have the same mission as the Sheriff, but should be willing to sacrifice it all to protect the Sheriff. The renegade is the most difficult role to play, they must survive (and see the Sheriff survive) long enough to be the last one alive. All players will also receive a character card which has a perk that is unique to that player.

Learning the game is a fairly short process and, as with all the best games, mastering it will take a lot of experience. It can be fun for the whole family; while I would recommend ages 14+, someone as young as 10 could probably understand the concepts and play well.

Bang is a role playing game - party card game wrapped together. You'll find an excellent description of how it works in one of the other reviews. The actual rules are not much longer than that review. Having said that, if you buy this game, play it a bit against yourself first to see how it works, and in the first session with a new group, start off with a practice round or two so people can get the drift. Once people see how to shoot and block shots, and see a couple of the event cards (such as a visit to the Saloon or General Store) working, they'll catch on very quickly.

I'll compare this game to chess and Uno, both games that many readers will know. Much like Uno, the format of the BANG game consists of the players rotating in turn to draw cards and play cards against other players. The rules are no more complicated than chess - and like chess, the game is a whole lot more complex than the rules. The level of complexity, and therefore the longer-term interest factor, above Uno is that there are numerous characters who have different skills or defenses and it takes a while to take advantage of the various characters and tools; like chess, better play requires thinking ahead a little bit before whipping out the ole six-shooter.

However, in chess it is almost impossible for players of unmatched skill to have anything like a fun game; if it to be even at all, the better player is patronizing the weaker player. In BANG, the group dynamic means that an inexperienced player can do perfectly well even if there is an experienced player or two in the group, rather than getting slaughtered early on (see "Warnings" below), and it is quite possible that the group dynamic will lead to an early ganging up on the experienced player for just that reason.

What is this group dynamic? The players are divided into teams of Outlaws, Deputies and Renegades (ambitious free-lancers), and a Sheriff. But only the Sheriff's identity is known. The only advantages the Sheriff has are one extra life point (handy when most people are gunning for you) and the fact that the Renegade/s cannot win unless a Renegade and the Sheriff are the last 2 in the contest, so for a while the Renegades are the Sheriff's bodyguards - until they turn on him. Meanwhile the Sheriff's Deputies are trying to eliminate the Renegades and the Outlaws while the Outlaws are trying to eliminate the Sheriff - and the whole time, nobody knows who is really on which team, and there are consequences for mistaken identities. There is no prohibition on talk across the table, and so the deception and role-playing begin, which is the fun part of the game mmore than just the shoot-em-up process.

Like many games, there is a process of elimination (see "Warnings" below). Since the game only takes 15-30 minutes once you get the hang of it, this is not such a tragedy. The Internet has several rules variants available (the best BANG site is actually a Czech site) which allow the continued if reduced participation of eliminees, but the game is perfectly watchable and it is still interesting as the players' secret team identities emerge, so you can still kibitz while you refresh your libation. There are also rules for 1-, 2- and 8-player BANG.

Pretty much the only way you can buy the game any more is to buy the Bullet (Deluxe) set that includes all current expansions, which makes it rather pricey. But it will last a lot longer and get a lot more use than your average board game.

WARNINGS!!

If you are one of those sulky hyper-competitive people who cannot stand to lose but cannot figure out how to win, maybe you should avoid BANG (and any other form of social interaction).

Well, yes, there is quite a bit of slaughtering. After all, it is a Western-style shoot-em-up, the objective of which can be boiled down to being the last one standing. If you are one of those grim people who is professionally offended by most everything, then you'll be offended by this game too. For those genuinely concerned over the sensibilities of the younger fry, the elimination process is a matter of "losing life points", something that the younger among us are well used to as a result of all those video games in which exactly that happens. Please recall that if they were sent outside to play, which would be much better for them, they would probably play something that included phrases like "Bang! You're dead".

Bang! is an Italian card game based on the American wild west. Players take the role of lawman, outlaw or renegade and play to eliminate the others and control the town.

The game itself is fun but we found it complicated at first. In fact, the first few sessions took hours as we tried to decipher each card's purpose and comprehend the strategy. The game can also elicit some hostile attitudes as players are forced to target and gang up on one another. Remember, don't hate the player, hate the game.

Once you get the hang of it though, the game can be fun and fast paced. I find playing with groups no larger than five (max is eight) makes the game much more fun. Very large groups bog things down and Bang! is much more enjoyable as a fast paced shootout. A slow moving game of Bang! becomes tedious.

Bang! is good for avid game players who play together regularly and enjoy games with complexity and high competition. I also recommend picking up an automatic card shuffler. You'll go through the cards quickly and the shuffler will save some time.

I have played this game many times over the last 5 years and have loved it. I rated this product so low because it says that it comes with the first 3 expansions. When I received the game the outside plastic said "Bang! -The Bullet" but once this was removed the cover is just the original game, with no expansions. When I emailed Amazon I got a generic, fill in name, email saying that this was a third party seller and I could only return it... I wanted the game WITH the expansion packs. This is the first time I have had any trouble with a product from Amazon... I hope it doesn't continue.

Great game. First time player for this game. A little complex to start but once everybody gets it, it's fun. Wish the primary language was English rather than having itilian the primary language. Very similar to the group game called "mafia" but with cards and a little more surprises. The included expansion packs made it difficult to understand which cards went with the orignial game.

This is a great game for a large group - 8 people and can expand higher...but over 12 I think is too much. I thought the instructions were a bit difficult to understand- best played by those knowing the game and teaching you. My negative comment is on the packaging of the game. It comes in a bullet- looking unique and sleek. But it pops open too easy and all the cards spill out. Poor design. It needs a latch to secure it better. Other than that- great game.

I had BANG 2nd edition and had to buy another BANG set so I got THE BULLET since it had BANG and the DODGE CITY expansion and 3 new characters.

Differences is that this new edition for the hideout and other cards that modify your distance no longer have cross hairs with the +1 or -1 in it but are written out with a description of what the card does. Also beer cards don't have a foaming mug of beer, it's a + bullet icon and bangs are - bullet icon if I remember correctly. Plus you are missing the boxes to use as a discard pile holder. THE BULLET has a little plastic insert but it's just used to hold the cards when you put away the game.

So if you have been playing BANG with earlier versions it'll be unsettling at first to see new symbols but you'll get up to speed and shooting your friends and arguing about the rules in no time.

Try out the other card games "Saboteur" and "Guillotine" if you like BANG.