The Book of Revenant

Spent a good chunk of last night playing Bang! with some friends. This card game takes you to a magical land of spaghetti western, with all sorts of outlaws, renegades, sheriffs and deputies.

Play begins by randomly distribute a character and a role card to each player, draw out hands and start shooting. I’ve only played with 4 players (minimum requirement. I supports up to 7), which tends to put a heavy disadvantage on the sheriff, as their goal is to take out the remaining players. The rest of the players in this four player scenario are two outlaws, who win if the sheriff kicks the bucket, and the renegade, who wins if he’s the only one remaining. The problem is you don’t know who’s who, ‘cept for the the sheriff, and you can’t let your role out to the other players.

The rules felt a little vague to us at times, but disputes always resolved fairly quickly with a little bit of logic. Other than that, once everyone got the rules down, the games went guns-a-blazing fast. With sixteen characters each with unique special abilities and everyone getting their role randomly, the game was varied and entertaining enough to keep us entertained through about 10 playthroughs in a couple of hours.

Bang! is cheap enough that I’d highly recommend having someone in your gaming group snag it and keep it around for some quick fun. I don’t think it trumps Lunch Money as far as all-out-brawl games go, but it’s a welcomed addition to my collection.