BANG! An Amazing Card Game

Posted by terraolsen on June 17, 2013 in Gaming, Review | Leave a comment

BANG! An Amazing Card Game

By: Virginia Eader

I recently visited some old friends in Berkley, California. Not just any old friends but two of my most beloved nerdy guy friends (one of whom I’ve known since the age of 4 and the other since middle school. The 3 of us made up a large percentage of the nerd population at Kalama High. Together we could conquer just about any Rubix cube, magic tournament, or one-act theater competition.)

The night we hung out we realized that it was the first time in 10 years that the 3 of us had all been together. What better way to commemorate our time than to play a really awesome strategy card game?! The name of the game is BANG! and it is so much fun!!!

Bang! is an action packed Wild West themed character-driven strategy card game complete with a Sheriff, Renegade, and plenty of opportunities for a shootout at high noon. I’m not going to get into the nitty gritty of the game because I’ve found several reviews online that do a much better job than I ever could explaining it.

What I would like to do is to tell you HOW AWESOME the game is. It’s SO awesome that after playing it one night, the next morning my friend and I headed straight to Games of Berkley to purchase it (plus the expansion pack!!) so that we would have it to play with another group of friends that evening. Bang! is very inexpensive for how much fun it is- about $30 for the game AND expansion pack!

Two caveats: 1. It takes a good 30 minutes or so to really learn the rules and get the hang of it. It’s not nearly as complicated as a game like Settlers of Catan but it definitely helped to have a friend who already knew how to play teach the rest of us.  2. The Wild West theme of the game includes a few non-politically correct characters and actions. Take it as a lesson in how “we used to be” and know that things have changed since the Wild Wild West.  (At least in some ways…)

My advice: 1. Definitely get the expansion pack with the GOLD!! This will allow you to purchase items at the “general store”- such as a 6 holster gun belt! Boo-ya, pardner. 2. WATCH OUT FOR CAT BALOU!!!