Bang - FAQ Back to FAQ

 
Bang!™
The Outlaws hunt the Sheriff. The Sheriff hunts the Outlaws. The Renegade plots secretly, ready to take one side or the other. Bullets fly. (Learn More...)
  
Players: 4-7, Ages: 8+
Playing Time: 20-40 minutes		 DVC4701
$11.00		  

 
  General
  Q: When you play “Stagecoach” or “Wells Fargo,” do you draw the cards from the deck or another player?
  A: These cards are drawn from the deck. If you draw from another player, then the card will show you which player you can draw from (like the “Panic” card).
  Q: Do you have to play Dynamite on yourself? Or can you play it on any player?
  A: You have to light the dynamite yourself. You can’t just toss it to somebody and expect it to go off! So, you have to play the dynamite card in front of you and hope it doesn’t explode before you can pass it to the next player.
  Q: Exactly what cards will cause the dynamite to explode?
  A: Dynamite will blow up only if the “draw” card is spades, and shows one of these numbers: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9. It does NOT blow up if the card is any other suit, or if the card is 10, J, Q, K, or A.
  Guns
  Q: Can players trade weapons? Say, for example, that I’m a Deputy, can I trade my Remington for the Sheriff’s Volcanic?
  A: I'm afraid that you can never give any weapons (or any other card for that matter) to another player. The Sheriff is going to have to find his own Remington....
  Q: If I change guns, can I use my new gun right away? Or do I have to wait until next turn to use it?
  A: You can use your spanky new gun just as soon as you play it, and you can play the new one just as soon as you discard the old one (in fact, discarding the old one is an effect of playing the new one). No waiting periods in the Old West!
  Q: If I have a Winchester, can I play a Bang! on an opponent far away, then play a Volcanic and keep shooting at opponents nearby?
  A: Yes. As long as you have a Volcanic in play, you can keep playing Bang! cards. It doesn’t matter what you played earlier in the turn (before playing the Volcanic). Of course, it wouldn’t work the other way around: If you played a bunch of Bang! cards with your Volcanic, and then switched to the Winchester, you wouldn’t be able to take another long ranged shot, because you’ve already played a Bang! card that turn.
  Horses
  Q: Can I have two horses in front of me at the same time?
  A: Sure you can! But only if they are different! You can have a Mustang AND an Appaloosa, for example. You can’t have two of the same blue card in front of you at the same time (so you can’t have 2 Mustangs), and you can’t have more than one gun card in front of you at a time (so you can’t have both a Remington and a Volcanic at once).
  Q: Can I play a “Panic” on somebody with a “Mustang” card in front of them?
  A: The “Mustang” affects range for ALL purposes. That would include the range 1 of the “Panic.” Of course, the “Appaloosa” also affects it, so if you have one of those, your range for the “Panic” effectively becomes 2. Then you could use it on a neighbor with a “Mustang.”
  Discards
  Q: Can the Cat Balou card be used to discard a Jail card in front of another player?
  A: That Cat Balou! She’s just as likely to let some varmint out of jail as she is to steal an outlaw’s favorite rifle! Yes, you can play a Cat Balou and choose to discard a Jail card. It can be used on any blue-bordered card face up in play (even Dynamite!), or a random card from any player’s hand.
  Q: What about the Daltons (from High Noon)?
  A: Yep. The Daltons can take a Jail card away. Maybe they sympathize with people who are in Jail and want to help them get out?
  Q: Can you discard cards you don’t want, even if it lowers your hand size below the number of bullets you have?
  A: No. You cannot just discard cards you don’t want, even if they aren’t useful (such as “Beer” when only 2 players are left alive). Besides, it’s good to keep those “useless” cards because they provide some protection against losing a good card if you are the victim of a “Cat Balou” or “Panic” card.
  Q: Can you play a card that has no effect? Like a “Beer” card when there are only two players? Or a “Bang” card when everyone is out of range?
  A: Although the Guru doesn’t see any benefit from this, yes, you can play a card that does nothing. The card is essentially wasted.
  Q: If I play a “Panic” and steal a card I don’t want, can I immediately discard it?
  A: When you play a “Panic” card, you steal a card and add it to your hand. It doesn’t go to the discard pile, even if you want it to.
  Rewards and Punishments
  Q: If the Sheriff plays “Gatling,” and he kills one of his deputies AND one of the outlaws, does he discard his hand first, and then draw 3 cards, or does he draw 3 cards and then discard everything? Or does the penalty and the bonus counteract each other?
  A: When the Sheriff accidentally guns down one of his deputies, he has to pay the penalty. He has to discard all the cards he has in hand, and any blue cards face up in front of him.

If he happens to kill an outlaw at the same time, then he would take his reward (draw 3 cards) first, then he would discard his whole hand and blue cards.

It doesn’t matter if the Sheriff used a “Gatling,” Or “Indians,” or anything else for that matter. You can’t avoid the penalty for shooting your partner in the back!
  Character Abilities
  Q: Can you explain how Lucky Duke’s ability works? Does he use it every time he draws cards?
  A: Lucky Duke can be a little confusing because of an unfortunate limitation in English that does not, apparently, exist in Italian. The problem comes from the definitions of "draw!"

At the beginning of your turn, you draw cards and add them to your hand. Lucky Duke's ability has NO EFFECT on this type of draw. Similarly, his ability does not impact Wells Fargo, the Stage Coach, or Panic! In fact, his ability ONLY affects the second meaning of "draw!"

Sometimes, like when you have the dynamite, you are called to "draw!" as in "draw, pardner" in a gunfight. It's supposed to be a pun, but it didn't translate so well. In game terms, this means that you flip the top card and look at the suit in the corner to see if you get the result you are hoping for.

Lucky Duke's ability allows him two chances to get a favorable result during this kind of "draw!" So, if you have dynamite, and you flip over a 3 of spades, Lucky Duke can use his ability to flip the second card to see if it saves him from the dynamite. Then, both "draw!" cards are discarded, just like normal.
  Q: Can Calamity Janet use “Missed” cards as “Bang!” cards after playing a normal “Bang!” card on her turn, assuming she doesn’t have a “Volcanic?”
  A: Since in this case the “Missed” would be the same as a “Bang!” Janet cannot use a “Missed” card as a “Bang!” card to take more than one shot.
  Q: If El Gringo is hit by a Gatling or Indians, does he get to draw a card from anybody?
  A: Whoever plays a card is considered to be “the source” of the damage (exception: Dynamite). So, if you play a Gatling, and hit El Gringo, he gets to draw a random card from your hand.
  Q: When Pedro Ramirez draws a card from the discard pile, does he have to draw the top card, or can he search the whole discard pile and take the one he wants?
  A: At the beginning of his turn, Pedro has a choice: He can pull two cars off the top of the draw pile like everybody else, or he can instead take the top card off the discard pile and the top card off the deck. Unfortunately, he can’t go digging through the discard pile to find the best card, he can only take the one off the top!
  Q: Suzy Lafayette can draw a card as soon as she has no cards in hand. You’re allowed to discard cards at the end of your turn. Can she discard all her cards, draw one, discard that, draw another, discard that, etc.?
  A: Actually, discarding at the end of your turn is not a MAY, it is a MUST. You MUST discard down to your hand limit (the number of life points you have left, normally). You MAY NOT discard any more cards than that, even if you want to. So, the only way Suzy could do that would be if she had 0 life points, in which case she is already dead and out of the game.
  High Noon
  Q: If the “Sermon” is in play, can Calamity Janet still use a “Missed” card as a “Bang!” card?
  A: The Sermon card prevents all players from playing a "Bang!" card during their turn. Calamity Janet knows how to convert a "Missed" card into a "Bang" card. But, when she does, it is still a "Bang." So, that means that when the Sermon is going, she can't play any "Bang" cards. It doesn’t matter if it was a "real" "Bang" card or if it was a "Bang" that she created by using a "Missed."
  Q: If “Ghost Town” is in play after there are only 2 players left alive, can I play “Beer” (since “Ghost Town” revives dead characters)?
  A: “Ghost Town” doesn’t mean that the characters aren’t dead, it just means that they are walking around. So there are still only 2 players “alive,” so you can’t play any “Beer” cards.
  Q: When “Doctor” comes out, do the characters with the fewest bullets receive the benefit, or is it the characters who have lost the most bullets?
  A: It is the characters who currently have the fewest bullets. So, for example, if the Sheriff (with 5 bullets starting) has lost 3 (so he has 2 left) is facing a Renegade (with 4 bullets starting) who has lost 2 (so he also has 2 left), both characters would heal 1 bullet.