Grant

Usually when our group plays (we’re all fairly new to strategy), we only have one person replenishing supplies for the game.

It should be noted that not only do the supplies increase proportionately with the number of players, but the economy of the game is subtly different for each tier.

The most obvious example of this is the uranium market in a 5 player game. In phase two, a whopping three uranium is put back each turn, making it a great market for two people easily. Not so with trash, it stays the same, supply will not meet demand with two people in the trash market.

Make sure you have a handle on the nuances of your specific market to be a conscious player and have a leg up on your opponents!

I don’t know how you would win this game without the items in the Equipment Hold. Make sure all of your gnomes are well-stocked with items to help with the assorted troubles, and (unless you’re forced to do something else) deal with what you are equipped to deal with. This is no startling revelation, but there is an exception to this rule.

(Again, unless you are forced to) avoid the vodka at all costs. I know, I know, “we’re Russian gnomes on a sinking submarine; what do we have if we don’t have vodka?” A chance at winning the game, that’s what! If you ever fail your faint check and pass out, you’ve practically signed your death warrant and made the game a great deal harder for the rest of your shipmates. Save the vodka for emergencies and if you have to use it, sober up as soon as you can with the coffee. Run a clean ship and you have a much better chance of making it until help arrives.

I love getting to play the Outlaws when we have a good game of Bang! going. However, it seems that the headlong rush only works about 50% of the time. What I enjoy doing (and what makes it a little bit more of a strategic game) is try to find who the other outlaws are, then eliminate the other players before finishing off the Sheriff.

When playing with 5 or 6 players, there’s only one Deputy, and his job can be simplified in to “kill everyone but the Sheriff.” So, when playing, if you see someone blasting another player, go after him! Chances are, he’s the Deputy or the Renegade since the Renegade is trying to level the playing field and keep himself alive. Logic puts the Renegade on the Law side since the Outlaws have a 3-2 advantage.

If you can collectively eliminate the Deputy and the Renegade you should have no problem taking down the Sheriff with superior numbers!

If you know you are one turn away from winning (unless you are playing with experienced players, no one will notice this until the power plant stage in the final round), only power some of your plants to land in last place. Having first dibs on resources and cities along with an unattested plant buy will almost ensure your victory, because (if you are the only one in this spot) everyone will work to block your victory if you go first.

Everyone in my circle has gotten a good feel for taking the card route in this game. Our focus has been to be flexible and play for cards in two different areas. It usually ends up being different every game. If an opponent snags some of the early tool multipliers, start grabbing the food and people multipliers instead. Just make sure your card grabs are focused and intentional.

The one exception to this rule (it comes up often for us) is the house multiplier. If you can find a way to be the only house card buyer, you’re in pretty good shape and don’t have to worry too much about your secondary scorer, because you can get a higher multiplier with houses than any other group.