Paul Powell

I bought this game 2 weeks ago, and already it has seen 6 plays at 2 separate game days. It’s a huge success!

The theme of the game is just a little bit problematic for a pure family game, because you’re using foam guns, and you will point these guns at your fellow players. If parents have no problem with that, then this is otherwise a great family game, if you don’t mind the theme of being gangsters splitting loot. 🙂

The game lasts 8 rounds, and in each round, there are 8 pieces of loot to take. Each round, each player loads their gun (they have 8 bullet cards, 3 BANGs and 5 CLICKs). Then, the godfather (or godmother) will call out a countdown, and everyone will aim their gun at someone. The godfather/mother may tell someone to redirect their aim. Then there’s the “courage” phase, where everyone decides to stay in the round or not. Everyone who gets out of the round knocks their standee over, and places their bullet (face-down) in the center. Once everyone has decided whether or not they are getting out, everyone with and invalid target places their bullet in the center, and those WITH a valid target flip it over. Those with a BANG will give the target a wound (3 and you’re out). Not only that, the target is out of the round. Those still standing will split up the loot. The godfather/mother gets first pick of the 8 loot cards and the godfather’s desk. (the one who takes the desk becomes the godfather for the next round.) It goes around the table, dividing the loot until all the loot has been taken.

Then the next round starts! The game lasts 8 rounds, and whoever has the most value of loot wins.

Apparently, the 1st edition only had cash for loot. In this version, there are 4 different types of loot. The prominent one, is, of course, cash. The next category of loot is paintings. At the end of the game, you get a value for the entire collection, and the more paintings you have, the more value it is. Then there are diamonds. The value of the diamond loot cards are less than the cash cards, BUT – whoever has collected the most diamonds at the end of the game gets a $60,000 diamond bonus. There are also 2 first aid kits, which allow the person who takes it to heal 2 wounds. The person who takes the clip gets to exchange a ‘click’ in their hand with a ‘bang’ from the center (used bullets).

This game is A LOT of fun! Just getting into the theme of the game, and forcing a player to get out is a lot of fun! The banter around the table just before getting ready to aim is great, too. Psychology definitely plays a role, too. Because you don’t know whether or not that kid whose pointing his gun at you is bluffing or not. Highly recommended!