Card Explanations: Guns (Volcanic, Schofield, Remington, Rev. Carabine, Winchester)

Volcanic

Symbology:

Translation: While this is in play, you may fire BANG! at any player you see within distance 1. This card also has a special ability (see book description).

Book description: With this card in play you may play any number of BANG! cards during your turn. These BANG! cards can be aimed at the same or different targets, but are limited to a distance of 1.

Playable: On your turn, during phase 2 only. As with other cards played in front of you that have duplicates, you may not play Volcanic if you have another Volcanic in play already.

Suit and Value: 10♠, 10♣.

Card color: Blue.

Card family: Guns.

Included in: BANG!.

Characters greatly enhanced by playing this card: Suzy Lafayette (With about 1/3 of the cards being BANG!, not having a limit on the amount of BANG! she can play allows her to significantly continue chain-drawing), Calamity Janet (Able to play Missed! as BANG!, she has a lot of ammo that she can fire with a Volcanic), Rose Doolan (She can fire as many BANG! as she desires at player she sees within distance 2), Slab the Killer (Since each BANG! he fires at another takes 2 missed to avoid, being able to fire multiple BANG! in a turn can completely devastate his opponent), Vulture Sam (Enables him to quickly and potentially chain eliminate players since he picks up their eliminated cards and gains a card bonus for Outlaw eliminations), Doc Holyday (He can couple the BANG! fired with the Volcanic with a 2-card discard BANG! to finish off a rival), Belle Star (no defensive cards in play can protect others from the multiple BANG! she plays against them), Greg Digger (enables him to focus on eliminating players and let his defensive guard down since eliminating another will give him 2 more life points), Chuck Wengam (he can lose life points to gain more ammo for a Volcanic), Sean Mallory (he can save up many BANG! in his hand to unload on another player once he obtains a Volcanic), Pixie Pete (drawing 3 cards gives him a greater likelihood of drawing more BANG! on his turn), Black Jack (potential of drawing 3 cards gives him a greater likelihood of drawing more BANG! on his turn), Kit Carlson (selecting from 3 cards during his drawing phase makes it more likely for him to be able to pick up 2 BANG! on his turn), José Delgado (He can play blue cards to draw 2 cards that can provide additional ammo for his Volcanic; and if needs be can discard the Volcanic from his hand to draw 2 cards), Herb Hunter (makes it more likely for him to eliminate players and thus draw 2/5 cards), Flint Westwood (ability to swap out useless card from hand for 2 from the hand of another player can remove their defenses against the multiple BANG! fired from a Volcanic), Big Spencer (he can save up many BANG! in his hand to unload on another player once he obtains a Volcanic), Youl Grinner (expending many BANG! lowers the amount of cards in his hand, making it more likely for him to draw cards from others), and Gary Looter (5/6 life points makes it easier to store up BANG!/Volcanic for powerful offensive push).

Characters less enhanced by playing this card: Willy the Kid (his ability already allows him to fire as many BANG! as he desires each turn, so he desires a gun that extends his range; the only benefit of gaining the Volcanic is to keep it from being used by others), Sid Ketchum (expending BANG! makes him possess less cards that can be discarded to regain life points), Elena Fuente (expending BANG! makes her possess less cards to play as Missed! out of turn; with 3 life points only, this can make her quite vulnerable to attack herself), Lee Van Kliff (Volcanic is only beneficial to him if he possesses 3 BANG!, as he can already fire 2 BANG! per turn without a Volcanic through his replication ability; furthermore, since BANG! are required for replication, expending them is less appealing).

Characters who cope well with others playing this card: Paul Regret (Since the Volcanic can only shoot at players seen within distance 1, he cannot be the target of the Volcanic unless its possessor also has a Scope or Binoculars, or is Rose Doolan), El Gringo (he steals a card from his attacker each time he is hit, often depleting ammo from the possessor of the Volcanic), Bart Cassidy (he draws a card for each hit he takes from the BANG!), Calamity Janet (She can play her BANG! as Missed! to avoid the BANG! fired at her), Jesse Jones (he can deplete ammo from the hand of the player possessing the Volcanic), Jourdonnais (He can “draw!” for a missed on each BANG! fired at him), Apache Kid (a good portion of the BANG! have no effect on him), Elena Fuente (able to play any card as Missed! makes it easy for him to avoid multiple BANG!), Pat Brennan (He can steal the Volcanic during phase 1 of his turn), Flint Westwood (He can swap out a useless card from his hand for 2 cards in the hand of the possessor of the Volcanic to deplete his ammo), Teren Kill (Hard to eliminate him with a Volcanic since he has only a 25% chance of losing his last life point), Lucky Duke with Barrel (2 “draws!” to save against BANG!), and potentially Bill Noface (unless you eliminate him, he will draw a lot of cards on his next turn that will help him recuperate himself).

Characters who cope poorly with others playing this card: Big Spencer (unable to play Missed!, Big Spencer is likely to receive much damage from a player with a Volcanic), Youl Grinner (others expending multiple BANG! makes it less likely for them to have more cards in their hand than him), Gary Looter (others expending many BANG! makes it highly unlikely that they will exceed their card limits, requiring them to give him cards), potentially Sean Mallory (if he has few cards in his hand, he will be eliminated quickly), and Pixie Pete (with 3 life points and a non-defensive ability, he can be eliminated quickly; however, if several rounds have passed he will likely have defensive green cards in play).

Works well in conjunction with: BANG!, Scope, Binoculars, Wells Fargo, Stagecoach, Pony Express, Buffalo Rifle, Derringer, Knife, Pepperbox, Howitzer.

Works poorly against players with: Mustang, Hideout, Bible, Dodge.

Commentary: The Volcanic is the most powerful offensive card in the game. Since players are typically limited to playing 1 BANG! on their turns, the Volcanic allows players to deal out quite a bit of damage all in one turn. This is often the key to eliminating the Sheriff, but it is also beneficial for non-Outlaws, as they can eliminate Outlaws for the 3 card bonus with the Volcanic. The downside of the Volcanic is its poor range: it can only target players seen within distance 1. Thus, you might be stuck right next to your allies with the Volcanic, able to do nothing with it. While you might gain a Scope or Binoculars to extend your range, the chances of gaining those cards is very slim. The best thing to do is to store up and play the Volcanic generally when you know you are in a good position. This means that you are certain that there is a rival you can target with it, and you have some BANG! stored up to fire. The Volcanic does little good without the BANG!, and you become an instant target you put it into play. Be very careful of playing the Volcanic if you are next to the Sheriff. If you are a non-Outlaw, make sure to target the other adjacent player with the Volcanic to ease the mind of the Sheriff if you do not want to become his new target. If you are an Outlaw, make sure you have some BANG! and/or your allies are ready before you put it into play. If a rival plays a Volcanic, make sure to use abilities and cards that can discard, steal, or weaken the effectiveness of the Volcanic. For instance, both Indians! and Duel will either deplete his BANG! or force him take a hit.

Schofield

Symbology:

Translation: While this is in play, you may fire BANG! at any player you see within distance 2.

Playable: On your turn, during phase 2 only. As with other cards played in front of you that have duplicates, you may not play Schofield if you have another Schofield in play already.

Suit and Value: K♠, Q♣, J♣.

Card color: Blue.

Card family: Guns.

Included in: BANG!.

Characters greatly enhanced by playing this card: Slab the Killer (Greater reach with his offensive ability), Willy the Kid (Greater reach with his offensive ability), Doc Holyday (Greater reach with the cards he discards to convert into BANG!), Rose Doolan (She can play BANG! against players seen within distance 3), Belle Star (She can reach more players who cannot protect themselves from her BANG! with cards in play in front of them), Paul Regret (he can shoot at players who are neither close to him nor can reach him), Herb Hunter (greater reach to eliminate players for card bonuses), José Delgado (can be discarded from hand to draw 2 cards), Lee Van Kliff (greater reach to shoot 2 BANG! with replication ability), Suzy Lafayette (only gets in the way of chain-drawing if she already has a Schofield in play), and Johnny Kisch (playing it can knock out others Schofields).

Characters enhanced by others playing this card: José Delgado (he can steal the Schofield and discard it from his hand to draw 2 cards), Johnny Kisch (playing another Schofield can discard the other Schofields players have played), and Pat Brennan (he can steal the Schofield).

Characters who cope poorly with others playing this card: Paul Regret (adjacent players possessing the Schofield can reach him) and Big Spencer (others possessing this card makes it much more likely for him to be the target of BANG! that are very difficult to avoid).

Works well in conjunction with: BANG!, Scope, Binoculars, Mustang, Hideout.

Works poorly against players with: Mustang, Hideout.

Commentary: BANG! can only be played against a player that you can see. By default, you can only see players within distance 1, typically the players adjacent to you. Playing the Schofield enables you to shoot at players you see within distance 2: typically, extending your range to the second player to your left or right. Guns also help you overcome sight modifiers, which increase the distance by which you see another player, like Mustang or Hideout (the Volcanic is the exception). So if an adjacent player had a Mustang in play, you could still target him with BANG! if you had the Schofield in play. Since BANG! make up a large percentage of the cards (roughly 1/3 of them), controlling the distance by which you see players and they see you is a large part of the game. You want to make it so that you can see your rivals (and so be able to shoot BANG! at them), while they cannot see you to fire at you. A favorable position can be established by possessing guns in conjunction with sight modifiers such as Mustang and Hideout (to increase the distance by which you are seen) and Scope and Binoculars (to increase the distance by which you see others). You, of course, want to remove these cards from other players, so use abilities and cards that discard or steal them. Since players will also want to do this to you, I often suggest storing an extra gun card in your hand if you can afford to do so.

Remington

Symbology:

Translation: While this is in play, you may fire BANG! at any player you see within distance 3.

Playable: On your turn, during phase 2 only. As with other cards played in front of you that have duplicates, you may not play Remington if you have another Remington in play already.

Suit and Value: K♣ (BANG!), 6♦ (Dodge City).

Card color: Blue.

Card family: Guns.

Included in: BANG!, Dodge City.

Characters greatly enhanced by playing this card: Slab the Killer (Greater reach with his offensive ability), Willy the Kid (Greater reach with his offensive ability), Doc Holyday (Greater reach with the cards he discards to convert into BANG!), Rose Doolan (useful in larger games, she can play BANG! against players seen within distance 4), Belle Star (She can reach more players who cannot protect themselves from her BANG! with cards in play in front of them), Paul Regret (he can shoot at players who are neither close to him nor can reach him), Herb Hunter (greater reach to eliminate players for card bonuses), José Delgado (can be discarded from hand to draw 2 cards), Lee Van Kliff (greater reach to shoot 2 BANG! with replication ability), Suzy Lafayette (only gets in the way of chain-drawing if she already has a Remington in play), and Johnny Kisch (playing it can knock out the other Remington).

Characters less enhanced by playing this card: potentially Rose Doolan (if she already has a Schofield in play, being able to see players distance 4 is of little use in smaller games).

Characters enhanced by others playing this card: José Delgado (he can use a card to steal the Remington and discard it from his hand to draw 2 cards), Johnny Kisch (playing a Remington can discard the other Remington in play), and Pat Brennan (he can steal the Remington).

Characters who cope poorly with others playing this card: Paul Regret (players possessing the Remington will likely be able to reach him) and Big Spencer (others possessing this card makes it much more likely for him to be the target of BANG! that are very difficult to avoid).

Works well in conjunction with: BANG!, Scope, Binoculars, Mustang, Hideout.

Works poorly against players with: Mustang, Hideout.

Commentary: The importance of sight constraints and their relationship to playing BANG! was discussed with Schofield. All things equal, the Remington allows you to reach players that you see within distance 3. It is useful in both medium and large games, but of little use during small games.

Rev. Carabine

Symbology:

Translation: While this is in play, you may fire BANG! at any player you see within distance 4.

Playable: On your turn, during phase 2 only. As with other cards played in front of you that have duplicates, you may not play Rev. Carabine if you have another Rev. Carabine in play already.

Suit and Value: A♣ (BANG!), 5♠ (explodes of dynamite; Dodge City).

Card color: Blue.

Card family: Guns.

Included in: BANG!, Dodge City.

Characters greatly enhanced by playing this card: Slab the Killer (Greater reach with his offensive ability), Willy the Kid (Greater reach with his offensive ability), Doc Holyday (Greater reach with the cards he discards to convert into BANG!), Rose Doolan (useful in larger games, she can play BANG! against players seen within distance 5), Belle Star (She can reach more players who cannot protect themselves from her BANG! with cards in play in front of them), Paul Regret (he can shoot at players who are neither close to him nor can reach him), Herb Hunter (greater reach to eliminate players for card bonuses), José Delgado (can be discarded from hand to draw 2 cards), Lee Van Kliff (greater reach to shoot 2 BANG! with replication ability), Suzy Lafayette (only gets in the way of chain-drawing if she already has a Rev. Carabine in play), and Johnny Kisch (playing it can knock out the other Rev. Carabine).

Characters less enhanced by playing this card: potentially Rose Doolan (if she already has another gun in play, being able to see players within distance 5 is of little use in small and medium games).

Characters enhanced by others playing this card: José Delgado (he can use a card to steal the Rev. Carabine and discard it from his hand to draw 2 cards), Johnny Kisch (playing a Rev. Carabine can discard the other Rev. Carabine in play), and Pat Brennan (he can steal the Rev. Carabine).

Characters who cope poorly with others playing this card: Paul Regret (players possessing the Rev. Carabine will likely be able to reach him) and Big Spencer (others possessing this card makes it much more likely for him to be the target of BANG! that are very difficult to avoid).

Works well in conjunction with: BANG!, Scope, Binoculars, Mustang, Hideout.

Works poorly against players with: Mustang, Hideout.

Commentary: The importance of sight constraints and their relationship to playing BANG! was discussed with Schofield. All things equal, the Rev. Carabine allows you to reach players that you see within distance 4. It is useful in mostly large games, but of little use during small (and even some medium) games. Of course, since getting and continuing to possess a gun is rare, it is still a good thing to have a gun that extends your range at all. It just doesn’t do much more than the Remington.

Winchester

Symbology:

Translation: While this is in play, you may fire BANG! at any player you see within distance 5.

Playable: On your turn, during phase 2 only.

Suit and Value: 8♠ (explodes on Dynamite).

Card color: Blue.

Card family: Guns.

Included in: BANG!.

Characters greatly enhanced by playing this card: Slab the Killer (Greater reach with his offensive ability), Willy the Kid (Greater reach with his offensive ability), Doc Holyday (Greater reach with the cards he discards to convert into BANG!), Rose Doolan (useful in larger games, she can play BANG! against players seen within distance 6), Belle Star (She can reach more players who cannot protect themselves from her BANG! with cards in play in front of them), Paul Regret (he can shoot at players who are neither close to him nor can reach him), Herb Hunter (greater reach to eliminate players for card bonuses), José Delgado (can be discarded from hand to draw 2 cards), Lee Van Kliff (greater reach to shoot 2 BANG! with replication ability), and Suzy Lafayette (she can play the Winchester and keep chain-drawing; the range also makes sure that she is not stuck with a BANG! she cannot play).

Characters less enhanced by playing this card: potentially Rose Doolan (if she already has another gun in play, being able to see players within distance 6 is of little use in small and medium games).

Characters enhanced by others playing this card: José Delgado (he can use a card to steal the Winchester and discard it from his hand to draw 2 cards) and Pat Brennan (he can steal the Winchester).

Characters who cope poorly with others playing this card: Paul Regret (players possessing the Winchester are almost guaranteed to be able to reach him) and Big Spencer (others possessing this card makes it much more likely for him to be the target of BANG! that are very difficult to avoid).

Works well in conjunction with: BANG!, Scope, Binoculars, Mustang, Hideout.

Works poorly against players with: Mustang, Hideout.

Commentary: The importance of sight constraints and their relationship to playing BANG! was discussed with Schofield. All things equal, the Winchester allows you to reach players that you see within distance 4. It is useful in mostly large games, but of little use during small (and even some medium) games. Of course, since getting and continuing to possess a gun is rare, it is still a good thing to have a gun that extends your range at all. It just doesn’t do much more than the Remington or Rev. Carabine. Of note, unlike the rest of the guns, the Winchester has no duplicate. Thus, an extra cannot get stuck in your hand, nor can Johnny Kisch discard it through using his ability.

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