Scope / Appaloosa
Symbology:
(Old version only)Translation: While this is in play, you see players at a distance -1.
Description: You view others at distance -1 (New version only).
Book description: “When you have a Scope in play, you see all the other players at a distance decreased by 1. However, other players still see you at the normal distance. Distances less than 1 are considered to be 1.”
Playable: On your turn, during phase 2 only.
Suit and Value: A♠.
Card color: Blue.
Card family: Sight Modifiers.
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, and panic!/punch/knife/derringer players seen within distance 3), Belle Star (She can reach more players who cannot protect themselves from her BANG!/Punch/Knife/Derringer/Panic! with cards in play in front of them), Paul Regret (he can shoot at/steal from 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; gives greater reach with Panic! to steal and discard other players’ blue cards), and Lee Van Kliff (greater reach to shoot 2 BANG! with replication ability), Suzy Lafayette (playing it does not stop her chain-drawing).
Characters enhanced by others playing this card: José Delgado (he can steal the Scope/Appaloosa and discard it from his hand to draw 2 cards), and Pat Brennan (he can steal the Scope/Appaloosa).
Characters who cope poorly with others playing this card: Paul Regret (adjacent players possessing the Scope/Appaloosa 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!, Panic!, Knife, Punch, Derringer, Binoculars/Silver, Mustang, Hideout.
Works poorly against players with: Mustang, Hideout.
Commentary: While guns increased the range in which players could play BANG! cards, Scope/Appaloosa increases the range in which players can play all cards with distance symbols. It should be noted that Scope/Appaloosa does not modify the cards themselves. They have a fixed range. Rather, Scope/Appaloosa changes your sight: the distance at which you view other players, which in turn affects the players whom you can reach with cards specifying distances. It allows you to see a player at a distance decreased by 1. Thus, a player typically seen at distance 2 without a Scope/Appaloosa (say 2 spots away from you, or an adjacent player who has a Mustang or Hideout in play) is seen at distance 1 with a Scope/Appaloosa. The result is that you can play against these players cards with the distance 1 symbol: Panic!, Derringer, Knife, and Punch. Also, as the rulebook explains, “Distances less than 1 are considered to be 1,” so it is not the case that by playing a Scope/Appaloosa you suddenly cannot Panic! the player next to you. Scope/Appaloosa also stacks with Binoculars/Silver and Rose Doolan’s ability.
Binoculars / Silver
Symbology:
(Old version only)Translation: While this is in play, you see players at a distance -1.
Description: You view others at distance -1 (New version only).
Playable: On your turn, during phase 2 only.
Suit and Value: 10♦.
Card color: Blue.
Card family: Sight Modifiers.
Included in: 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 (She can play BANG! against players seen within distance 3, and panic!/punch/knife/derringer players seen within distance 3), Belle Star (She can reach more players who cannot protect themselves from her BANG!/Punch/Knife/Derringer/Panic! with cards in play in front of them), Paul Regret (he can shoot at/steal from 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; gives greater reach with Panic! to steal and discard other players’ blue cards), and Lee Van Kliff (greater reach to shoot 2 BANG! with replication ability), Suzy Lafayette (playing it does not stop her chain-drawing).
Characters enhanced by others playing this card: José Delgado (he can steal the Binoculars/Silver and discard it from his hand to draw 2 cards), and Pat Brennan (he can steal the Binoculars/Silver).
Characters who cope poorly with others playing this card: Paul Regret (adjacent players possessing the Scope/Appaloosa 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!, Panic!, Knife, Punch, Derringer, Scope/Appaloosa, Mustang, Hideout.
Works poorly against players with: Mustang, Hideout.
Commentary: While guns increased the range in which players could play BANG! cards, Binoculars/Silver increases the range in which players can play all cards with distance symbols. It should be noted that Binoculars/Silver does not modify the cards themselves. They have a fixed range. Rather, Binoculars/Silver changes your sight: the distance at which you view other players, which in turn affects the players whom you can reach with cards specifying distances. It allows you to see a player at a distance decreased by 1. Thus, a player typically seen at distance 2 without Binoculars/Silver (say 2 spots away from you, or an adjacent player who has a Mustang or Hideout in play) is seen at distance 1 with Binoculars/Silver. The result is that you can play against these players cards with the distance 1 symbol: Panic!, Derringer, Knife, and Punch. Also, as the rulebook explains, “Distances less than 1 are considered to be 1,” so it is not the case that by playing a Binoculars/Silver you suddenly cannot Panic! the player next to you. Binoculars/Silver also stacks with Scope/Appaloosa and Rose Doolan’s ability.
Mustang
Symbology:
(Old version only)Translation: While this is in play, others see you at a distance +1.
Description: Others view you at distance +1 (New version only).
Playable: On your turn, during phase 2 only. As with other cards played in front of you that have duplicates, you may not play Mustang if you have another Mustang in play already.
Suit and Value: 8♥, 9♥ (BANG!), 5♥ (Dodge City).
Card color: Blue.
Card family: Sight Modifiers.
Included in: BANG!, Dodge City.
Characters greatly enhanced by playing this card: Paul Regret (seen at distance +2, Paul Regret is hard to reach), Elena Fuente (target of less BANG! which often make her expend cards in her hand), Vulture Sam (makes it easier to turtle up and wait for opportune moment to eliminate another player and pick up their cards plus potential bonus), Bill Noface (greater control of when to take hits), Bart Cassidy (greater control of when to take hits), El Gringo (greater control of when to take hits), Tequila Joe (target of less attacks which can require him to expend Beer), Suzy Lafayette (does not stop chain-drawing except when she already has a Mustang in play), Big Spencer (with no Missed! to play, sight modification is his best defense), Johnny Kisch (playing a Mustang discards other Mustangs in play), Apache Kid (be subject to even less attacks than before), José Delgado (can be discarded from hand to draw 2 cards, won’t get stuck with duplicate), Sean Mallory (makes it hard to hit him while he is building up a powerful hand of cards), and Pixie Pete (helps protect him from attacks, while building a strong offensive hand), Claus the Saint (makes it easier to hook up allies with better defensive cards).
Characters who cope well with others playing this card: Johnny Kisch (playing a Mustang discards other Mustangs in play), Pat Brennan (he can steal the Mustang), Belle Star (The Mustang has no effect on her turn), and Rose Doolan (her permanent Scope-like ability makes the Mustang’s added distance less painful).
Characters who cope poorly with others playing this card: Slab the Killer (makes it harder for him to reach a player with his offensive ability), Willy the Kid (makes it harder for him to reach a player with his offensive ability), Doc Holyday (makes it harder for him to reach a player with his offensive ability), Suzy Lafayette (harder to chain-draw when adjacent players are out of reach of range 1 cards), José Delgado (he cannot steal blue cards from other players to discard without a sight modifier himself).
Works well in conjunction with: Hideout.
Works well against: Panic!, Knife, Derringer, and Punch.
Works poorly against players with: Conestoga, Rag Time, Cat Balou, Brawl, Can Can, Rag Time, Conestoga, Remington, Rev. Carabine, Winchester, and potentially Scope/Appaloosa and Binoculars/Silver.
Commentary: The Mustang is the inverse of the Scope/Appaloosa and Binoculars/Silver cards. It increases the distance by which others see you by 1. Thus, if a player was adjacent to another player, and he had the Mustang in play, the other player typically could not reach him with a Panic!, Knife, Punch, or Derringer (and potentially even BANG!). Being out of sight forces others to be unable to play most cards against him. Only cards lacking distance constraints—Cat Balou, Brawl, Can Can, Rag Time, Conestoga, Springfield, Buffalo Rifle, Indians!, Howitzer, and Gatling—can be used against him. As a result, Mustang is one of the most powerful defensive cards in the game, providing you with the time to build a powerful hand to unleash on others. And since it adds distance, players usually cannot steal it from you. Players should pay close attention to make sure they are not the only player another player can reach. Otherwise, they will often be the brunt of their cards simply out of there being no other alternative. Mustang does stack with Hideout and Paul Regret’s ability.
Hideout
Description: Others view you at distance +1.
Playable: On your turn, during phase 2 only.
Suit and Value: K♦.
Card color: Blue.
Card family: Sight Modifiers.
Included in: BANG!, Dodge City.
Characters greatly enhanced by playing this card: Paul Regret (seen at distance +2, Paul Regret is hard to reach), Elena Fuente (target of less BANG! which often make her expend cards in her hand), Vulture Sam (makes it easier to turtle up and wait for opportune moment to eliminate another player and pick up their cards plus potential bonus), Bill Noface (greater control of when to take hits), Bart Cassidy (greater control of when to take hits), El Gringo (greater control of when to take hits), Tequila Joe (target of less attacks which can require him to expend Beer), Suzy Lafayette (does not stop chain-drawing), Big Spencer (with no Missed! to play, sight modification is his best defense), Apache Kid (be subject to even less attacks than before), José Delgado (can be discarded from hand to draw 2 cards, won’t get stuck with duplicate), Sean Mallory (makes it hard to hit him while he is building up a powerful hand of cards), and Pixie Pete (helps protect him from attacks, while building a strong offensive hand), Claus the Saint (makes it easier to hook up allies with better defensive cards).
Characters who cope well with others playing this card: Pat Brennan (he can steal the Hideout), Belle Star (The Hideout has no effect on her turn), and Rose Doolan (her permanent Scope-like ability makes the Hideout’s added distance less painful).
Characters who cope poorly with others playing this card: Slab the Killer (makes it harder for him to reach a player with his offensive ability), Willy the Kid (makes it harder for him to reach a player with his offensive ability), Doc Holyday (makes it harder for him to reach a player with his offensive ability), Suzy Lafayette (harder to chain-draw when adjacent players are out of reach of range 1 cards), José Delgado (he cannot steal blue cards from other players to discard without a sight modifier himself).
Works well in conjunction with: Mustang.
Works well against: Panic!, Knife, Derringer, and Punch.
Works poorly against players with: Conestoga, Rag Time, Cat Balou, Brawl, Can Can, Rag Time, Conestoga, Remington, Rev. Carabine, Winchester, and potentially Scope/Appaloosa and Binoculars/Silver.
Commentary: The Hideout is the inverse of the Scope/Appaloosa and Binoculars/Silver cards. It increases the distance by which others see you by 1. Thus, if a player was adjacent to another player, and he had the Hideout in play, the other player typically could not reach him with a Panic!, Knife, Punch, or Derringer (and potentially even BANG!). Being out of sight forces others to be unable to play most cards against him. Only cards lacking distance constraints—Cat Balou, Brawl, Can Can, Rag Time, Conestoga, Springfield, Buffalo Rifle, Indians!, Howitzer, and Gatling—can be used against him. As a result, Hideout is one of the most powerful defensive cards in the game, providing you with the time to build a powerful hand to unleash on others. And since it adds distance, players usually cannot steal it from you. Players should pay close attention to make sure they are not the only player another player can reach. Otherwise, they will often be the brunt of their cards simply out of there being no other alternative. Hideout does stack with Mustang and Paul Regret’s ability.
I remember when we used an old deck with Appaloosa/Silver and we were only allowed to have one horse in play at any given time. It was interesting to compare an Appaloosa with a Mustang.
ReplyDeleteAttaching a scope to your arm and then punching someone far away just seems wierd. Same goes for throwing knife and derringer.
ReplyDeleteThis game is sometimes complicated!
ReplyDeleteHave scope on your firearm for better sight and shot.
ReplyDelete