Death Mesa: New Guidebook Available

I finally decided to get cracking on updating the Death Mesa Guidebook, which sadly required remaking it from scratch since I only had a really old file available with my computer being stolen. I added in all of the information, rewordings, house rules, and rules changes from patches 1.03, 1.02, and 1.01. I also included in the Guidebook the playtesting rules to the Zombie Renegade. I made some changes on gameplay when there all the ghosts only have 1 role for simplification's sake. I added in some Robbers' Roost cards in the card explanations, and I modified the methods of production.

You can download the new Guidebook here.

Death Mesa: Patch 1.03 and Zombie Renegade Playtest

I know you love all of these lovely patches to the game, especially when I haven't updated the player aid or Guidebook yet. I have a bit of an excuse with getting my computer stolen, but I really should have gotten to this already. Anyway, here are the latest changes, all of which will be included in the updated Guidebook.

1. Discarding to play another Dead Men's Deck card required only after a successful Death Mesa cards is played. The patched rules (1.02) claimed that after a ghost had played a Dead Men's Deck (DMD) card, they must discard a DMD card if they wish to play another. However, this seems to include both successfully played DMD cards and unsuccessfully played DMD cards (ones that were negated). Now, it only applies to successfully played DMD cards. This way a ghost may still feel like they can act each turn, and it will make the other ghostly team evaluate the card being played. Do they want to use their negation now, and risk not having negation for the next card?


2. Color Duel System is the new negation system. I decided this was the simplest and speediest method. If you are not familiar with this system, check out point #4 in Death Mesa Patch 1.02.


3. Optional Redraw for some Dead Men's Deck cards when only 1 ghost/1 ghost team is in play. Some of the DMD cards (Desecrate Grave, Syphon, Rob Grave) only affect other ghosts, which is good and fine when many ghosts are around. But what about when there is only 1 ghost or 1 ghost team around? They do not wish to hurt each other, and they cannot use them for negation since they would not want to negate one another's plans. The solution for these cards is to allow the ghost to immediately discard such cards when he draws them and draw others instead. Future versions of Death Mesa will have an icon in the bottom right to indicate this.

The last item of business is the need to playtest a new element to Death Mesa, "zombifying the Renegade." During my interview on Giant Firebreathing Robot, I noted that I was still not satisfied with the Renegade's position in Death Mesa. While he can still influence the ghosts strongly in Death Mesa, his actual potential to succeed in his role seemed slim. Even the Scofflaw victory that I describe in the Guidebook is pretty difficult to do (where he kills the living Sheriff, and becomes the new one). I have thought of an alternative, which I know complicate things, but I want the Renegade involved in the game.

This alternative allows the Renegade to return to life without having to eliminate and become the new Sheriff (the Scofflaw victory). The path to resurrection that I want playtested at the moment is:

1. When the Renegade dies, place his role card on top of his life point counter, so that all of the bullets are covered.


2. At the beginning of each future turn, move the role card down so that a new bullet is shown. After 3 bullets are shown, do not move the role card down anymore. He may choose to resurrect if:


3. He possesses a certain amount of "buried goods." At the moment, I want 6 buried goods to be the tested amount. Too many will make it too hard for the Renegade to resurrect (especially given the cards that deplete "buried goods"), and defeat the purpose. But he shouldn't get a shoe in to resurrect after 3 turns. To help him accumulate buried goods, instead of being able to discard any 2 DMD cards to Spook!, he can discard any 2 to draw a buried good instead. If the drawn card's suit is black, he may show it to draw another buried good.


4. With the 3 bullets showing and 6 buried goods accumulated, the Renegade may opt to resurrect as a Zombie on his turn if he has not yet drawn cards for the turn (otherwise, he waits until his next turn). This resurrection has the following stipulations:
   
   • The Zombie Renegade has no character ability, but has distance constraints and can die like any of the living characters.
   
   
   • He resurrects with up to 3 life points max, but he never resurrects with more life points than the living player with the most health. Thus, if the player with the most health has 2 life points, the Zombie Renegade resurrects with 2 life points.
   
   
   • He discards half of his buried goods (his choice). The others become a part of his hand. He then draws 2 card from the normal deck and continues his turn like normal.
   
   
   • His max amount of life points is always 3.
   
   
   • His victory condition is the same as when he was alive: Be the last man standing, killing the Sheriff last.
   
   If this is still seen as too strong, the Zombie Renegade may also have a card limit -1.

If all goes well with the playtesting, this will replace the Scofflaw victory currently described in the guidebook. Any thoughts or feedback?

Card Explanations: Sight Modifiers (Scope, Appaloosa, Binoculars, Silver, Mustang, Hideout)

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.

Return to the Card by Card Explanations Portal

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.

Return to the Card by Card Explanations Portal

Robbers' Roost: Card Colors 2

After looking at a color blindness simulator, I wasn't really happy with any of the color choices! I decided that I had to do something more to the card border, like how Dodge City added a gradient to the green cards. I added some slashes across the card border and made it more of a reddish orange. I have yet to decide whether it should have bullet holes or not. What do you think?

Card Explanations: Life Point Modifiers (Beer, Whisky, Saloon, Tequila, Canteen)

Beer

Italian Name: Birra.

Symbology:

Translation: Regain 1 life point (up to your maximum life point limit).

Playable: On your turn during phase 2 OR when about to lose your last life point. While this card can still be played when only 2 players remain, it has no effect.

Suit and Value: 6♥, 7♥, 8♥, 9♥, 10♥, J♥ (BANG!), 6♠ (explodes on Dynamite), 6♥ (Dodge City!).

Card color: Brown.

Card family: Life Point Modifier cards.

Included in: BANG!, Dodge City.

Characters greatly enhanced by playing this card: In general 3 life point characters benefit from life point modifiers like Beer more than others to stay alive and maintain their maximal card limit (Paul Regret, Pixie Pete, Vera Custer, Apache Kid), El Gringo (Allows him to steal cards from other players more when they are responsible for making him lose a life point), Bart Cassidy (Allows him to draw more cards from hits), Suzy Lafayette (does not stop her from chain-drawing, a last chance Beer allows her to draw another card if it is the only card in her hand), Tequila Joe (playing a Beer makes him regain 2 life points), Bill Noface (Crucial for adjusting his life points in relation to the amount of cards he draws during phase 1), Sean Mallory (He can easily store Beer in his hand to use as a last chance Beer, making it very difficult to steal/discard the Beer from him), Chuck Wengam (Allows him to regain life points, which he expends to draw more cards), Molly Stark (Last chance Beers played out of turn allow her to draw another card), Big Spencer (unable to play Missed!, obtaining and using life point modifiers is crucial), and Lee Van Kliff (The effect of Beer can be replicated by discarding a BANG!).

Characters less enhanced by playing this card: Sid Ketchum (since any 2 cards may be discarded to regain a life point, Beer has less use; however, Sid Ketchum may still discard Beer with another card to regain a life point once 2 players remain), Teren Kill (he cannot use a last chance Beer if he wants his ability to have effect).

Commentary: Life point modifiers are crucial for surviving as a BANG! Player. They not only keep you alive, but they also allow you to maintain a larger hand out of turn. You card limit, the amount of cards you can keep in your hand out of turn, is determined by the amount of life points you have. You tend to need cards in your hand out of turn to keep you from taking hits (BANG! and Missed! being the most important to have in hand to protect from bang type cards and Indians!/Duel). Of life point modifiers, Beer has a benefit and a detriment that the others do not have. First, Beer made be played in a “last chance” sense. Whenever a player is placed in a situation where he loses his last life point, he may play a Beer to regain 1 life point. This may be done in or out of turn. It is possible to lose a life point on your turn via event cards, Dynamite, or a Duel. The “last chance” Beer does not guarantee survival. In the case of exploding Dynamite, the affected player loses 3 life points no matter what. Thus, if he had 1 life point at the time the Dynamite exploded, he loses 3 life points (now at -2), and the “last chance” Beer would only restore 1 life point (adjusting his life points to -1). The player is still dead. However, if the player had 3 life points at the time of explosion, the “last chance” Beer would restore 1 life point, placing him at 1 life point (3-3+1=1). Beer can also be played even if it has no effect, such as when a player is already at his max health. This is useful for Suzy Lafayette, who can play it even at max health to keep chain-drawing. The downside to Beer is that it has no effect once 2 players are in play. Nonetheless, it can still be played with no effect, which is helpful for dealing with event cards like Miss Susanna. And at 2-player it is still useful for players that can play/discard cards for additional effects (Doc Holyday for BANG!, Sid Ketchum for 1 life point, and Uncle Will for General Store).

Whisky

Symbology:

Translation: Play this card and discard another card to regain 2 life points.

Playable: During phase 2 of your turn only.

Suit and Value: Q♥.

Card color: Brown.

Included in: Dodge City.

Characters greatly enhanced by playing this card: In general 3 life point characters benefit from life point modifiers like Whisky more than others to stay alive and maintain their maximal card limit (Paul Regret, Pixie Pete, Vera Custer, Apache Kid; although admittedly the need to expend 2 cards to regain the 2 life points can leave 3 life point characters open), El Gringo (Allows him to steal cards from other players more when they are responsible for making him lose a life point), Bart Cassidy (Allows him to draw more cards from hits), Bill Noface (Helpful for adjusting his life points in relation to the amount of cards he draws during phase 1), Sean Mallory (He can easily store Whisky in his hand to use at an opportune moment, as well as discard a card likely less crucial to his strategy), Chuck Wengam (Allows him to regain life points, which he expends to draw more cards), Big Spencer (unable to play Missed!, obtaining and using life point modifiers is crucial), and Lee Van Kliff (The effect of Whisky can be replicated by discarding a BANG!; he does not have to discard another card to replicate the effect).

Special Consideration for Suzy Lafayette: While drawing Whisky while chain-drawing ends the chain (a negative), having Whisky in your hand before chain-drawing can help initiate the chain by discarding a card getting in the way (such as Missed!/Draw, an unplayable BANG!; a positive).

Commentary: The purpose of life point modifiers was discussed with Beer. Whisky allows a player to regain 2 life points during his turn, versus the 1 regained through Beer. Another card must be discarded for Whisky to be played, so you will want to discard a card not crucial to your defensive/offensive strategy if possible. You will also have to be careful with event cards that require you play a certain number of cards on your turn since the discarded card is not considered to have been played. Besides this, since you can only gain life points up to your max health, Whisky is only fully effective when you are missing at least 2 life points. While Whisky cannot be played in a “last chance” sense like Beer, playing it still has effect while 2 players remain in play only.

Tequila

Symbology:

Translation: Play this card and discard another card to select any player who will immediately regain 1 life point.

Playable: On your turn, during phase 2, only.

Suit and Value: 9♣.

Card color: Brown.

Included in: Dodge City.

Characters greatly enhanced by playing this card: Bart Cassidy (Allows him to draw more cards from hits), Bill Noface (Helpful for adjusting his life points in relation to the amount of cards he draws during phase 1), Sean Mallory (He can easily store Tequila in his hand to use at an opportune moment, as well as discard a card likely less crucial to his strategy), Chuck Wengam (Allows him to regain life points, which he expends to draw more cards; but since he must expend another card to play Tequila, this is of marginal benefit), Big Spencer (unable to play Missed!, obtaining and using life point modifiers is crucial), and Lee Van Kliff (The effect of Tequila can be replicated by discarding a BANG!; he does not have to discard another card to replicate the effect. NOTE: the target of the replicated effect does not need to be same, so he could regain a life point and then grant a life point to an ally).

Special Consideration for Suzy Lafayette: While drawing Tequila while chain-drawing ends the chain (a negative), having Tequila in your hand before chain-drawing can help initiate the chain by discarding a card getting in the way (such as Missed!/Draw, an unplayable BANG!; a positive).

Characters less enhanced by playing (and then using) this card: In general 3 life point characters benefit from life point modifiers more than others to stay alive and maintain their maximal card limit, but since Tequila requires expending 2 cards to regain 1 life point, it is rarely worth it for them (Paul Regret, Pixie Pete, Vera Custer, Apache Kid, El Gringo), Sid Ketchum (since any 2 cards may be discarded to regain a life point, Tequila has no especial use when he needs to regain his own health; however, Sid Ketchum may still play Tequila to help another player regain a life point)

Characters enhanced by others playing this card: All the above characters in the enhanced by playing section are likewise enhanced when others play this card on them, and the 3 life point characters listed above in the less enhanced by playing section are enhanced when other players play this card on them since their own cards are not expended to get the benefit.

Commentary: The purpose of life point modifiers was discussed with Beer. Tequila allows a player to select any player to regain 1 life point. Thus, while Tequila might be used to regain a player’s own health, it also has a significant supportive function. In other words, you can play Tequila to increase the life points of an ally to help you achieve your goal. As with Whisky, another card must be discarded for Tequila to be played, so you will want to discard a card not crucial to your defensive/offensive strategy if possible. You will also have to be careful with event cards that require you play a certain number of cards on your turn since the discarded card is not considered to have been played. While Tequila cannot be played in a “last chance” sense like Beer, playing it still has effect while 2 players remain in play only.

Canteen

Italian Name: Borraccia.

Symbology:

Translation: Regain 1 life point, but since this a green card it means “Play this card, and on your subsequent turn, you may use this card to regain 1 life point.”

Playable: On your turn, during phase 2, only.

Usable: Your next turn after you played it, during phase 2, only.

Suit and Value: 7♥.

Card color: Green.

Included in: Dodge City.

Characters greatly enhanced by playing (and then using) this card: In general 3 life point characters benefit from life point modifiers like Canteen more than others to stay alive and maintain their maximal card limit, and Canteen beneficially once played does not take up space in the 3 life point characters’ hands (Paul Regret, Pixie Pete, Vera Custer, Apache Kid), El Gringo (Allows him to steal cards from other players more when they are responsible for making him lose a life point), Bart Cassidy (Allows him to draw more cards from hits), Suzy Lafayette (does not stop her from chain-drawing), Bill Noface (Crucial for adjusting his life points in relation to the amount of cards he draws during phase 1), Chuck Wengam (Allows him to regain life points, which he expends to draw more cards), and Big Spencer (unable to play Missed!, obtaining and using life point modifiers is crucial).

Characters less enhanced by playing (and then using) this card: Sid Ketchum (since any 2 cards may be discarded to regain a life point, Canteen has less use; however, since Canteen can be played in front of Sid Ketchum, it can be stored up for later use to be used in a “last chance” sense).

Characters enhanced by others playing this card: Pat Brennan (Easy card for him to steal from other players to use).

Commentary: The purpose of life point modifiers was discussed with Beer. Canteen is like Beer in providing its user with an additional life point, but it must be played during 1 turn, and then may be used during the player’s subsequent turns. Despite the wait, Canteen conveniently no longer takes any room in your hand as it is in play. However, it is also easier to steal/discard because of its being in plain sight. Unlike Beer, it cannot be used in a “last chance” sense. However, using it still has effect while 2 players remain in play only.

Saloon

Symbology:

Translation: All other players regain 1 life point, and you also regain 1 life point.

Playable: On your turn, during phase 2, only.

Suit and Value: 5♥.

Card Color: Brown.

Included in: BANG!.

Characters greatly enhanced by playing this card: In general 3 life point characters benefit from life point modifiers like Saloon more than others to stay alive and maintain their maximal card limit, but Saloon must be tactfully used while considering how it impacts other players’ life points (Paul Regret, Pixie Pete, Vera Custer, Apache Kid), El Gringo (Allows him to steal cards from other players more when they are responsible for making him lose a life point), Bart Cassidy (Allows him to draw more cards from hits), Suzy Lafayette (does not stop her from chain-drawing), Bill Noface (Crucial for adjusting his life points in relation to the amount of cards he draws during phase 1), Chuck Wengam (Allows him to regain life points, which he expends to draw more cards), and Big Spencer (unable to play Missed!, obtaining and using life point modifiers is crucial).

Characters less enhanced by this card: Sid Ketchum (since any 2 cards may be discarded to regain a life point, Saloon has less value; however, Sid Ketchum may still play Saloon to help other players regain a life point).

Characters enhanced by others playing this card: All the above characters in the enhanced by playing section are likewise enhanced when others play this card.

Commentary: The purpose of life point modifiers was discussed with Beer. Saloon makes all players (yourself, rivals, and allies) regain 1 life point. Due to its application on all players, you should consider when the most opportune time to play Saloon is. Often you will want to play it when you and/or your allies have missing life points while your rivals on the whole are either at max health. Since no life point modifier can give others life points above their max health, Saloon will be of little use to them. Unlike Beer, Saloon cannot be used in a “last chance” sense. However, using it still has effect while 2 players remain in play only.

Return to the Card by Card Explanations Portal

BANG! Video Game: A Look at Consumer and Developer Interaction

BANG! the Official Video Game, developed by Palzoun and Spinvector, has been out for about six months now. The initial release had no character abilities, no expansions, no multiplayer, and tons of problems (see my initial review here). In general, it was a buggy wretch. Most people who invested in it were likely die-hard fans who had hope that something great would come from it. The developer's ambition to become the first multicross platform video game was compelling, and if pulled off would not only create a great gaming community for BANG!, but also potentially pave a new way of approaching multiplayer (and multilingual) gaming in the industry for the future. A lofty goal, indeed.

Since the "release," some updates have been made to include character abilities, and more challenge AI, and bug-fixes, as well as expand the BANG! game to more platforms (Nokia and Playstation Vita the most recent). So there is proof the developers have been doing something. Nonetheless, the rate of development has been the problem. It has been six months and still there is no multiplayer for any platform and no expansions. Sure, there is the pass-and-play feature, but any board/card game fan knows this is a confusing and uninteresting way to play, especially with 5+ players. Since almost every action in BANG! likely requires a reaction, the passing gets a little obscene. Furthermore, BANG! is known as a great party game, a game to bring to a campout, and as a fun family Sunday activity. The fun is clearly focused on the people, and for the video game this is actualized in the multiplayer feature. Single player does not cut it for BANG! Without this feature being added soon, the video game will not go out with a BANG!, but a whimper.

What I want to focus on in this post is how the developers have interacted with their consumers and fan base in the past 3 months. Given that the multiplayer feature, which was anticipated to be added to the game quite soon has not appeared, it is no surprise that many fans have been upset. What has Palzoun done to assuage these complaints? The official website has posted its news and comments almost exclusively through Facebook, although they have sporadically used their corporate blog a couple times as well. They have around 1250 likes on Facebook, and customer interaction, which they have encouraged, has been decently high. The questions I want to ask and attempt to answer about the last 3 months of interaction are:

1. How have the developers communicated the development of BANG! with their customers and fan base?


2. What have the customers and fan base communicated to the developers, and how have the developers responded?


3. What are the potential reasons for why the developers have responded and communicated as they have?


4. What are possibly better ways for developers to communicate their delays and development progress in the future?

To answer the first two items, I will be looking exclusively at the remarks made on Facebook. The last items will be broached mainly out of personal speculation. I hope that it will provide some worthy thoughts regarding consumer-developer expectations and relationships, and stimulate discussion about Palzoun and Spinvector’s ambitious project.

Item 1: How have the developers communicated the development of BANG! with their customers and fan base? The best way to answer this question I think is to create a table of comments and then discuss the data.

Date	Topic of Communication
March 31	Ipad Review of Game
April 8	Bug-fix for iPhone
April 8	Customers are told comments are to be written in English
April 8	Multilingual update for PC
April 8	E-mail procedures regarding update order
April 23	Game featured on Ovi Nokia store
April 28	Review on Ovi Gaming
May 2	Spam problems with e-mail update system
May 5	Italian comment on claims about continuing development
June 1	Launch of BANG! on Nokia, claims that multicross multiplayer available in Summer 2011
June 23	Claims of following comments daily and that they are working hard

The majority of the comments are regarding reviews/features, minor updates (bug fix regarding random black screen, language options), and their updating procedures. However, my favorite of these updates was the April 8 comment that the fans were to write in English, "so to share information with as many players as possible" coupled with the May 5 comment on the game's development given completely in Italian. A close second is the developer commenting that BANG! was available on a Nokia Store on April 23 and a PR announcement that is available on Nokia Symbian-3 phones on June 1, while a customer talked about seeing it in the Ovi store on April 7 (poor PR). The table also shows a rapid drop in developer involvement after April. And while the table doesn't show this, most of the developer comments are devoid of content. While links to reviews are given, the promises from the developers do not show pictures, video, or explain the details on their developmental phases. They do not explain what part of a certain feature they are working on, what the challenges are, and thus the comments seem quite hollow.

Item 2: What have the customers and fan base communicated to the developers, and how have the developers responded? I will again use a table and discuss the data. This table will be organized slightly differently.

Comment Type	# Of	# Dev. Responses	Response Type	Customer Response
Platform wait	1	1	Is available	Satisfied
Price question	1	1	Discrepancy explanation	Satisfied
Language wait	1	1	Is available	Satisfied
Billing problem	1	1	Use support form	Satisfied
PC Update wait	5	1	Download procedural problem	Dissatisfied, some satisfied
150 Edition PC	4	2	No demo available	Dissatisfied
Pass-and-play PC	1	0	n/a	n/a
Multiplayer Wait	23	2	Announce when available	Dissatisfied, want time table
Available on Facebook	1	1	Won't happen	n/a
PC Update wait 2	5	3	Mocks customer, justification of development, available soon	Dissatisfied, some satisfied
Download problem	1	1	Contact support	n/a
Nokia version on Ovi	1	1	Is available	n/a
Symbian 1 version	3	1	Won't happen	Satisfied
Post-update Crashes	4	1	Contact support	n/a
Want expansions	14	0	n/a	n/a
Android version	8	0	n/a	n/a
Distribution complaint	8	2	Use support form, check spam	Dissatisfied
Mac version	3	1	Not for months	n/a
Console versions	2	1	Can't say	Satisfied
Bug with new update	2	1	Asks about system version	n/a
No response from support	1	2	Wait, support person ill, complain more and get removed	Dissatisfied and irritated
iPod card update	1	0	n/a	n/a
Multiplayer update news	30	2	It is hard work, working on it	Dissatisfied
Want refund	2	1	Contact support	n/a
Nokia version issues	2	1	Use support form	n/a
Developers don't respond	6	0	n/a	n/a
Customer loyalty problem	2	0	n/a	n/a
How to play BANG!	3	0	n/a	n/a

This table shows some interesting things. First, the developers generally do quite well regarding answering questions about platform availability (Android is an exception) and price questions. With technical issues, they rightfully point people to contacting support and using the support forms provided online. However, they have been quite poor in addressing fans' questions and comments regarding multiplayer updates, expansion and card updates, general news on their progress, and the desire for a time table. The developers are also a little touchy with the more rash customers, tending to respond negatively back, mocking them a couple times (although they admittedly try to rein it in afterwards). You get the impression that on the whole, the relationship with many of their customers is tense. Sadly, although this table does not show it well, the loyal fans that defended the developers from criticism started to become critics themselves over time when the developers ceased to respond on the whole to custom comments in mid-May nigh to the present. At the moment, it appears that the interactive customers are mostly frustrated with the product.

Item 3: What are the potential reasons for why the developers have responded and communicated as they have? Of course, we can point to the developers being busy: they are working on their product, trying to get things done. However, this is not a sufficient reason. Clearly, they should have a person(s) whose focus is entirely in marketing. They should have the time to respond to almost all customer comments. And these comments should be more than an acknowledgement. So far, on the tougher questions the developers seem to believe that simply stating "we are working on it," "it's hard work," and "soon" will satiate customers. However, it just hasn't done that. They need meatier responses than they have been giving. Do they not have a person who focuses on marketing (especially social media)? If so, this is huge fail for their marketing strategy. And if they do have such a person, perhaps the problem is that they have not drawn out a cohesive social media strategy. The result is a patchy, hit-or-miss approach.

Another challenge they seem to have is a language barrier. While the developers claim that customers should communicate in English as much as possible, it is clear from their comments that they are not native English speakers themselves. A lot of the grammar is incorrect, making customers wonder if the developers are communicating with the public via Google Translate. If so, we can see why communicating with the wider BANG! community is a challenge for them. But why don't they hire at least 1 native English speaker to do this?

The impression might be that their budget is tight: they don't have the money to spend on PR and marketing. Many companies have had to make cuts in these areas in the current economic depression, and Palzoun and Spinvector may be among them. But if this is true, how can they afford to try something as ambitious as multicross, multiplayer, multilingual gaming? The shoe doesn't fit.

The last possibility I can think of is that they just don't care. BANG! will get developed, and all these customer comments are just nuisances in the way. The people who want to buy the game, will buy the game. Dissatisfied customers can just go away, we don't need them. Unfortunately, this seems to cut drastically on the amount of customers they have (both actual and potential, including myself). I hope this is not the case.

Item 4: What are possibly better ways for developers to communicate their delays and development progress in the future? I have thought about this some, and I think the developers could make a significant improvement to their customer relationships by doing the following:

• Give meatier feedback. Saying "we're working on it" can work for a couple months. But eventually, people want evidence. Why don't they have screenshots, videos, interviews, or other forms of media (eye candy) showing that they have been making development progress? They could show gameplay where they have added new cards or characters to satisfy those wanting an expansion update, for instance. They could give a video of 2 BANG! players doing multiplayer on 2 different devices (say PC and iPad). This would show customers asking for a multiplayer update that real work is being done. While the video would clearly require a more tech-savvy marketing person, the screenshots do not. Most people can figure out how to work the Print Screen button, and then paste/crop the screenshot in MS Paint. Even textual additions could be useful here. You could have status bars for various items for the next update. Each developmental category could have a changing % bar showing how much of that category is complete. Or a table of game characters to be added could be listed and a check box placed next to them to show if they are done or not.


• Catalogue the developmental process. Even where features are not close to being complete, the developers could talk about the difficulty of finishing some project. Many actual and potential customers are interested in multicross platform gaming, and would interested to hear an interview (text, audio, or video) about challenges that appear as they try to make this goal a reality. What devices are particularly difficult in getting to interact? Why? Why hasn't the gaming industry accomplished this earlier? What attempts have been made in the past? Why did they fail? Have any succeeded?


• Set a time table for marketing communications. Instead of providing updates sporadically, they could provide some developer news on a consistent basis each week on a specified day. Fans would then know when to check in. The developers could discuss what they have worked on that week, what success they have had, and what challenges have come up. People would check it and be significantly more pleased about the incomplete product they paid for.


• Provide clearer content. Several customers asked for a more set time on the implementation of the multiplayer feature in BANG! In one developer news comment, they gave such a general time (Summer 2011). However, this time was embedded in the middle of a blog post on BANG! the Official Video Game being made available on the Nokia phone. Given that this "news" was not in fact news (the announcement coming 2 months after the fact), why would BANG! fans check out this post and find that nugget of information buried amongst the rest? With so many fans asking about the time of implementation, they should have communicated this message in a separate comment.

These questions have made me further wonder, has the development process for the multicross feature been executed well? As ambitious as a project Palzoun and Spinvector have set for themselves, have they taken the right approach? This question has been very difficult for me to answer due to their lack of transparency about the process. In their last post, they stated, "Many of you would prefear multicross with less platforms now, then later with more” (aside: this shows their language barrier). It seems that they are aware of other people's opinions, but they nonetheless disagree. Consumers seem to be thinking: Why are you trying to bring this game to so many platforms before instituting multiplayer? Why not focus on the core of your (both potential and actual) customers and work on getting multiplayer to work for them (PC, iPhone/iPad) first? You could get multiplayer to work for them separately and then get those more important devices to interact cross platform. Then add in the less important platforms. You can see the consumer's line of thinking here. I imagine that the developers' response is that this is too much of a headache in terms of time and money. It is easier (for us developers) to have the multicross platform multiplayer work from the beginning. Otherwise, the multiplayer we develop for each platform will have to be redesigned to work with other platforms, perhaps even each time we add a new platform. We don't want to have to do that, so no consumers, we won't do it your way. But there is an implied question in this whole debate: do consumers really care that much about having multicross multiplayer? Multiplayer in gaming has been fine so far, so why should they care that they can play with others across platforms so much? The lesson may be that multiplayer for most board game apps is essential; multicross is just an added bonus. Perhaps what Palzoun and Spinvector are trying to pull off is out of touch with their consumers’ wants.

Finally, the way it was released was a bit strange. Is it that common for developers to release their product in the state they did to essentially collect funds? Does this approach tend to work well? I think most BANG! players would have been pleased to wait without committing cash, than go through the slow, tedious developmental process that the video game has undergone. What do you think about the BANG! Video Game, and the interaction between the game's consumers and developers?