Robbers' Roost: Interrupts - Gameplay Changes

The goal behind interrupts was to make BANG! more enjoyable out of turn: reducing boredom and deepening strategy through increased interactivity and teamwork. Interrupts are event-triggered cards that could only be played out of turn. When you think of it, cards of the Missed! family function this way.

Triggering Event: *You are banged!* (not necessarily out of turn, but primarily -- Julie Cutter's ability and Backfire changed this)

Effect by playing: Missed! for oneself

This was an extension of that concept, except that most interrupts only indirectly help you. Mostly you further another player's goal that happens to coincide with yours. However, there problems arise by enabling this:

a. Just like Missed!, your hand can get cluttered with cards you can't play, because the triggering events have not occurred. Yes, you can discard when over your card limit, but this is not great because:

• This still clutters your hand until you are at your card limit
• The point is not to discard interrupts, but to play them
• It empowers Gary Looter and weakens Suzy Lafayette even moreso

To solve for this, the first version of Robbers' Roost allowed you to store any number of interrupts, so they did not contribute to your card limit. But this negatively allowed a player to store up potentially too many interrupts. True, they did have to wait to use them, but it could allow them to do a lot out of turn. The bigger problem with storing interrupts was it combined with the substitution function below.

b. Aiding other players no longer makes sense in a game where your allies are killed and in a game that can easily get down to just 2 players (player elimination). To obvious solution for this was to find a way so that interrupts do not "get in the way" when your team is eliminated. How would this be executed, however?

The first version of Robbers' Roost did this via a substitution function when certain conditions (state of currently roles) were met (such as for an Outlaw when the other Outlaws were dead). The interrupts could then be played as a different card. As I reflect on what I did:

 - This effectively revealed your role when you substituted, although I felt at the point that you could unlock the substitution function, the roles were very easily understood. That said, it could negatively impact a Renegade.

- Secondly, the substitution combined with the fact that you didn't have a card limit impact on interrupts, enabled the substituting player with a significant way to do a lot on their own turn (in ways they could not before). Perhaps this was seen as a way of adjusting the game a little more in that player's favor, which isn't all bad. But I hate OP sheriffs, which this made worse. I just felt it was creating loop holes I didn't like.

- I had to still create tack on rules for Suzy Lafayette. The cards became busier with the substitution function.

I now propose a more elegant solution:

• Once on their turn, players during the play phase may freely discard an interrupt and draw another card from the deck. Any role may do this; roles remaining/# players has no effect on this capability. It is open to all.
• Note how this will help Suzy from getting blocked at least on her first interrupt. The question will be if that is enough.
• Players can store 2 interrupts as a card that does not contribute to their card limit.
• I have also eliminated cards where the triggering event simply took too long to occur to want to store it -- I'm looking at you, Stand Off (Duels just aren't that common).

The only risk I see here is players not valuing an interrupt enough to not just discard it for the chance of getting a card that benefits them more directly. Yes, that other card would contribute to their hand limit, but what if it's that much needed blue or equipment card? I feel like the interrupts are powerful and have enough applicable conditions now that one won't immediately do this. They are a deterrent against some player actions when they see the extra interrupts on the table, and they allow players to coordinate with others in a way they couldn't easily before. But that is the risk. Would love to hear any feedback on this approach.

Robbers' Roost: Revising Interrupt Design

As I've been evaluating my Robbers' Roost proof and rulebook, I've been thinking more critically about the design and rules of the cards, particularly as relates to the interrupts. The windups I consider pretty solid and easy to understand, while the interrupts have these giant walls of text, and understanding when they can be played is less immediately discerned. They also introduce multiple new gameplay concepts, which I should seek to simplify or remove the number introduced.

As a result, I've been working on redesigning the content of these cards, so that they are more intuitive, within BANG!'s pre-existing symbolic language. I will need to add a couple new symbols (as I had with the line of fire concept) to best adopt the language. Here are some of the reworks I'm envisioning:

You can see on the left the originals, and on the right hand side the modified cards. The right side cards have a top text area, which indicates the condition on which an interrupt can be played out of turn. The bottom area describes what happens by playing this card when the condition is met. I think this reads much better to the eye.

Unfortunately, there are ramifications to using the symbolic language. This is because the BANG! symbol does not equate to a BANG! card. With abilities contingent on a BANG! card being played, this ability is lost when leveraging the interrupt (think Slab the Killer's). There really are only 3 options here:

a. Ditch the symbols.

b. Keep the symbols and add text that clarifies these count as BANG! (adding to text clutter)

c. Modify the original intent of the cards so that they no longer are BANG! cards and so do not trigger player abilities.

I'm leaning towards c, simply for the simplicity that it adds to understanding the cards.

Along those lines, I am enjoying the work I did to align Join Arms with the Buffalo Rifle's discard card cost, as a way to circumvent distance. I personally think I should nix distance restraints on all other interrupts, and just include that as a cost for executing on the ability. This change would then remove the need for noting distance modifications for a card or other limited constaints. This balances the lack of distance constraint, while also furthering the original intent of the cards (team work), which is essential in larger games where distance is all the more problematic. It's frustrating, for instance, that it is harder to help a team mate with Toss because they have a Mustang.

Other examples of changes:

I think these are look much cleaner -- these don't show the originals, but just the modified cards. Hit Me and Bleed Out are the only cards that completely align with the prior cards. Here are some of the challenges I have with these cards:

1. Bandages: Symbology is equivalent to Tequila, but there's a problem: in the original you can't play it on yourself, while Tequila you can. This reads as give 1 player a life point, while I need "give any player but yourself 1 life point." Ways to solve for this are:

a. Add clarificatory text (creates extra text, which is a downside).

b. Create a new symbol (I should only do this where needed; the "anyone else but you" concept is not often used)

c. Change original intent to align with symbol clarity, so you can play it on yourself.

I'm inclined, once more to side with C for simplicity.

2. Confiscate: This loses the notion that you are able to put the card yourself into play upon confiscation. I'm trying to determine if that is worth it. In this case, it probably is. I'll need to add, "that player's card in play. Put it into play."

3. Hit Me is good.

4. Bleed Out: I can't tell if I'd need to note "draw!" in the bottom area or not. I feel like it's intuitive Barrel, Jail, etc. I think I'll add just rulebook explanatory text. I added the lost health symbol (which I used for Moonshine before) that I think is clear. I'm not certain about the crown symbol for royals, as royals are not a suit, they are a subset of any suit. I probably either need to scratch any suit symbol and just create a "J-A" text, or create a pan-suit symbol to mean any type that value. I'll experiment with both.

Next example of how this is evolving. Quick Draw in particularly has proven tricky. One of the problems with the original Quick Draw is the concept of "using" a card. Green cards are discarded to use their effect, which is what this was intended to block. But discarding to use is different from using in general. Would this apply to a gun card already in play (i.e. a Volcanic)? To what else? I found this "use" concept as not clear enough to really put in place. Playing a card is clearer -- it happens when a card is put in play or played from the hand and discarded, so I've made that the new condition. I recognize the conceptual difference of how this now really only hinders defensive green cards, versus offensive ones (they're already disabled until their next turn anyway), but for the gameplay clarity, I consider that sacrifice worth it.

Beyond the playing condition, there is the effect of playing it which could also use rebalancing. I think it was too weak before -- It at best discards a BANG!, or delays use of a card for a turn. In addition, I think the card contributing to a card limit while disable, if a hand card, is an extra layer of complication that is unnecessary to manage/explain. I've tried to simplify it in the 3 examples (top left is original). 

1 - Top right is the simplest -- make it a straight discard the card played. It adds a card cost for that definitive removal. This makes the hand limit issue no consideration. However, one of the challenges for this and option 3 (bottom right) is that discarding a one-time use card may seem non-intuitive, as it is already naturally being discarded. What is really going on is a discard of a card put in play or a cancellation of a one-time use card played. Cancellation and discard are similar but not equivalent concepts. The discard card symbol may not carry that concept. I may need to put "(or cancel) that card." This is my current preferred option.

2 - Top left is closest to the original. It is more powerful in not allow a BANG! alternative; the targeted card will be disabled. For that, it requires a discard card cost. Frankly, this is weak enough that it should need no discard cost. The main challenge here is disabling is a new concept, and how it interacts with hand limits needs to be accounted for. It's probably best to just through disabling in a wastebin.

3 - Bottom right is a nice halfway point. It allows a BANG! to be played to avoid the discard, but if not, it's a true discard. It still has the problem with cancellation/discard, so this might end up even wordier: "They must discard a BANG!, or that card is discarded/cancelled." The symbol here is more flavor than standing in for a word, which is less stylistically consistent.

If I encounter other challenging one's, I'll note them here. I'll be tackling this as well: the whole concept of substitution as relates to the roles and role revelation. I received some criticism here, and I think there's some validity to the criticism, at least in going against the "spirit" of the game, even though any reasonably good BANG! player can infer roles extremely easily by the time that substitution would come into effect. I also have concerns about interrupts and impacts on the hand limit.

Robbers' Roost Redux POD Proof Arrived

My proof for Robbers' Roost arrived last night, and I was eager to open it up and see the results. Here's my assessment, with lots of photos!

What worked well:

- The size is fantastic as I'd fully expected, but it's still super rewarding to be able to order BANG! cards that are in the card size necessary to fit into the BANG! playing deck on demand. It's a giant leap forward for modders.

- New border designs turned out really well.

- Character design looked really crisp.

- Cards shuffle well.

- Did well on border spacing -- which I was worried with as related to the closeness of the borders to the edge in the BANG! cards v. the game crafter's template. I exceeded their recommended area ever so slightly to limit that design variance. Turned out well.

- The rulebook from game crafter turned out really nice too. I'm happy to offer this alongside the cards that you can print out. I caught a couple typos, but that's what proofs are for, right?

What needs work:

- Colors: These always print differently than you suspect on a monitor v. your home printer v. the POD's. And they also differ slightly on printing runs. You can notice some significant differences between the official BANG! card prints in between the expansions -- Wild West Show character borders are lighter, for instance, and their backs have a more orange hue. So I suspected differences here, and knew they would lack the linen texture that the official cards have. That said, I didn't expect the level of variation I saw in my proof. They're perfectly playable, but I'd still like to get this closer if I can. In general, the cards were darker:

- Borders too dark

- Card backs too dark (see far right cards):

- Bullet life points too dark (and a little small; this is on the front of the character card)

- A couple pieces of card art were darker than I'd like (Q&A, Pay Day, Disarm; only Q&A was really too dark, but I should still lighten all of them up)

Other observations:

- The printing, while pretty good in the quality of the prints, is a little blurry in some print areas. It's not a result of the media files, but the printing process itself. This is a minor quibble, but something I noticed.

- Design side -- I should make my icons slightly bigger. Some of the borders of my character art should be more feathered (gradient to white). Spacing between suit and value should be a little larger.

- Tuckbox definitely needed! This will compliment the cards and rulebook really well, so you can store Robbers' Roost and cart it around easier. I'll want a divider too.

I am pretty sure I can leverage this material:

https://www.thegamecrafter.com/publish/product/SmallProBox

https://www.thegamecrafter.com/parts/box-insert-pro-small

I've got 88 cards (44 to each side) plus a 20-page saddle-stitched booklet, which I think will work great. The 128 card limit for the box (64 to each side) gives me a 20-card thickness for the booklet, so I should be good. The wild card here will be how the divider works with the booklet. I'd hate for the cards to be completely loose, so divider is a must. Time to get cracking on some art. I'll make it pretty generic, but at least somewhat aesthetically pleasing.

Ideally here, you can "build your own" Robbers' Roost with all needed components, even if you have to somewhat assemble them once shipped to you.

- Curious if I can create a standardized way for the POD to print all of the "Dying Ain't Living" and then the "That'll be the Day" modules sequentially, so that no card sorting is needed.

Robbers' Roost Redux

It's been 9 years since Robbers' Roost released. BANG! has added new expansions (and spin offs, dice games), forcing a revision of Robbers' Roost if it's to remain compatible and distinct. Some cards are too similar to official expansion cards (Tomahawk), orange borders conflict with the orange borders of Armed and Dangerous cards, other cards or abilities are too devastating when put in conjunction with Gold Rush rules (Bulldog).

Integration elements aside, I've evaluated flaws in Robbers' Roost, both imbalances and confusing aspects of it. This has forced a rehaul of Robbers' Roost.

One positive is that years later we have printer on demand (POD) providers that can print the BANG! card size. Before you had to (a) sleeve extra BANG! cards, and slide the paper print outs inside the sleeves, or (b) arduously get a custom print deck and cut off excess length. Now, I can provide updated files and you can print them off at thegamecrafter.com in the BANG! card format. Yes, the colors won't match 100%, but it shouldn't be much of a problem as you cannot infer much from it (frankly, official BANG!'s own cards between the different expansions have color variances too, and that doesn't make me detect elements unfairly). I consider this an exciting development.

I put my order in today with rehauled Robber's Roost -- it just ships in 1 month (such is wait during COVID-19). I want to see the production quality of it, and see how I did on the borders with the edge of the cards. If all is well, I'll provide a step by step guide with files to create your own project and order a copy.

Here I'll break down the updates in the following order: (1) aesthetic updates, (2) general gameplay updates, and (3) card updates (which includes 2 new cards -- Flee and Duke Out). These updates will carry over into the cards and rulebook.

1. AESTHETIC ADJUSTMENTS

To update and future proof Robbers' Roost, I've reworked the borders of the new card types. Prior orange cards are now called "interrupts", and adopt a gun metal color with the streaks cut through the border to distinguish them. This should keep them from getting confused with Armed and Dangerous cards. Purple cards are now "windups", retain their purple color but have a barbed wire overlay. I'm tempted to make these colorless so I won't have to revisit color again in the future... I updated the icons on the 2 modules, adopting a pocket watch for the windup module ("That'll be the Day"), and a masked bandit for the interrupts module ("Dying Ain't Living"). The pocket watch divider for the windups was also reworked. On many cards, I updated the art and/or the name of the card (if it was used in a different expansion).

2. GENERAL GAMEPLAY UPDATES

a. Windup ("That'll be the Day") module:

No adjustments, but clarifications for windups for existing official characters and cards:

Vulture Sam: If a player is eliminated with windups in play, those cards are drawn into his hand.

Pedro Ramirez: Windups are resolved immediately after the drawing phase, so he cannot pick up his own expired windups with his ability.

Pat Brennan: Can pick up windups before the latent effect is resolved.

Mick Defender: his ability extends to windups, but to their initial effects only. Once in play, he cannot avoid the latent effects.

Ms. Abigail: can ignore the effects of windups with values J, Q, K, and A (royals) if she is the only target.

Lee Van Kliff: May play BANG! to repeat initial effect of a windup. The latent effect is not repeated

Cat Balou/Panic! style cards (inc. Whip/Squaw): Can steal and discard windups.

b. Interrupt ("Dying Ain't Living") module:

Clarifications for interrupt cards for existing official characters and cards:

Jesse Jones/Flint Westwood: Jesse/Flint cannot directly target an extra interrupt card. It is taken into hand, shuffled and randomly selected.

Molly Stark: She gains a card for playing interrupts out of turn. Substitutions used in turn provide no such gain.

Black Flower: Can use interrupts of clubs as extra BANG!.

Elena Fuente/Doc Holyday/Sid Ketchum/Porter Rockwall: Interrupts can fulfill card discard requirements.

Belle Star: Interrupts are not considered in play and so are not affected by her ability.

Suzy Lafayette: So that interrupts do not overly handicap Suzy, she may always use an interrupt’s substitution function. Thus, if she had a Volcanic in play, an interrupt’s BANG! substition could be leveraged.

Gameplay changes:

Interrupts adjust hand size limit rules, so that every player is allowed 1 extra card to their limit, as long as that card is an interrupt. This is indicated by an interrupt card (and only 1) being stored face down in the “in play” area, although still considered part of one’s hand. Once face down, this card is locked until used or discarded, when it is revealed. To consult the card, set the rest of your hand down before reading the interrupt.

The interrupt cannot re-enter the rest of your hand except when your hand is targeted for stealing (Panic!) or discarding (Cat Balou). In that case, add it to your hand, shuffle your cards, and let a card be chosen. If not stolen or discarded, set the interrupt back down.

Substitutions may be used (but are not required) for the following roles at the following times:

• An Outlaw when he is the last of his team remaining.
• A Sheriff when there are no Deputies or Renegades remaining.
• A Renegade when there are no more Outlaws or other Renegades, or only 2 players are remaining.

3. Specific Card Changes 

PLAYING CARDS

Ambush: Reworded and changed requirement to play.

Prior: "When a player attacks someone besides yourself, play this card to bang! the attacker."

Now: "When another player bangs! any other player but you, play this card and discard another to bang! the attacker."

Notes: "Besides yourself" could be confused as adjacent to, which was not the intent. Added activation cost for Ambush to align with the activation cost for Buffalo Rifle for the infinite reach of Ambush.

Artillery: Updated art.

Back Up: Tightened text, same meaning.

Prior: "When another player uses a card or ability to avoid an attack aimed at himself, you may play this card to fire a BANG! at that player if he is in range."

Now: "When another player cancels a bang!, play to fire a BANG! at that player if they're in range. For this card, they're seen at a distance -1."

Notes: Aligned it with current "cancellation" language of BANG!. Made it easier for team mates to work together with slight sight modification. 

Bandage: No change. Added symbol for the card to discard to play it.

Bronco: Slight immaterial rewording and art clean up.

Bulldog: Rebalanced. 

Prior: "You may discard a BANG! and another card to Gatling."

Now: "Once a turn, you can discard BANG! and another card to bang! all players in range."

Notes: "Once a turn" so not too many hits are delivered per turn. With Gold Rush rules, this was getting obscene. "All players in range" further limits it. It's a weaker Gatling, only able to hit by default players seen in distance 2.

Cannon: No change.

Confiscate: Updated art.

Disarm: Rebalanced.

Prior: Initial. Provides a missed! Latent. Discard a card from your attacker.

Now: Initial. Provides a missed! Latent. Discard a random card from the attacker's hand.

Notes: "Random card from the attacker's hand" makes it a more limited, but responsive Cat Balou. It was too powerful before.

**Duke Out: New Card. This card is similar to Duel, but the result is not loss of a life point, but a card in play (which is gained by the victor). The cards discarded are non-BANG! cards (you don't duke it out with gun shots!).

Text: "A target player discards a non-BANG! card, then you, etc. First player failing to discard loses a card they have in play to the victor, victor’s choice."

NOTE: Removed a Panic! from the RR deck as a result of this.

**Flee: New Card. This is a "run away" card; a temporary sight modifier. It gives the Missed! and increases your distance so that subsequent attacks in the round you may be harder to hit. However, as a result on your turn you will find it harder to shoot others as well.

Text: Initial. Provides a Missed!. Others see you at a distance +1 (unit your next turn). Latent. This turn you see all other players at a distance +1.

NOTE: Removed a Missed! from the RR deck as a result of this. 

Fur Trade: Added clearer text, so that there was no question of who would draw the cards.

Prior: Initial. Swap a card in play in front of you for a card in play in front of another. Latent. Both of you draw 1 card.

Now: Initial. Swap a card in play in front of you for a card in play in front of another. Latent. You and that player traded with draw a card.

Gaping Wound: Slight wording change. Now titled "Bleed Out."

Hit Me: No change.

Investment: Changed symbol in initial effect to remove confusion.

James Dougall: No change. This card is still sufficiently differentiated from other shotgun type cards that have come out since in Valley of Shadows and Armed and Dangerous.

Join Arms: Reworded.

Prior. "When a player fires a BANG!, play this card and discard another to shoot a BANG! at his target if he is in range. If you kill that player, split the potential spoils: both draw 2 cards."

Now. "If a player plays a BANG!, and their target’s in range, play this card and discard another to shoot a BANG! at the target. If you kill that player, split any spoils: both draw 2 cards."

Loan: Added clarificatory text.

Prior: Initial. Give a card from your hand to another player. Latent. Take 2 cards from that player's hand.

Now: Initial. Give a card from your hand to another player. Latent. Take 2 cards at random from that player's hand.

Molotov Cocktail: Renamed as Molotov.

Moonshine: Rebalanced.

Prior: Initial. Lose a life point. Latent. Gain 2 life points and draw a card.

Now: Initial. Lose a life point and draw a card. Latent. Gain 2 life points.

Notes: Offset the initial sacrifice and risk one took while one could have the card swapped/stolen/discarded by having the player draw the extra card in the initial phase.

On the House: Updated art.

Pay Day: Convert symbols in latent effect to text to clearly mean, "All other players draw a card" (It's not a mass Panic!).

Push: Significantly reworked. Defensive or offensive card depending on context.

Prior: When a player seen within distance 2 is about to take a hit, you may play this card to push him out of harm’s way.

Now: When another player is banged!, play Push to draw a card and either provide a missed! if they're adjacent; or have a player to you and them get banged! instead.

NOTES: In the latter case, this means the original bang! is redirected to hit the pushed play (you pushed them into the way of the bullet). Adjacency and next to was meant to circumvent some of the distance constraint impacts from Hideout, Mustang and Bronco.

Q&A: Rebalanced.

Prior: Initial. Provides a missed!. Latent. Your attacker is banged!.

Now: Initial. Provides a missed!. Latent. If the attacker is in range, they are banged!.

NOTE: The attack is still affected by sight constraints.

Quick Draw: Reworded to clarify what does contribute to the hand limit.

Prior: Play after a player uses a card. Unless he discards a BANG!, he must place the card sideways in front of him and cannot use it until his next turn. It does contribute to his card limit.

Now: Play when a player uses a card. Unless he discards a BANG!, he must set the card aside, unable to use it until his next turn. If a hand card, it still contributes to his card limit.

NOTE: The intent was not for cards in play to suddenly contribute to a hand limit.

Rob: Clarified to original intent.

Prior: Steal a card from a player's hand.

Now: Steal a card at random from a player’s hand.

NOTE: Intent was not for card to be of robber's choice.

Dive: Renamed as Get Down! with new art. Didn't make sense to me that you could dive distance 2, so rethemed it to you warning someone of danger with no distance constraints. That no longer made sense for taking a hit, so that function was moved to the Push card instead.

Prior: "When a player you see within distance 2 is going to take a hit, play Dive to take the hit for him. Draw a card from the deck."

Now: "When a player is about to take a hit, you may play this card and discard another as a Missed! on their behalf."

NOTE: Functions as a Missed! for another player.

Standoff: No change.

Taunt: Reworked to restrict cheating possibilities.

Prior: "Force the player whose turn it is to attack you if he can."

Now: "Force the player whose turn it is to attack you if he can. If he cannot, retain Taunt."

NOTE: Taunt as written before led itself too much to cheating to waste the Taunt. While I recognize all board gaming has some reliance on an honor system, it's good to reduce the reliance on it. Now the player can retain Taunt, and if the target draws a card in the middle of the turn, he can play it again, so he can't "claim he had no BANG!, but does have it now" and so shoots another player. 

Tomahawk: Renamed as Kick with new art. Tomahawk exists as its own card in Valley of Shadows.

Toss: Slight changes.

Prior: Give a card you have in play or in your hand to a player seen within distance 2.

Now: Give a card you have in play or in your hand to a player seen within distance 3. You cannot toss a Jail in play.

NOTE: Cannot use Toss to put someone else in Jail when it has been placed on you. Lengthened distance of Toss.  

Track Down: Added clarificatory text.

Prior: "Play on top of a player’s Mustang, Hideout, or other defensive sight modifier. Its effect is negated until that player discards 2 cards during his turn to remove Track Down."

Now: "Play in front of any player to decrease the distance by which they are seen by 1. The target may discard 2 cards during their turn to remove Track Down."

NOTE: Sight modification was intended regardless of whether or not a sight modifier was in play. Now it's an inverse of Bronco.

Warpath: No change.

CHARACTER CARDS

Anne Rogers: Reworded.

Original: "At the start of her turn, Anne can copy the effect of a blue card in front of another player, so that it is as if she possesses its benefit. At the start of her next turn, this benefit disappears."

Now: "At the start of her turn, Anne copies the effect of a blue or orange card in front of another player, as if she now has it in play. This lasts until her next turn."

NOTE: Broadened to incorporate Dangerous cards.

Crazy Wolf. Changed to Crazy Bull -- nothing wolf-like about the ox mask. Slightly nerfed.

Original: "When attacked he may discard a card from his hand to avoid the hit. Add the value of the card played against him with the value of the card he discards. If this value is greater or equal to 13, it counts as a Missed!; 17, a Dodge; 20, a Missed! and a BANG! against his attacker."

Now: "When attacked he may discard a card from his hand. Add the card’s value played against him with the card’s value he discarded. If ≥ 13, it counts as a Missed!; 17, a Dodge; 20, a Missed! and a BANG! against his attacker (if in range)."

NOTE: Rulebook clarifies values are blackjack rules -- K, Q, J = 10; A = 11. BANG! against attacker requires attacker be in range.

Eva Place: Rebalanced.

Prior: 4 LP. "She may lay a trap once on her turn: put a brown or green card face down in front of Eva and turn it sideways. If a player acts against Eva, she must flip a trap over and the card immediately affects that player. She may have 2 traps out, but only 1 trap activates at a time, her choice."

Now: 3 LP. "She may lay a trap once on her turn, placing a brown or green attack card face down in front of her and turning it sideways. 2 traps can be out at a time. If a player acts against Eva, she may reveal 1 trap. Use and discard it."

NOTE: Several nerfs occurred here as she was a brutal Sheriff. Notably, her health dropped and only attack cards can be laid as traps (more in line with the nature of a trap). BANG! no longer can affect at any distance. However, her trap activation is now her decision, versus necessarily occurring. 

Flint Dixon: added clarificatory language.

Original: "Whenever Flint plays a BANG!, he chooses whether his target must discard a BANG! or a missed! to avoid it. Barrel still may be utilized to avoid his shot."

Now: "Whenever he plays a BANG!, he chooses whether his target must discard cards with bang! or missed! to cancel it."

NOTE: Barrel/Jourdonnais' ability can still cancel it; I just didn't put it on the text. Saved for rulebook.

Job Musgrove. Clarified values of royal cards.

Johnny Pope. Reworded.

Original: "Once per turn, he may lose a life point and either give it to a player or make a player “draw!” On reds, Johnny steals a card from him. On blacks, that player must use 2 cards with missed symbols or lose a life point."

Now: "Once a turn, he may lose a life point and either give it to a player or make a player “draw!” On reds, Johnny steals a card from him. On blacks, that player must supply 2 missed! or lose a life point."

Josey Bassett: adjusted to make her slightly more interesting.

Original: "If Josey does not play any cards during her turn, she can draw 2 extra cards at the end of her playing phase. She can always hold as many cards in her hand as her max health."

Now: "If Josey plays no cards, or only puts cards in play (blue, green, etc.), she can draw 2 extra cards at the end of her playing phase. Her hand size limit always equals her max health."

NOTE: Josey can create a really efficient hand, but it was brutal for her to do nothing and be subject to targeted attacks, cat balous, etc. She was simply too boring to play. This offsets that some. It is a passive turn, but not a necessarily ineffectual one. 

Julie Bulette. Changed slightly.

Original: "Once on her turn, Julie may discard a card that she has in play or in her hand to draw a card. If it is a diamond, she may do so again, but Julie must show the card as proof."

Now: "Once on her turn, Julie may discard a card she has in play or in her hand to draw a card. If a diamond, she may reveal the drawn card to discard and draw 1 more card."

NOTE: Second draw also involves a discard. Her ability is all about hand efficiency. Her diamond bonus only occurs once on a turn.

Laura Billion: Changed when she draws the bonus cards.

Prior: "After she uses a green or brown card, or her purple card expires, place the card in a stack in front of her. At the end of her turn, she bids on a color: red or black. “Draw!” If correct, she selects 2 and draws them into her hand at her next drawing phase."

Now: "Instead of discarding her used green, brown, or purple cards, stack them by her. During her next draw phase, she bids on red or black. “Draw!” If correct, she selects 2 to draw, and discards the rest."

Lela Devere: Slight nerf.

Original: Whenever she would hit a player (except with Indians!), Lela may choose to steal a card from that player instead. The card may either be in that player’s hand or in play.

Now: "When she bangs! and would hit a player(s), she may draw a card from them instead of them taking the hit(s). The drawn card may be from the hard or in play."

NOTE: Doesn't apply with Arrow, Bleed Out, etc.

Lil' Sure Shot: Reworded.

Original: She carries 2 guns by default (2 Colt .45), and can fire both on her turn. She can play 2 gun cards, even if they are duplicates. Once she has 2 gun cards in play, only 1 BANG! is needed to fire both.

Now: She carries 2 guns by default, and can fire both on her turn. She can play 2 gun cards, even duplicates. Once she has 2 gun cards in play, she only needs to play 1 BANG! to fire both.

Maggie Mae. No change. 

Pat Barrett: Changed name and art to "Bill Hickmann", my gunslinger ancestor. Reworded ability:

Original: "Whenever a card is played or used against Pat that targets him alone, and resolved, he may immediately discard a card of the same color to draw that card from the discard pile."

Now: "After a card played exclusively against Bill is discarded, he may immediately swap 1 of his cards of the same color with the card in the discard pile."

Porter Rockwall: Reworded due to confusions.

Original: "He may discard 2 cards to produce a defensive or offensive BANG! directed at any player, regardless of distance. When he creates an offensive BANG!, it does contribute to his BANG! limit."

Now: "He may discard 2 cards to discard a BANG! or play a BANG! at any player, regardless of distance. This BANG! contributes to his BANG! limit."

NOTE: Made it more clear this can be used in Duel or Indians! if he lacks a BANG! card. Offensive/defensive language was confusing to some. 

Turd Ferguson: Slight changes to ease tracking. Adjusted wording.

Prior: "Once per round, Turd has a free Missed! that does not add to his card limit. Turn Turd sideways to indicate when he has this Missed!. When it is used, turn him back to the normal vertical position. These Missed! do not stockpile."

Now: "At the start of his turn, he gains a free Missed! that doesn’t add to his hand size limit. Turn Turd sideways to track if this Missed! is used. On his next turn, orient him vertically to refresh this Missed!. These Missed! do not stack. 

Queen Anne. Rebalanced.

Prior: She may discard a BANG! with another card to discard a card from any player at distance 2.

Now: Once on her turn, she may discard 2 of her cards (in play or in hand) to discard a card from any player.

NOTE: Her ability is now more efficient and in line with Pat Brennan's.

____

These are a lot of changes to soak in. I'm wrapping up a rulebook that you can enjoy soon.

Revised Robbers' Roost Guidebook Available

I completely recreated the Robbers' Roost Guidebook. It now has the most up to date information on the rules for the orange and purple modules. I have added several examples of how orange cards are resolved and played in different situations. The Guidebook also contains detailed explanations of the new and revised playing cards and characters. I have addressed questions about how to play certain Robbers' Roost cards in specific scenarios, as have been asked in the forums. Besides this, I have added a new method of production. Finally, there have been a few tweeks to some playing cards and characters (Jack West--now named Pat Barrett, Laura Billion, Lela Devere, Porter Rockwall, and Confiscate). The 8.5" x 11" playing card sheets have been reuploaded with these adjustments.

Now that I believe I have adjusted a little more to being a new parent, I should be able to dedicate some more time to the BANG! Blog. I am excited to get the RR POD out, as well as write more on Gold Rush, Valley of Shadows, and the multiplayer, multicross-enabled BANG! video game. Expect more posts soon!

Download the new Robbers' Roost Guidebook here.

Robbers' Roost: Updated 8.5" x 11" Card Sheets Available

Gearing up for the POD-ready print-and-play files for Robbers' Roost, I have updated and provided for download new 8.5" x 11" card sheets. These updates include:

• The new purple cards. All of the values have been changed across the board to help with modularity. The "orange" expansion can be played separately from the "purple," or together with it, with no significant imbalance to BANG!. The orange expansion is identified by the horseshoe symbols (characters were given this symbol too), while the purple expansion is identified by the oxhead symbols.


• All the latest adjustments to the playing cards.


• All the latest adjustments to the characters.

Furthermore, certain character abilities have been adjusted once again:

• Jack West. I noted before how his ability was too similar to "Colorado Bill" in the upcoming Czech expansion, Valley of Shadows. My general opinion is that modders should strive for compatibility and novelty across the expansions. I will be working very hard to make RR compatible with Death Mesa, Gold Rush, Wild West Show, Valley of Shadows, and even Directors' Cuts. I also want RR to provide something new in all of its new cards. Jack West's ability has thus been changed to the following: "Whenever a card is played or used against Jack, and resolved, he may immediately discard a card of the same color to draw that card from the discard pile." I thank those that helped me consider a new ability for Jack.


• Flint Dixon. Due to player feedback, Flint's ability has become slightly more complex: "Whenever Flint plays a BANG!, he chooses whether his target must discard a BANG! or a Missed! to avoid it. Barrel still may be utilized to avoid his shot.


• Crazy Wolf. The change of values in the cards made me adjust his ability somewhat. Now, a sum 13+ provides a Missed!, 17 a Dodge, and 20 a Missed! + BANG! against his attacker.


• Queen Anne. To balance her more with Pat Brennan, her ability has been modified: "Once on her turn, she may discard a BANG! and another card to discard any card in play."


• Josey Bassett. Josey can now use cards (green) during her turn and still get her bonus. Latent effects of purple cards will also not impede the bonus: "If Josey does not play any cards during her turn, she can draw 2 extra cards at the end of her playing phase. She can always hold as many cards in her hand as her max health."


• Laura Billion. If the "draw!" is successful, she draws the cards during her next drawing phase. This was changed so as to not create any problems with dynamite explosions, Jail, etc.


• Lela Devere. Wording changed to be clearer: "Whenever she would directly hit 1 player, Lela may choose to steal a card from that player instead. The card may either be in that player’s hand or in play."

You may download the zip file containing all Robbers' Roost PDFs here. I would appreciate if any blog readers might print out the RR characters (even in black and white) and play test them during some games. RR characters could be played with alone, selection being done out of a bag that the print outs were thrown into. Thanks! I hope this is enjoyed by some.

As a final note, I have finally updated the Robbers' Roost page to have the most current information on the expansion.

Robbers' Roost: New Card Sheets Ready for Prototype

I have finally finished the 5 18" x 12" cardsheets for Robbers' Roost with all of the different modules in place. Next week I will make my first order with a printing service, and try to get the right color balance for the backs. When I get the cards, I will make sure to post photos. Then, I will finish up card changes, and any adjustments necessary from looking at the prototype.

Robbers' Roost: Character Edits and Playtesting Request

I have reworded and adjusted the abilities of several Robbers' Roost characters. This was done to avoid confusion, as well as for balance. Here are the changes:

Lil' Sure Shot: She carries 2 guns by default (2 Colt .45), and can fire both on her turn. She can play 2 gun cards, even if they are duplicates. Once she has 2 gun cards in play, only 1 BANG! is needed to fire both.

Adjustments here make her more competitive with Willy the Kid. Willy can play any number of BANG! at distance 1 at the beginning of the game. Lil' Sure shot can do 2 at distance 1 at the beginning of the game. A gun card will increase Willy's range for all his BANG!; a gun card increases Lil' Sure Shot's range for 1 of her BANG!. However, once she has 2 gun cards, only 1 BANG! is needed to fire both her guns. Finally, to fit more thematically were Lil' Sure Shot's dual-wielding ability, I specify that she may have a duplicate gun card in front of her.

Queen Anne: She may discard 2 cards with bang! symbols to discard a card from any player she sees within distance 2.

Earlier, I adjusted her ability so that she had to discard 2 BANG!, but I have broadened it so that it applies to any 2 cards with bang! symbols. These can be from her hand or ones she has in play (green cards). So, she can use her ability slightly more often (at least without nixing all of her BANG!), but still at the expense of knocking out her fire power.

Laura Billion: After she uses a green, brown, or purple card, place the card in front of her. At the end of her turn, she may select 2 and “draw!” On royals, Laura draws the 2 into her hand at the beginning of her next turn.

Laura's ability is now optional, and the "drawing!" (like in the previous change) only occurs once (this helps balance her better against John Pain). So that she does not get an undue obscene benefit (5 cards gained by the "draw!"), I have made it so she can only receive 2 of her choice.

Porter Rockwall (previously Porter Rockwell): He may discard 2 cards to discard a BANG! or play a BANG! at any player, regardless of distance. BANG! that are played do contribute to his BANG! limit.

Simple rewording for clarity's sake.

Anne Rogers: At the start of her turn, Anne can copy the effect of a blue card in front of another player, so that it is as if she possesses its benefit. At the start of her next turn, this benefit disappears.

Anne's ability and wording was changed, so as to avoid any complications with duplicate card "possession" (if she copies a gun card, did she lose her previous weapon? What happened if she copied a Mustang and had a Mustang?). Now, she copies the effect of the blue card. This gives her some interesting stacking bonuses: she could have a Mustang in play and copy another player's Mustang to be seen by others at a distance +2. She could have a Volcanic out and copy a Winchester. Then, she could keep her Volcanic, but choose to shoot at a player she sees at distance 5. If this was done, she could only fire 1 BANG! for her turn.

Maggie Mae: If the second card she draws is royal, Maggie may swap a card she has in play for a card another has in play. Maggie must show that the second card she drew was royal immediately if she wishes to use this ability.

Mostly reworded her ability, but I wanted to point out some powerful results of her ability that I need to spell out in the guidebook. A powerful, but not obvious, consequence of her ability is how she can benefit from green and purple cards. The swapping of the cards does not mean that she steals the card and then plays it. The card garnered from swapping remains in play the whole time. This means she can swap for a green card and use it that turn. Similarly, swapping for a purple card means the immediate effect will not occur, only the latent at the beginning of her next turn. This is extremely beneficial for avoiding initial effects requiring a sacrifice, such as Investment, Loan, and Moonshine. Thus, she could hurt a player significantly by swapping out a card for 1 of those 3. She would get the highly beneficial latent effect without the initial sacrifice, and the player she swapped with still had to pay the initial cost!

Finally, there is the issue of Jack West. I had created a special ability for a character that will be used in the upcoming Czech expansion published by Albi (Valley of Shadows). I don't mind the overlap, but to make Robbers' Roost as unique as possible for all players, I thought every ability should try to be unique. As a result, I am working on a new character ability. I would like your feedback on which one you like most.

1. The first possibility is a resistance to steals/discards. I could see this coming in 1 of 2 forms: (a) Whenever another player tries to steal or discard a card he has in play, Jack takes that card into his hand. A card is selected at random from his hand to be stolen or discarded. If the initially selected card is not chosen, it returns to play. (b) Whenever another player tries to steal or discard a card from his hand or in play, Jack chooses which card he loses. However, the chosen card must be in play if the initially selected card was in play; likewise, if the initially selected card was in his hand.


2. Another possibility is a card disabling ability. It would run something along the lines of: "During his turn, Jack may discard 2 cards to disable any card (take it out of play). Flip the card over, so its back is showing to indicate that it is disabled. The card may be reactivated by its owner discarding 2 cards on his turn. However, Jack may reactivate his cards at no cost on his turn." Disabling is a new effect that has not been used in BANG! before. It nullifies a card temporarily, but does not remove it from its owner. However, it does take it out of play, and so a player may put in play another copy of that card. If the disabled card was reactivated, one of them would have to be discarded. Also, being out of play, the disabled card cannot be stolen or discarded. This is beneficial for Jack, since he could disable his Volcanic, and play a different gun card to reach a player further away. Also, he could prepare a backup Mustang or Barrel, in case he has one stolen/discarded.


3. A card drawing ability: "If he plays and uses cards of only 1 suit during his phase 2, he draws a card at the end of his phase 3. If the drawn card is the same suit he was playing and using during phase 2, he draws another."


4. A powerful defensive/offensive ability: "Anytime Jack is hit by another player, he may "draw!" On royals, his attacker loses a life point." Jack would definitely only have 3 life points if he was given this ability. This defensive ability could be inverted, so that "Anytime Jack hits another player, that player must "draw!" On spades, that player loses another life point."

Any opinions on which 1 you think is best? I prefer one of the first or second options myself, but I am interested to see what you think.

__

To the next item of business! I need to have the Robbers' Roost characters playtested before I have people printing them off using printing services. If I updated 2 8.5" x 11" card sheets with them, would anyone bother printing them out, playing with them, and reporting how the play tests go?

Robbers' Roost: Latent Effect Card Design

Since describing how I would carry out the modularity of Robbers' Roost, I have been designing the latent effect cards, and I thought I would show some of my results.


The following should come to your attention:

1. Purple Border. This border should help distinguish the unique playing style of the latent effect cards. As with green and blue cards, the purple cards are played in front of you. However, when played they have an immediate effect, and at the beginning of your next turn a latent effect (this cannot be stored up for use as with the green card). To help distinguish the color of the card, I made the top left and bottom right corners be a darker hue of purple than the other quadrants.


2. Pocket Watch symbol. The pocket watch symbol in the middle of many of the card descriptions separates the initial effect (on top) from the latent effect (on bottom). This design style is similar to Dodge City's 2 effect cards (like Dodge), which had a symbol separate 1 effect from another.


3. Ox Skull Icon. This helps differentiate the latent effect pack from the out-of-turn pack in Robbers' Roost for modularity purposes.

I have finished the general design of all of the purple latent effect cards:


The art still requires some tweeking and I still need to work on reassigning card values for modularity purposes. As with other BANG! expansions/cards, I will try to keep the values thematically appropriate or consistent with their card types.

Robbers' Roost: Modularity Progress

Robbers' Roost will be broken down into 3 modular components:

1. The characters (16 cards).
2. An initial/latent effect card pack (24 cards).
3. The out-of-turn orange card pack (48 cards).

Each of these should be fine to incorporate into BANG! or BANG! + Dodge City with little problems, and it is fine to include all of them at once too. Each of the card packs will have their own symbols in the top right to distinguish them. The need for balance keeps me from including just 1 color of cards in a pack, sorry.

At the moment, the initial/latent effect card pack looks like it will include:

5 BANG!
1 Beer
2 Disarm (new version): Initial - Missed!. Latent - Discard a card from the attacker's hand.
2 Fur Trade: Initial - Swap a card in play in front of you for a card in play in front of another. Latent - Both of you draw a card.
1 Investment: Initial - Discard a card from your hand. Latent - Draw 3 cards.
1 Loan: Initial - Give a card from your hand to a player. Latent - Take 2 cards from that player's hand.
1 Missed!
1 Molotov Cocktail: Initial - Gain 1 life point. Latent - BANG! a player you see at distance 1.
1 Moonshine: Initial - Lose 1 life point. Latent - Gain 2 life points and draw a card.
1 Bulldog
1 James Dougall
1 On the House (new version): Initial - Gain a life point. Latent - All other players gain a life point.
1 Panic!
1 Pay Day (new version): Initial - Draw 2 cards. Latent - All other players draw a card.
1 Q and A: Initial - Discard a card when playing it for a Missed!. Latent - BANG! the attacker (regardless of distance).
1 Show Time: Initial - Discard a card from a player seen at distance 1. Latent - Draw a card.
1 Warpath: Initial - Discard a card when playing it force a target player to discard a BANG! or lose a life point. Latent - All other players must discard a BANG! or lose a life point.
1 Tomahawk: Initial - BANG! a player seen at distance 1. Latent - That player must discard a BANG! or lose a card in play in front of him of his choice.

The out-of-turn orange pack includes:

2 Ambush
1 Artillery
2 Back Up
1 Bronco
1 Cannon
2 Confiscate
1 Dive
1 Gaping Wound
1 Join Arms
2 Quick Draw
2 Rob
1 Stand Off (with only 5 Duel/Face Off in the deck, 2 Stand Off seemed a bit much)
1 Taunt
2 Toss
1 Bandage (new version): You must discard another card when playing it give 1 life point to another player. More balanced with Tequila now. Only 1 in the deck now to help give more Beer for Tequila Joe.
1 Track Down
2 Hit Me
2 Push!
2 Missed!
1 Panic!
1 Indians!
1 Duel
1 Face Off
1 Cat Balou
2 Beer
1 Barrel
7 BANG!
1 Scope
1 Volcanic
1 Remington (needed more LD weapons)
1 Mustang
1 Jail

The characters will all remain the same, besides a few tweeks. For instance, in play tests Queen Anne has been found to be too strong. She will have the ranged-Cat Balou ability, but the cost will have to be redetermined. "Drawing!" every time Laura Billion used a card was too much. Now she "draws!" for all the cards she used at the end of her turn. Changes will be posted. Thanks!

Robbers' Roost: Latent Effect Cards

Ever desiring to make Robbers' Roost as good as possible, I have made some changes to the expansion that I am hoping you will like. The first is an effort to make the expansion more modular. The expansion cards values will be rearranged so that you can choose what portions of Robbers' Roost you want to play with. Thus, you can mix and match the new characters, the orange cards, and the additional cards (so you could play without the orange cards but the rest for instance) with no imbalance in the suits and values.

Besides this, I will be including in Robbers' Roost another type of card besides the orange cards. These new cards have both an initial effect and a latent effect: the moment you play cards of this type something occurs. After this immediate action is resolved, instead of being discarded the card remains in play in front of you. At the beginning of your next turn (after Dynamite and Jail are resolved) the card produces another effect (this is done automatically, it cannot be stored up like a green card).

Some of these cards will require initially or latently for their player to make a sacrifice, so there is a risk in playing many of the cards. For instance, one card that I am bound to include, is called Investment. When a player plays Investment, he initially has to discard a card from his hand. At the beginning of his next turn, however, he draws 3 cards. The risk, of course, is that the card could be stolen/discarded in between his turns and he could lose his investment. The new Pay Day has its player draw 2 cards initially, and all other players draw a card latently. The benefit comes beforehand, and this allows for some interesting strategies: the player who played it could steal Pay Day after playing it to play it again (so that the initial effect would be produced twice and the latent effect only once), or discard the card if he didn't want others to get the benefit. So these cards should create some interesting situations.

I don't know if these cards need a different card color, or simply a new symbol. Dodge City added a symbol for when 2 actions would occur when a card was played. So these cards might have a symbol to indicate the initial and latent effects instead of adding a new color, since I see the color as having few funtional benefits.

Let me share the ideas I have for these new initial/latent effect cards. Some of them will replace some of the original game cards that I placed in Robbers' Roost, because they will be a fair substitute for the effects of the original game. There is an astericks near the cards I particularly like. I would appreciate some feedback on these cards, since I do not plan to use all of them in the game.

Draw Cards:

1. Investment* - I (initial): Discard a card from your hand. L (latent): Draw 3 cards.


2. Pay Day (replaces old Pay Day) - I: Draw 2 cards. L: All other players draw a card.


3. Pow Wow - I: Draw 3 cards. L: Draw no cards on your next turn.

Attack Cards:

1. Mug* (replaces Panic!) - I: Discard another card when playing it to BANG! D1. L: Steal a card from that player.


2. Tomahawk (replaces old Tomahawk)- I: BANG! D1. L: "Draw!" On royals, return Tomahawk to your hand.

Special Attack Cards:

1. Warpath (Replaces extra Indians!) - I: A target player must discard a BANG! or take a hit. L: All other players must discard a BANG! or take a hit.

Defensive Cards:

1. Smoke Signal - I: Show your hand to all other players. L: Discard any red as a Missed! until your next turn.


2. Confuse /Throw Off* - I: Discard a BANG!. L: You are seen by others at a distance +1 until your next turn.


3. Disarm (replaces old Disarm) - I: Discard another card when playing it for a Missed! ; L: Discard a card from your attacker's hand.


4. Question and Answer. I: Missed! L: BANG! your attacker (if applicable).

Life Point Modifiers:

1. Molotov Cocktail* - I: Discard another card when playing it gain 1 life point. L: BANG! any player seen at distance 1 (D1).


2. Moonshine - I: Gain 2 life points. L: Lose 1 life point.


3. On the House (replaces old On the House) - I: Gain 1 life point. L: All others gain 1 life point.

Steal/Discard Cards:

1. Loan* - I: Give another player a card from your hand. L: Take 2 cards from that player's hand.


2. Fur Trade/Trading Post* - I: Swap a card in front of you for a card in front of another player. L: Both of you draw a card from the deck.


3. Show Time/Burlesque (replaces Cat Balou) - I: Discard a card from another player D1. "Draw!" On reds, draw the discarded card.


4. Stampede (replaces old Stampede)- I: Discard a card in play in front of you. L: Place Stampede on top of a card in play in front of another player. They cannot use or utilize that card until Stampede is removed.

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?

Robbers' Roost: Card Colors Question

As I have become more sensitive to those who are color blind, or those who just have a little more distinguishing one color from another, it has come to my attention that the goldish brown card borders and the orange card borders look somewhat similar (far left of the image below). I tried to tweek the orange to be a little more apparent, but they still look somewhat close. Is it easy enough to distinguish these borders from one another? Or should I go for a red, purple, or other more distinguishable border color?

Robbers' Roost: POD Files Preview

I worked hard this weekend to redesign all of the Robbers' Roost files and get them all up in the appropriate templates. Shots of the 4 card sheets are below.









The card sheets show several changes I have made. I noted some of the character ones yesterday. I made an additional change to Flint Dixon today: I clarified that Barrels can still be used to avoid his shots.

As for playing cards (changes in bold):

• Standoff (completely redone) -- Join a side when a Duel is played. Either you or your ally can discard a BANG! to return fire. Each member of the losing side takes a hit when the Duel ends.


• The Flop (reworded) -- Reveal 3 cards (the flop). Players choose 1 or 2 cards from their hand to complete the flop, and place them face down. Afterwards, flip the cards over. The best poker hand wins the flop. The other cards are returned to each player’s hand.


• James Dougall (redone) -- Range 2. 2 BANG! may be fired from this gun at once if directed at the same target.


• On the House (added) -- All players gain 1 life point. Equivalent of a Saloon, but it is a green card.


• Ambush (2 in the deck now instead of 1).


• Distracted (Removed from the deck).


• Rattlesnake (Removed from the deck).


• Cowboy Boots (Removed from the deck).

I still need to proof the text, the card titles, and the alignment on the images. I also need to work on getting as good a copy of the BANG! backs as possible. Then it will be off to sending the files to the POD, and mailing cards for color correction and sizing adjustments.

Robbers' Roost: POD Character Update

Since losing my computer, it has taken some time to rescan art I have drawn, BANGify the art, and recreate some templates. I finished the characters early this afternoon:



As you can see from the image above, I also changed some of the art. I felt some of the old art was a little bland for the characters, or didn't fit their ability/historical figure as well. I hope you will like the changes. In the mean time, I have also rebalanced some of the character abilities and modified others. Of note (changes made in bold):

• Queen Anne: She may discard a BANG! with another card to discard a card from any player she sees within distance 2.


• Eva Place (3 life points instead of 4): She may lay a trap once on her turn: put a brown or green card face down in front of Eva and turn it sideways. If a player acts against Eva, she must flip the trap over and the card immediately affects that player. She may have two traps out, but only 1 trap activates at a time, her choice.


• Lela Devere: Whenever she would personally hit a player, Lela may choose to steal a card from that player instead. The card may either be in that player’s hand or in play.


• Josey Bassett (completely redone): If Josey plays no cards during her turn, she can draw 2 extra cards at the end of phase 2. She can always hold as many cards in her hand as her max health.

Robbers' Roost Robbed (and Much More)

Well, the bad news is that today my laptop got robbed out of my sister's car. Unfortunately, this had the majority of my BANG! files and information, leaving me almost up the creek without a paddle. The chances of getting this computer back (or receiving any compensation for it) are slim to none. On the flip side, a lot of my BANG! design files are on my old laptop, and so I have only lost most things post-March. Of course, this is still a lot of stuff, and will most greatly influence my work on the Robbers' Roost expansion.

I will try to get on this again, but I don't think a June release will happen anymore like I was hoping for. Honestly, I expect something far more like an August release. Sorry. I will have to redesign many files, although I must say that I am grateful that I posted some things online for you guys that I will now have the benefit of reusing myself. Redoing the Death Mesa and Robbers' Roost guidebooks for patched information will also be a major pain. Ugh; but such is life. Things might be a little slower here at the BANG! Blog for the next little bit.