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?

Forum Post: Speeding up BANG! through Changing Turn Phase Orders

In an effort to promote the forum, I have made an interesting post on trying to speed up BANG! through modifying phase orders. I would love some feedback on this idea! The best idea I had for this I think is as follows:

Set up #4
Phase 1: Add cards from separate pile into your hand (see phase 4).
Phase 2: Play Cards
Phase 3: Discard Cards
Phase 4: Draw cards from the top of the deck for the next turn and place them in separate pile, unable to be used until your next turn.

#4 keeps the essential set up of the phases, but adds a fourth phase. The cards drawn in phase 4 cannot be added to your hand. Thus, they do not help defend you from any BANG! this turn, but neither can they be stolen or discarded. They can be looked at (so you can strategize), but you cannot use them until your next turn. This gives you something to do while you wait your turn, and makes the next turns quicker! They will influence somewhat what cards you will play out of turn (should I expend a BANG!/Missed! in between turns if I know I will not draw one next turn), but I don't think this unfairly benefits any characters too much. Please tell me if I am wrong! If you are placed in Jail, you simply cannot use those cards for another turn. Keep them in the separate pile until you have a turn. If there is an event card in play that limits the amount of cards you can draw, only draw that many. If an event card comes into play limiting the amount of cards you can draw after you have drawn for the next turn, 1 of 2 things could happen: (1) The preferred way is for the event card to affect the cards drawn for the next turn. (2) If you wanted the event card to affect that exact coming turn, you could have the players have cards from the separate pile randomly discarded. (1) is clearly the easiest and quickest. What do you think?

This gives you some idea of the content discussed in the post. Please check out the rest of it, and give me some feedback there.

New Feature: Card by Card Explanations

As I have been looking at new content to provide at The BANG! Blog, I have opted to introduce card by card explanations of the playing cards in both the base game and Dodge City. These explanations will include:

• Card Names: English and Italian where available.


• Symbols and Their Translations: I will show the symbols on the cards where applicable, and then give a break down of what they mean.


• When Cards are Playable: What phase of the turn, on one's turn or out of turn.


• Suits and Values of the Cards.


• Card Color.


• Card Family: A group to which it and other cards belong, if possible.


• Included in: Available in BANG!, Dodge City, or both.


• Characters Greatly Enhanced by This Card: While all characters tend to benefit from the cards, some benefit more than on average.


• Characters Less Enhanced by This Card: While all characters tend to benefit from the cards, some benefit less than on average.


• Works Well in Conjunction with: Other cards that the card is effective with.


• Commentary: General considerations regarding playing with the card.


• Special Considerations: Additional impact the cards may have, such as Wells Fargo and Stagecoach initiating the end and beginning of event cards in Wild West Show.

I am hoping that these Card by Card explanations will help both new and old BANG! players. It will help some learn how to play/use the cards properly according to BANG! rules, and enhance others strategy when playing/using the cards. As with the character guides, feel free to post comments on the bottoms of posts on the cards if you believe I have missed important information.

Go to the Card Explanations Portal

Card Explanations: Draw Cards

Wells Fargo

Symbology:

Translation: Draw 3 cards from the top of the deck.

Impact in Wild West Show: Discard the old Wild West Show event card. Flip over a new Wild West Show event card to be put into play.

Playable: On your turn, during phase 2 only.

Suit and Value: 3♥.

Card color: Brown.

Card Family: Draw cards.

Included in: BANG!.

Characters greatly enhanced by playing this card: Willy the Kid (high chance of drawing a BANG! that Willy has no limit of firing on his turn), Doc Holyday (extra cards can easily be converted to extra BANG! he can fire in addition to a BANG! on his turn), Sid Ketchum (extra cards can easily be used to regain life points), Calamity Janet (Missed!/BANG! drawn can be used interchangeably), José Delgado (if he draws a blue card, he can discard it to draw 2 more), Sean Mallory (It is likely that he can store all drawn cards), Herb Hunter (He can draw more offensive cards to play in 1 turn to help him eliminate another player and thus gain a card bonus), Greg Digger (He can draw more offensive cards to play in 1 turn to help him eliminate another player and thus regain life points), Lee Van Kliff (It is likely he will draw a BANG! allowing him to duplicate the effect of another brown card; if he already has a BANG!, he can duplicate the effect of Wells Fargo, drawing 6 cards!), Big Spencer (It is likely that he can store all drawn cards and also gain important cards to regain life points).

Characters less enhanced by playing this card: Pixie Pete (hard not to run over card limit with the amount of cards drawn between his ability and the Wells Fargo), Youl Grinner (ability activates by having fewer cards in his hand than other players; this is harder to do when he gains so many cards from Wells Fargo).

Characters enhanced by others playing this card: Gary Looter (If not many of the cards drawn are playable that turn, this will likely make the player exceed his card limit and thus have to discard cards that will become the possession of Gary Looter), Youl Grinner (ability activates by having fewer cards in his hand than other players; when another player gains so many cards from Wells Fargo it is likely he will have more cards in his hand than Youl Grinner).

Works well in conjunction with: Volcanic, Duel (both help deplete excess BANG! potentially pushing you over your card limit).

Commentary: Generally considered to be the best card in the game from its ability to give you many more cards. While it says draw 3, you are really only drawing 2 more, since the Wells Fargo was 1 of the cards you drew, and it has no function besides giving you more cards. Nonetheless, this is like having an extra draw phase! The question is whether you can maximize the utility of the Wells Fargo, as chances are that the drawn cards will push you over your card limit. Unless you draw cards that can be used during your turn, you might have to discard down, weakening the impact the Wells Fargo might have had, and seriously helping Gary Looter if he is in play (of course, if Gary Looter is your ally, this could be very beneficial). Thus, Wells Fargo is more efficient when you have a Volcanic in play, a Duel in your hand, have a strong offensive combo, or an ability like Calamity Janet's that can use Missed! interchangeably as BANG! While you may consider storing up the Wells Fargo in your hand until you are in a good position, you should be wary of event cards, if Jesse Jones is in play, as well as cards that can steal or discard cards from your hand.

Stagecoach

Italian Name: Diligenza.

Symbology:

Translation: Draw 2 cards from the top of the deck.

Impact in Wild West Show: Discard the old Wild West Show event card. Flip over a new Wild West Show event card to be put into play.

Playable: On your turn only.

Suit and Value: 9♠ (explodes on dynamite), 9♠ (explodes on dynamite).

Card color: Brown.

Included in: BANG!.

Characters greatly enhanced by playing this card: Willy the Kid (good chance of drawing a BANG! that Willy has no limit of firing on his turn), Doc Holyday (extra cards can easily be converted to extra BANG! he can fire in addition to a BANG! on his turn), Sid Ketchum (extra cards can easily be used to regain a life point), Calamity Janet (Missed!/BANG! drawn can be used interchangeably), José Delgado (if he draws a blue card, he can discard it to draw 2 more), Sean Mallory (It is likely that he can store all drawn cards), Herb Hunter (He can draw more offensive cards to play in 1 turn to help him eliminate another player and thus gain a card bonus), Greg Digger (He can draw more offensive cards to play in 1 turn to help him eliminate another player and thus regain life points), Lee Van Kliff (It is likely he will draw a BANG! allowing him to duplicate the effect of another brown card; if he already has a BANG!, he can duplicate the effect of Stagecoach, drawing 4 cards!), Big Spencer (It is likely that he can store all drawn cards and also gain important cards to regain life points).

Works well in conjunction with: Volcanic, Duel (both help deplete excess BANG! potentially pushing you over your card limit).

Commentary: While it says draw 2, you are really only drawing 1 more, since the Stagecoach was 1 of the cards you drew, and it has no function besides giving you more cards. Nonetheless, you are drawing 1 more card this turn. Unlike Wells Fargo, it is unlikely that you will not be able to maximize the utility of Stagecoach. You should be able to use enough cards this turn, so that you do not have to discard due to being over your card limit. Regardless, Stagecoach still tends to work well when you have a Volcanic in play, a Duel in your hand, or have a strong offensive combo. On the whole, I wouldn't recommend storing up a Stagecoach in your hand for a better position. The risks are far fewer than with the Wells Fargo.

Pony Express

Symbology:

Translation: Draw 3 cards from the top of the deck. Since this is a green card, it means "Your next turn after playing this card, you may use Pony Express to draw 3 cards from the top of the deck."

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

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

Suit and Value: Q♦.

Card color: Green.

Included in: Dodge City.

Characters greatly enhanced by playing (and then using) this card: Willy the Kid (good chance of drawing a BANG! that Willy has no limit of firing on his turn), Doc Holyday (extra cards can easily be converted to extra BANG! he can fire in addition to a BANG! on his turn), Sid Ketchum (extra cards can easily be used to regain a life point), Calamity Janet (Missed!/BANG! drawn can be used interchangeably), José Delgado (if he draws a blue card, he can discard it to draw 2 more), Sean Mallory (It is likely that he can store all drawn cards), Herb Hunter (He can draw more offensive cards to play in 1 turn to help him eliminate another player and thus gain a card bonus), Greg Digger (He can draw more offensive cards to play in 1 turn to help him eliminate another player and thus regain life points), Lee Van Kliff (It is likely he will draw a BANG! allowing him to duplicate the effect of another brown card), Suzy Lafayette (she can play Pony Express and keep chain-drawing cards), Big Spencer (It is likely that he can store all drawn cards and also gain important cards to regain life points).

Characters less enhanced by playing (and then using) this card: Pixie Pete (hard not to run over card limit with the amount of cards drawn between his ability and the Pony Express), Youl Grinner (ability activates by having fewer cards in his hand than other players; this is harder to do when he gains so many cards from Pony Express).

Characters enhanced by others playing this card: Pat Brennan (Easy card for him to steal from other players to use), Gary Looter (If not many of the cards drawn are playable that turn, this will likely make the player exceed his card limit and thus have to discard cards that will become the possession of Gary Looter), Youl Grinner (ability activates by having fewer cards in his hand than other players; when another player gains so many cards from Pony Express it is likely he will have more cards in his hand than Youl Grinner).

Works well in conjunction with: Volcanic, Duel (both help deplete excess BANG! potentially pushing you over your card limit).

Commentary: While Pony Express has the same effect as Wells Fargo, you have to wait another turn after playing the card to use it. This makes the card far more riskier than Wells Fargo, which you might store in your hand, but since players do not know you have it (except in the case where it is drawn via General Store) it is far more protected. Chances are that the moment you play Pony Express that other players will immediately attempt to discard or steal it from you if they can. It is almost a guarantee if Pat Brennan is in play and he is not clearly your ally. If this is the case, I recommend discarding Pony Express. Even without Pat Brennan being in play, about half the time you will not reap the benefit of Pony Express yourself. So unless your allies are all dead, I still recommend playing it. There is no reason to store it up in your hand as you will still have to worry about the turn required to activate the card every time. So play it or discard it, unless you already know a player has a card that can discard/steal it from you. Storing it in play in front of you is ridiculous; if you can use it, use it immediately. Even if you do not get the best use out of it, it is better than giving it to another.

General Store

Italian Name: Emporio.

Description: When you play this card, reveal as many cards from the deck face up as the players still playing. Starting with you and proceeding clockwise, each player chooses one of those cards and puts it in his hand.

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

Suit and Value: 3♣, Q♠ (BANG!), A♠ (Dodge City).

Card Color: Brown.

Included in: BANG!, Dodge City.

Characters greatly enhanced by playing this card: Suzy Lafayette (She can play it and pick another card that she can play to keep chain-drawing), Lucky Duke (can reveal a crucial Barrel), Bart Cassidy (can reveal a Beer, making it easier for him to choose to take a hit), Jesse Jones (suggests to him which players he should steal from), Tequila Joe (can reveal Beer, useful for regaining 2 life points), Bill Noface (can reveal alcoholic beverage, useful for balancing cards drawn during his phase 1), Chuck Wengam (can reveal alcoholic beverage, useful for his ability to lose life points to draw cards), José Delgado (high chance of blue card being revealed in larger games, which he can pick, discard, and then draw 2 more cards), Youl Grinner (giving all other players cards makes it more likely for them to have more cards than him on their turns), Flint Westwood (tells him which players he should swap cards with), and Lee Van Kliff (provides a variety of brown cards to duplicate, or a BANG! to duplicate an already useful card with).

Characters less enhanced by this card: Uncle Will (Since he can play any card from his hand as a General Store, the General Store itself does not add much value, except that he can play 2 General Stores in a turn), Paul Regret (in larger games, playing a General Store may reveal guns that rivals can use to reach him with), and somewhat Calamity Janet (drawing a Missed! or BANG! when both are available can hint at her role).

Characters enhanced by others playing this card: Lucky Duke (can reveal a crucial Barrel), Bart Cassidy (can reveal a Beer, making it easier for him to choose to take a hit), Jesse Jones (suggests to him which players he should steal from), Sid Ketchum (Gains a card that he can discard with another to regain a life point), Doc Holyday (Gains a card that he can discard with another to fire a BANG!), Tequila Joe (can reveal Beer, useful for regaining 2 life points), Bill Noface (can reveal alcoholic beverage, useful for balancing cards drawn during his phase 1), Chuck Wengam (can reveal alcoholic beverage, useful for his ability to lose life points to draw cards), José Delgado (high chance of blue card being revealed in larger games, which he can pick, discard, and then draw 2 more cards), Youl Grinner (giving all other players cards makes it more likely for them to have more cards than him on their turns), Flint Westwood (tells him which players he should swap cards with), and Lee Van Kliff (provides a variety of brown cards to duplicate, or a BANG! to duplicate an already useful card with).

Characters less enhanced by others playing this card: Paul Regret (in larger games, playing a General Store may reveal guns that rivals can use to reach him with), and somewhat Calamity Janet (drawing a Missed! or BANG! when both are available can hint at her role).

Works well in conjunction with: a revealed Wells Fargo or Stagecoach.

Commentary: In larger games (at least in terms of living players), the General Store provides a player with the opportunity to draw a much needed card. In particular, being unable to reach a rival with BANG! is very annoying. The General Store provides a good chance of drawing a gun, scope, or binoculars that will help the player see further. Or if range isn't an issue, but you have a lot of BANG!, it might reveal a Volcanic. The General Store can provide a needed alcoholic beverage. It can reveal a card like Cat Balou or Panic! that can help you remove a particularly annoying card in play in front of another player. While it gives you an opportunity to get such needed cards, it also benefits all other players too (including your rivals). The benefit is disproportional to the other players, since the order of selection proceeds clockwise from the player who played General Store. Thus, the players to his left will pick cards before the players to his right. If the players to your right are your rivals, you should think of how they may get more of a benefit from the General Store than your team. Perhaps you need a card so bad that it outweighs this cost, but it is something to consider.

Return to the Card by Card Explanations Portal

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.

Death Mesa: Traduzione in Italiano

I have been working with 2 Italian BANG! fans, Claudio and Andrea Dusi, to create an Italian translation of Death Mesa. So far, we have worked through the card names and descriptions. They have done an excellent job, and I hope it has not been too burdensome to work with me through this! I thought I would show the results here. There will store be some changes to the text in the future, but this is the basic sense. I will update this post in the future to include all Italian Death Mesa materials.

18" x 12" Cardsheets (Fogli di Carta)

I have completed the design of the card sheets for an Italian translation of Death Mesa. These 18" x 12" sheets of cards are designed to be used with a printing service. They are free for download. I will provide a tutorial that teaches how to use them soon.

Ho completato la progettazione dei fogli di carta di una traduzione italiana della Morte Mesa. Questi fogli di carte sono progettate per essere utilizzate con un servizio di tiratura. Essi sono liberi per il download. Mi impegno a fornire un tutorial che insegna come usarli al più presto.

If you want to make a high quality personal copy of Death Mesa using a printing service, use the 18" x 12" card sheets in conjunction with this tutorial.

Se si desidera stampare una copia di alta qualità personali della Death Mesa utilizzando un servizio di stampa, usare il 18 "x 12" fogli di carta in concomitanza con questo tutorial.

Download/Scaricare:

Sheet/Foglio #1
Sheet/Foglio #2
Sheet/Foglio #3
Sheet/Folgio #4

Carte in Death Mesa

Maledire. Un giocatore in vita a tua scelta deve scartare 1 carta in più durante la sua fase di scarto. Prendi quella carta ed aggiungila al tuo tesoro sepolto.	Cimitero. Tutti i giocatori morti rivelano il proprio tesoro sepolto. Un giocatore in vita a tua scelta pesca 2 carte tra tutti i tesori sepolti. A partire dal giocatore alla sua sinistra tutti i restanti giocatori in vita prendono 1 carta.	Spremuta di Sangue. Scegli un giocatore in vita, quel guadagnare 1 punti vita.	Luna Nera. "Estrai!" dal deck normale. Se esce picche, tutti i giocatori in vita devono scartare 2 carte dalla propria mano o in gioco oppure perdono 1 punto vita. Se esce fiori, devono scartare 1 carta o perdono 1 punto vita. Se esce cuori, pescano 1 carta.
Morte e Tasse. Scegli un giocatore in vita, quel giocatore pesca una carta in meno all'inizio del proprio turno. A quel punto, pesca 1 carta dal deck normale ed aggiungila al tuo tesoro sepolto.	Il Vento dell'Est. Scegli 2 giocatori in vita. Fino al tuo prossimo turno, ogni volta provano ad attaccarsi l'un l'altro devono utilizzare contemporaneanmente 2 carte con simbolo del bang. Solo una delle due ha effetto, l’attaccante decide quale.	Siccità. Scegli un giocatore in vita, quel giocatore non può guadagnare punti vita con bevande alcoliche (incluso il Saloon) fino al tuo prossimo turno.	Profanare La Tomba. Scartare 2 carte dal tesoro sepolto di un fantasma.
Decomporsi. Scarta 1 carta in gioco di fronte ad un giocatore in vita a meno che quel giocatore non scarti un Mancato!.	Storie di Fantasmi. Un giocatore in vita a tua scelta può giocare o usare solo 1 carta nel suo prossimo turno.	Ultime Volontà. Gioca questa carta per dare 1 carta a tua scelta del tuo tesoro sepolto ad un altro giocatore.	In Memoria. Un giocatore in vita a tua scelta nel suo turno può giocare un numero qualsiasi di carte BANG! contro il giocatore che ti ha ucciso. Se il tuo uccisore è già morto, il giocatore che hai scelto può giocare 1 BANG! extra.
Merci Nascoste. 1 giocatore in vita a tua scelta pesca 1 carta dal deck normale o da un tesoro sepolto a sua scelta.	Coscienza Sporca. Un giocatore in vita a tua scelta che ha ucciso qualcun'altro nel suo turno non potrà giocare o usare nessuna carta che possa infliggere danni ad altri giocatori.	Miraggio. Quando un giocatore è attaccato direttamente, gioca questa carta per redirigire l'attacco ad un altro giocatore in vita (escluso l'attaccante) che è adiacente al giocatore attaccato.	Giusta Sepoltura. Gioca questa carta di fronte ad un giocatore in vita. Se questo giocatore non gioca o non usa nessuna carta nel suo prossimo turno (osservando la sepoltura), allora pesca 2 carte alla fine della sua fase di scarto.
Possedere. Scegli 1 carta dalla mano di un giocatore in vita. Giocala come vuoi, rispettando le regole e le distanze tra i giocatori. Le carte blu e verdi possono essere giocate di fronte ad altri giocatori. Il giocatore posseduto può autoattaccarsi. Se la carta non può essere giocata, restituiscila al suo proprietario.	Poltergeist. Ogni giocatore in vita deve scartare una carta in gioco davanti a sè (escluse Dinamite e Prigione), oppure perdono 1 punto vita.	Incubo. Un giocatore in vita a tua scelta perde l'abilità del suo personaggio fino al tuo prossimo turno.	Svaligiare La Tomba. Ruba 1 carta a caso dal “Tesoro Sepolto” di un altro giocatore morto e dalla ad un giocatore in vita a tua scelta.
Spaventare. BANG! un giocatore in vita.	Monito. Questa carta va giocata durante il turno di un altro giocatore.	Terrorizzare. Scegli 1 carta dalla mano di un giocatore in vita o da davanti a lui. Svela la carta e mettila scoperta di fronte a lui in posizione orizzontale. Quel giocatore non può usare quella carta fino al tuo prossimo turno.	Prosciugare. Ruba una carta da un altro giocatore morto. Non può essere negata.
Seduta Spiritica. Prendi 2 carte a caso dalla mano di un giocatore in vita e mostrale a te stesso e ad un altro giocatore in vita a tua scelta. Nessuna altra azione può avvenire fino a quando quelle carte vengono restituite.	Affari Incompiuti. Un giocatore che hai attaccato quando eri in vita deve "Estrarre!" Se esce rosso, ruba una carta dalla sua mano ed aggiungila al tuoi "beni sepolti." Se esce nero, diventa bersaglio di un BANG! Se il giocatore è morto, fai estrarre un altro giocatore che avresti dovuto uccidere secondo il tuo precedente ruolo.

Character Guide: Claus the Saint

Character Name: Claus the Saint.

Inspired by: Santa Claus.

Life Points: 3.

Ability Type: Neutral.

Ability: "He draws one more card than the number of players, keeps 2 for himself, then gives 1 to each player."

Activation: During his drawing phase, by necessity.

Cards more powerful when played against Claus the Saint: Jail, Duel.

Good roles for Claus the Saint: Deputy, Outlaw.

Worst role for Claus the Saint: Renegade.

Characters that counter Claus the Saint well: Doc Holyday, Slab the Killer and Willy the Kid (They either have extra powerful attacks or can shoot multiple times, making it very difficult for the 3 life point Claus the Saint to defend himself).

2-player value: Absolutely terrible. Claus the Saint has 3 life points, and on his drawing phase he can only help his opponent by passing him an extra card.

General Strategy as Claus the Saint: Claus the Saint is a very difficult character to have in play. First, he is not very good. As a 3 life point character he is weak, and if he does not keep his allies alive, then he is absolutely ruined. His ability always benefits other players somewhat, and so by himself he gives his opponent's a significant disadvantage. Claus the Saint is thus a terrible Renegade, and a poor Sheriff (especially in 4 player games). For reasons like these, you can see why Emiliano Sciarra (BANG!'s designer) considers Claus the Saint to be quite unbalanced and unsuited for serious play. Claus the Saint was originally included in an online daVinci newsletter, and eventually got included in the Bullet. Another reason why Claus the Saint is not the best BANG! character to have in play is because he significantly slows it down. Since he draws cards for all players and chooses to whom they go, Claus the Saint has to weigh the pros and cons of passing a card to a particular player. BANG! is slow enough in my opinion, and Claus the Saint only compounds the problem. Despite these downsides to Claus the Saint, let me point out how to use him as best you can.

At the beginning of the game, and especially larger games, Claus the Saint does not know who his allies are. He should be careful then not to give great cards that he draws consistently to the same players. Spread them around until Claus the Saint is given pointers as to who is an Outlaw and who is not (a player shooting the Sheriff, shooting a non-Sheriff, etc.). Besides, if Claus the Saint gives too many poor cards to another player (a BANG! or Missed! every time, if their abilities are not enhanced by these), they will naturally assume he is their enemy too. At this moment, Claus the Saint wants everyone to think that he is worthwhile keeping in the game. Nonetheless, at the beginning of the game, Claus the Saint should try to keep the best cards from himself, especially when it comes to the defensive cards. If he can grab green defensive cards, distance modifiers (Mustang, Hideout), a Barrel, and so forth, it will help him later on in the game when he wants to focus on passing the best cards to his team mates. Of course, there are other important cards for Claus the Saint to pick up: Wells Fargo, Stagecoach, Cat Balou, and even Panic! He would likely rather have these cards himself than pass them on to another. If Claus the Saint passes on a Panic!, he should pass it to a player that cannot reach him with it. This way he can protect the powerful defensive cards he is playing in front of him.

Once Claus the Saint figures out who his team mates are, he should change the way he passes out cards. Instead of keeping the best offensive/defensive cards when he draws, Claus the Saint should try to give himself the standard cards to protect himself (a BANG! and a Missed!) whenever they are lacking from his hand. Then Claus the Saint should try to pass on the most powerful cards on to his team mates. The cards that he passes to them should coordinate well with their abilities. Thus, a BANG! could be great for Willy the Kid, Slab the Killer, or Calamity Janet. A Barrel would be excellent to pass on to Lucky Duke or Jourdonnais. A common blue card in play would be good for Johnny Kisch. There are many other useful card passes that Claus the Saint should consider. If Claus the Saint's allies are intelligent, they will not immediately shriek for joy whenever they get a great card from him. Unless Claus the Saint has attacked someone yet, it should not be clear whose team he is on. Giving verbal/facial clues that Claus the Saint is on a specific team could tip off the rivals that Claus the Saint is an enemy. The allies should try to avoid this as long as possible.

Since Claus the Saint also has to pass on cards to his rivals, he should try to pass on cards the do not coordinate well with their positions and abilities. For instance, try to pass on a card to them that they cannot reach Claus the Saint or his allies with (due to distance constraints). If they can reach one of Claus the Saint's allies no matter what, pass it to the rival where the ally he can impact is in the best position to defend himself against it. If one of Claus the Saint's rivals is not important to eliminate now (or in the future), he should consider passing on extra defensive cards (like Missed!) to him, as he will not be able to utilize them. No one will be firing at him, so it will do him little good.

In general, pay attention to the actions of Claus the Saints' rivals (if they are targeting him or targeting his allies) to determine who he should pass the defensive cards too. It is crucial for Claus the Saint to keep his allies alive. Without them, there is almost no chance that Claus the Saint can win. On the flip side, it is not absolutely crucial that Claus the Saint lives. If he can pass on the right cards to his team mates, get them in the right position, and get momentum rolling for his team, then it is not a big deal if Claus the Saint dies. He will have helped his team achieve victory. Nonetheless, this does not mean Claus the Saint should try to get himself killed. As mentioned before, he should try to always get a BANG! or Missed! in his hand. He should also try to gather supportive cards to help his team mates. Thus, he should pick and use cards that steal or discard cards from his rivals. This way he can best control the distance constraints between different players, and hence keep himself and his allies alive.

Playing against Claus the Saint: When playing against Claus the Saint, you need to observe how he passes out the cards, and which cards he keeps to himself. At the beginning of the game, your goal should be to get Claus the Saint to think you are on his side. This way, he might pass you a good card for you to utilize. Even if you are not Claus the Saint's team mate, fooling him can get you in a better position. Once it becomes clear who the Outlaws are, monitor what cards they tend to play. If you see yourself getting weak cards like BANG! or Missed! from Claus the Saint, or cards that in general do not coordinate well with your position and/or ability, be suspicious of him. See if the other team is playing powerful cards consistently from turn to turn. If these two situations coordinate together (you getting weak cards and the other team playing strong cards), you have a great reason to suppose that Claus the Saint is on the other side. If so, assess the life points of your rivals and Claus the Saint. If one of your rivals has been weakened (or has far less defenses than Claus the Saint), it could be a good idea to pool together with your allies and knock him out. This will significantly weaken the impact of Claus the Saint's drawing ability and tip it in your favor. If you can keep Claus the Saint alive, and knock out the other rivals, you are in the best position. Claus the Saint, while still drawing from a larger selection of cards on his turn, must give all of his rivals cards too. You are bound to benefit from keeping him in play.

Of course, there are times when Claus the Saint bolsters his team mates too much. If so, you might need to just eliminate Claus the Saint. In this case, use cards and abilities that can steal or discard defensive cards he has in play and cards from his hand. Then, back these actions up with offensive cards (combos where possible). Pay attention to the cards discarded/stolen: if the removed card was a Missed! play a BANG!; if a BANG!, play an Indians! or Duel. Duels are especially potent against Claus the Saint. With 3 life points, he is not bound to have many cards in his hand, and so should not have many BANG! to discard during a Duel. Jails are also effective, as he will not be able to gather and disseminate powerful cards during his next turn.

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