Bang! The Dice Game - Box Feature

Bang! The Dice Game Review & FAQ

Play Time: 15 Min / Players: 3-8 / Complexity: Low / Age: 8+ / Publisher: DaVinci Games / Designer: Michael Palm & Lukas Zach

Bang! The Dice Game Ratings and Summary

BoardgamingParent.com

Kids Rating
Teen Rating
Parent Rating

Summary

Kids rating from our daughters (7 &10).
Teen rating from our son (13).

Kids view: “Like that actions are based on dice rolls. Hidden roles are fun.”
Teen view: “A lot of fun but can be quite dependant on player count.”
Parent view: “Fun for a broad audience, best at high player count.”

3.5

Pros

  • Lots of fun in a short timeframe
  • Well suited to a wide range of gamers, kids and adults will all have fun with this one
  • Player elimination not as much of an issue due to short game length
  • Great player interaction generates some good laughs
  • Plenty of different characters to keep things interesting.

Cons

  • Not enjoyable at 3 players
  • Bad luck in dice rolls can knock you out of the game early
  • Social deduction isn’t as prominent in this game, hard to keep your role hidden for the entire game.

What You Will Find in Our Bang! The Dice Game Review


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Bang! The Dice Game promises a quick fire, cut-throat taste of the wild west you can bring to your table. You might be wondering if this might be a hit with your family. Don’t worry we have all you need in this in-depth review to find out. We run through how to play, what the game play experience is like, and give you perspectives from different age groups so you don’t waste your hard-earned money.

How to play Bang! The Dice Game

The wild west was a dangerous place and being the Sheriff in town is a high-risk gig. Bang! The Dice Game boils the experience of a western shoot out down to a quick playing game of dice for 3-8 people you can enjoy at your table.

Objective

In Bang! The Dice Game you are back in the west looking to survive a hail of bullets to stake your claim as one of the best Outlaws, Renegades or Sheriffs in the west. The catch is the Sheriff is the only one willing to openly wear his badge proudly so for the most part you won’t know who your friends are sitting around the table.

In Bang! The Dice Game you will be dealt a character card face up which will be transparent to everyone and provides you certain benefits. You will also be given a role card which determines your team. These are secret and kept face down unless you receive the sheriff card. The roles include Outlaws, Renegades, Deputies and the Sheriff. Winning the game is dependent on your role. The game ends if:

  • The Sheriff is killed: If the Renegades are the only ones left alive, they win, otherwise the Outlaws win
  • All the Outlaws and Renegades are killed: The Sheriff and all Deputies win.

Set Up

Bang! The Dice Game - In Play

To set up Bang! The Dice Game first take as many role cards as required for the number of players. The rules outline how many Sheriff, Deputy, Outlaw and Renegade cards are required at each player count. Shuffle the roles and then deal one face down to each player. The Sheriff must then reveal themselves by flipping over their card, all other player roles will remain secret.

Note: For a three-player game all role cards are dealt face up. There will be a Deputy, Renegade and Outlaw included. We aren’t fans of the three-player game as you’ll find out below.

Shuffle the character cards and then deal one face up to each player. Each player then takes bullets equal to their life total, the Sheriff will gain an additional two bullets.

The arrows are then placed in the middle of the table. The Sheriff now takes the five dice and is the first to start play.

Turns

Each turn begins with players rolling the five dice included in the game. Players can choose to keep or re-roll any number of dice, but the third roll must be accepted. Dynamite cannot be re-rolled.  The dice rolls are then resolved as follows:

  • Arrows: Require you to take an arrow from the supply in the middle of the table. If a player takes the last arrow the Indians attack and each player loses life equal to the number of arrows in their possession
  • Dynamite: Cannot be re-rolled. If you roll three or more dynamite your turn ends, and you lose one life
  • Bulls Eye 1: Choose one of the players sitting next to you. That player loses one life
  • Bulls Eye 2: Choose one of the players sitting two spaces from you. That player loses one life. If there are only two or three players remaining treat this the same as a Bulls Eye 1
  • Beer: Choose any player and restore one life point. You can never have more life points than you started with at the beginning of the game
  • Gatlings: If you roll three or more Gatlings you activate the Gatling Gun and each other player loses one life point.

If a player runs out of life points, they are eliminated from the game.

Characters

Bang! The Dice Game - Character cards

There are 16 different character cards and each character has a unique special ability they can use during the game. Your character also determines the number of life points you start the game with. Some of the special abilities include:

  • Being able to use the Gatling Gun by rolling two Gatlings instead of three
  • Never losing more than one life point to the Indians
  • Gaining two life points each time a player is eliminated
  • Being able to re-roll dynamite
  • Being able to perform one additional re-roll
  • Being able to discard an arrow each time you lose a life point.

This isn’t a complete list of the abilities but will give you a sense of what’s on offer.

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Gameplay: Bang! The Dice Game ties several elements nicely together that’s likely to appeal to a broad audience

When we first played Bang! The Dice Game we played a three-player game and came away very disappointed. With each players role being visible it just seemed quite underwhelming. I am happy to say we changed our perspectives once we played the game at higher player counts. I wouldn’t suggest playing at three, I don’t think it does the game justice at all.

At higher player counts the game became far more enjoyable. Not knowing who your friends are around the table in the early game leads to some interesting choices and keeps you alert to what others are doing. This tends to create some good laughs and interaction as players guess each other’s roles and try to make a case for not being shot themselves.

Bang! The Dice Game - Role cards

The rules here are very simple to pick up and you can be playing quickly as set up is a breeze. Although the rules are simple there is still some good depth in the gameplay. Social deduction, team-based play, Indian attacks, and Yahtzee style dice rolling come together to give you some good choices during the game. This makes it a great game for a broad audience. Younger players and new gamers will appreciate the simple ruleset, but there is enough here to keep adults and experienced gamers entertained as a filler game.

We normally aren’t fans of games with player elimination. It usually means if someone gets knocked out early, they are left with nothing to do for a while. That isn’t so much of an issue here as the games are so short, so you don’t have long to wait before you can get your revenge.

At every player count the mixture of role cards changes, and slightly shifts the balance of the teams. This combined with 16 different character cards to choose from keeps the game interesting over multiple plays. We have found that at an odd number of players (5 for example) the Outlaws have a greater challenge. This is because the Renegades, Sheriff and Deputies tend to work together at least early in the game leaving the Outlaws outnumbered by 1.

One thing to be aware of is that the social deduction element of Bang! The Dice Game is not nearly as central as it is in games like One Night Ultimate Werewolf. Yes, you have a hidden role and can try to keep people guessing but eventually you will be forced to give yourself away.

The other thing that may not appeal to some players is that with the dice determining what actions you take, you can easily get knocked out early if you get some bad luck on your rolls. For example, I have had games where I collected 6 arrows in my first turn, by the time other players picked away at me and the final arrow was drawn I was out of the game without a second turn. This is rare but possible.

Overall, the game play is a lot of fun and we keep coming back to this game regularly. It’s great that the rules are simple enough for our 7 year old to fully get involved in the game.

Tips

Here are a few tips you may find useful if you decide to try Bang! The Dice Game:

  • Remember your first goal here is to stay alive, especially as the Sheriff and the Renegade. Replenishing lost life points is critical, especially at a higher player count
  • Don’t forget as the Renegade you want to be the one to kill the Sheriff, so you will have to keep him alive until the other players are eliminated
  • Arrows can be useful. If you haven’t got many arrows yet but another player has plenty and is short on life, you could knock them out by grabbing the final few arrows on the table triggering an Indian attack
  • Be alert to other people’s turns. You need to try to figure out who’s on your team as quick as possible to avoid friendly fire.

Components: Simple and functional components but nothing will wow you here

Bang! The Dice Game - Bullets, Dice and Arrows

The components in Bang! The Dice Game are fine but nothing to get too excited about. The dice are nice and colourful, and the arrows are on some good thick card. The card art is fine but nothing exceptional.

The great thing about the game is that it’s so compact you can easily take it on holiday without taking too much space.

Final Thoughts: Bang! The Dice Game is a great quick playing filler game with appeal for a broad audience

Bang! The Dice Game is a simple and quick playing game that will give you a nice taste of old west action. It’s likely to have broad appeal to both young and older audiences. A solid filler game that comes out regularly at our house.

Is Bang! The Dice Game easy to learn? Yes, very easy to learn. The turns are driven by dice rolls and each action is very straight forward. The special abilities are also clear and easy to follow.

What will Bang! The Dice Game teach my kids? Like other social deduction games, Bang! The Dice Game will teach your kids to be alert to what other players are doing during their turn to enable them to guess their true role. The dice element also helps with understanding basic probability when they are deciding whether to re-roll.

What age is appropriate for Bang! The Dice Game? We think the age rating for this game is about right. Our youngest daughter can play confidently at 7 but she needed a little help at first.

Does Bang! The Dice Game have good replay value? We think the replay value here is very good. The game changes a lot at different player counts and offers 16 unique characters to keep things interesting. It also generates some good interaction at the table. This would be a great game for a wide range of gamers, from younger kids, to new and experienced gamers. It’s a great filler game for when you are short on time.

We hope you enjoyed our Bang! The Dice Game review. If you have any more questions or just want to share your thoughts on this game please leave a comment below, or get in touch through our contact page.

About the Authors

We are parents who love board gaming. We have three children and have been enjoying board games as a family ever since we had our first child. We share our real unbiased experiences and opinions on board games so you can decide if they are right for your family. We also write guides and articles to help you get the most out of your family game time. If you enjoy our content and want to support us you can do that through our Ko-fi page by clicking on the button below.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between Bang! The Dice Game and Bang!?

The main difference between these games is that in Bang! The Dice Game actions you take are determined by the dice rolled, each symbol determines a different action you can take. In Bang! actions are driven by cards you have in your hand.

Bang! The Dice Game is a simpler game and far easier to learn. Whereas Bang! can be a bit harder to introduce. There is also a little more depth in strategy in Bang!. The additional choices in Bang! mean turns can be longer and add to down time.

Bang! The Dice Game can be played in as little as 15 minutes. Bang! is a far longer game and can take 40 minutes to play.

Bang! The Dice Game can be played with 3-8 people. Bang! can be played with 4-7 people.
Bang! The Dice Game is likely to appeal to new gamers or younger kids due to its simplicity and quick play time. Bang! is likely to appeal to more serious gamers who like more strategy.

Is Bang! The Dice Game better than Bang!?

We prefer Bang! The Dice Game as a family game. It can be played in only 15 minutes and the rules are really simple which is great for younger kids. If you’re a more serious gamer and are happy with a longer time investment Bang! may appeal more.

What is the best player count for Bang! The Dice Game?

We think 5+ is the best player count for this game. We really don’t like this game at 3 players, there are no hidden roles at this player count. 4 is fun but there is no deputy. At 5+ all roles are in play and there is more tension as it is harder to tell who is who.

Do you have to shoot at other players if you roll a bull’s eye or can you choose not to?

The rules state you must apply all the dice results and you cannot pass on a rolled die.

When El Gringo loses more than one life point as a result of being shot by another player does the shooting player gain more than one arrow?

The rules for El Gringo state that when a player makes you lose one or more life points, that player must take an arrow. They do not treat each life point separately for the purposes of resolving this effect.

What if the Sheriff kills his own deputy?

There is no other negative effect other than the Sheriff losing a friendly player at the table.

If a player rolls a beer and three dynamite with one life left, can he consume the beer first to avoid elimination?

The rules state the order in which each dice effect is resolved. Beer is resolved after dynamite, so in this case the player would lose their last life and be eliminated before getting a chance to drink the beer to replenish a life point.

What happens if I roll a 2 bull’s eye but there are only two players left in the game, does it still count?

Yes, the rules state that if there are only two or three players left in the game and you roll a 2 bull’s eye you treat it as a 1 bull’s eye.

If I roll a 1 and 2 bull’s eye, can I choose to resolve one before the other?

This might be desirable if the player next to you only has one life left and you would like to eliminate them first in order to extend the range of your 2 roll. The rules state that you can not resolve one before the other, both 1 and 2 bull’s eye rolls are resolved simultaneously.

What if I roll more arrows than the number left in the supply?

The rules state that you must resolve arrows immediately and then resume your turn. If for example you rolled 3 arrows and there was one left in the supply, you would take the last arrow, resolve the Indians attack effect immediately and then collect another two arrows once the supply is replenished. 

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