By Andrew Dodson on August 17, 2014 at 9:49am
You and your team just walked away from the biggest and most risky heist of your lives. The pile of loot is on the table and its time to split it up. You glance around the room. You aren't friends with any of these people. You'd probably get a lot more of the money if a few of these goons were...how do you say...shot in the head multiple times. The same greedy glint that's in your eyes is suddenly reflected in everyone else's eyes. Itchy hands subtly drop to their guns....
BANG!
That is the premise of Repos Production's game "Ca$h 'n Guns." Four to eight players are given a foam gun which is placed in the center of the table, then a few loot cards are revealed showing what is at stake. Each player has eight cards in their hands, signifying the ammunition that they have. It was a bloody job, so everyone is low on ammo - you only have three bullets and five clicks - which forces you to bluff and conserve your bullets for when you really mean it. After everyone slides their ammo card forward, the Boss counts to three and everyone raises their guns all at once.
Each player has a choice then. Duck, and avoid potentially being shot but also give up your share of the loot that round, or stand straight and look the Devil square in the eyes. The Boss of the round has the power to make someone point to another player (effectively eliminating one threat that they have to deal with). Ammo cards are revealed. If you're lucky, anyone pointing at you was bluffing and you're free to take a loot card. If you're not...well, you take a bullet and go down for the round. Three shots and you're dead and out of the game.
Then, its time to split the loot. Anyone that chicken'd out or got shot just sits this part out. Obviously, the Boss takes the first share of the loot, and then it works as a round robin - everyone taking one piece of cash, art or maybe an extra bullet or a med kit to heal one of your wounds. The Boss Card is up for grabs during the loot round, as well, so if you're feeling a bit power-hungry and want to be the new Boss and gain that little redirection power, now is the time to do it. Once all the loot has been distributed, everyone discards the ammo card they used and the game goes to the next round.
After eight rounds, which should be the number of bullets in everyone's gun, who ever has the most money wins.
This is the 2nd Edition of "Ca$h 'n Guns," which originally came out in 2005. The 2nd Edition is mostly the same, but allows for two more players to participate, changes the loot distribution from an even split to a round robin "pick what you want" kind of tactic and also introduces character power cards, which gives every player a little ability that they can use in game to give themselves a little edge. The game kept the same kind of fun, cartoon-y art for all of the cards, making it a very colorful and visually appealing game.
If you're a fan of fast-paced, bluffing-party games that come with awesome foam guns, and the potential for more movie references than I can count, then you should definitely check out the 2nd edition of "Ca$h 'n Guns," which just released at GenCon this year and should be available at retailers by the end of this month.
