How to Play BANG! Dodge City

Game Objective

The game BANG! Dodge City is an expansion that intensifies the experience of the original BANG!, bringing the theme of a populous, chaotic, and dangerous Old West town. Players assume secret roles, such as Sheriff, Outlaw, Deputy, or Renegade, and their objectives are determined by these roles. The general objective is to be the last player alive or to fulfill the specific victory condition of your role.

For 8 players, the roles are: 1 Sheriff, 2 Deputies, 3 Outlaws, and 2 Renegades. Each of the two Renegades plays for themselves and wins only if they are the last player alive. If, in the final stages of the game, the Sheriff is confronted by two Renegades and the Sheriff is killed first, the Outlaws win.

For 3 players, the roles are: Deputy, Outlaw, and Renegade, and they are dealt face up. Each player's objective is determined by their role:

• The Deputy must kill the Renegade.
• The Renegade must kill the Outlaw.
• The Outlaw must kill the Deputy.

You win as soon as you achieve your objective, if you dealt the final blow to your target (e.g., as a Deputy, you must personally kill the Renegade). If the other player dealt the final blow, then the objective for both survivors is to be the last man standing. For example, if the Outlaw killed the Renegade, the Deputy has not won – they must now kill the Outlaw, who in turn must kill the Deputy to win.

Setup

To play BANG! Dodge City, you must have the basic BANG! set. The expansion can be played separately or combined with the High Noon expansion.

1. Separate the Dodge City expansion components:
   • 8 role cards (replace the originals).
   • 15 character cards (to be shuffled with the originals).
   • 40 game cards (to be shuffled with the basic game cards).
   • 1 summary card.
   • 1 game board.
   • 4 additional bullets.
2. To play with 8 players, deal all 8 role cards (1 Sheriff, 2 Deputies, 3 Outlaws, and 2 Renegades) face down, as usual. The game board and additional bullets are used to accommodate the larger number of players.
3. To play with 3 players, take the 3 role cards: Deputy, Outlaw, and Renegade. Give one of them randomly to each player, but place them face up on the table. Everyone knows the role of all three players.
4. Shuffle the 15 new character cards with the original character cards.
5. Shuffle the 40 new game cards with the basic game cards.
6. If using the High Noon expansion, the Sheriff shuffles the 13 special High Noon cards separately from the regular cards, face down, and places the "High Noon" card on top. Then, they place this pile face up near them.

Game Flow

The game rules remain the same as the original BANG! game, with the additions and modifications described below. The game begins with the Sheriff (or the Deputy in 3-player games).

Turn Phases (with High Noon)

If the High Noon expansion is in use, starting from the Sheriff's second turn, before they begin their turn:

1. The Sheriff removes the first card from the High Noon pile (taking care that only the next card is revealed).
2. They read the card aloud.
3. They place it in the center of the table, creating a "High Noon" pile.

The card on top of the High Noon pile is now in play, and players must follow its effects until it is covered by a new card. "At the start of your turn" means the card's effect takes effect before any other action. The "High Noon" card remains in effect until the end of the game.

Actions and How to Play

The basic actions and game flow follow the rules of the original BANG!, with the following additions and clarifications:

Green-bordered Cards

• Some of the new cards have a green border.
• These cards are played in front of you, face up, like blue-bordered cards.
• To use an effect, you must take the card from in front of you and discard it.
• You cannot use green-bordered cards in the same turn you played them.
• Each green-bordered card shows symbols that explain its effects.
• Only cards with the Missed! symbol can be used outside of your turn.
• Green-bordered cards can be removed through playing cards like Cat Balou, Panic!, Can Can, etc., just like blue-bordered cards.
• If you take a green card with cards like Panic! or Rag Time, you cannot use it in the same turn: you must take the card to your hand, then play it in front of you and wait until the next turn to use it.
• Example 1: You play a Sombrero in front of you. Starting from the next player's turn, you can discard it for the effect.
• Example 2: You play a Derringer in front of you. During one of your subsequent turns, as long as you still have the card in front of you, you can choose to discard it to cause a BANG! to a player at a distance of 1, and also draw a card from the deck.

"Discard another card" Symbol

• Some cards show this new symbol, followed by an equals sign and other symbols.
• To have the effect(s) shown after the equals sign, you must discard this card along with any other card of your choice from your hand.
• Example 3: You play a Brawl, discarding another card of your choice from your hand, in addition to the Brawl card. After doing so, the effect of Brawl is to force all other players to discard a card, either from their hand or in play, chosen by you (you can choose differently for each player).
• Example 4: You play a Tequila and discard another card as well. You choose any player to regain one life point (you can even choose yourself).

Important General Rules

• Any card with a Missed! symbol can be used to cancel the effect of a card with a BANG! symbol.
• When you are losing your last life point, you can only use a Beer to avoid being eliminated from the game. You cannot use other cards with similar effects, such as Saloon, Canteen, Tequila, or Whisky outside of your turn.
• You can only play one BANG! card per turn, but you can play any number of other cards that show the BANG! symbol.
• If your Dynamite does not explode, pass it to the first player to your left who does not yet have a Dynamite in front of them (no player can have two identical cards face up in front of them).
• Example 5: In response to a Punch, you can play the Dodge: you cancel the Punch and then draw a card from the deck.

Special Rules for 3 Players

• Since there is no Sheriff, the Jail card can be played on anyone.
• Beer still has no effect when only 2 players remain.
• Any player who personally kills another (regardless of their role) immediately draws 3 cards from the deck as a reward.

New Characters (Abilities)

• Apache Kid (3 life points): He is not affected by Diamond suit cards played by other players. During a Duel, his ability does not work.
• Belle Star (4 life points): During her turn, no cards in front of any other player have any effect. This applies to both blue-bordered and green-bordered cards.
• Bill Noface (4 life points): During phase 1 of his turn, he draws 1 card, plus 1 card for each wound (lost life point) he currently suffers. Thus, if he is at full health, he draws 1 card; with one less life point, he draws 2 cards; with two less life points, he draws 3 cards, and so on.
• Chuck Wengam (4 life points): During his turn, he can choose to lose 1 life point to draw 2 cards from the deck. He can also use this ability more than once in the same turn; however, he cannot choose to lose his last life point this way.
• Doc Holyday (4 life points): Once during his turn, he can discard any two cards from his hand for the effect of a BANG! against a player within range of his weapon. This ability does not count towards his limit of one BANG! card per turn. To hit Apache Kid this way, at least one of the two discarded cards must not be Diamonds.
• Elena Fuente (3 life points): She can use any card in her hand as a Missed!.
• Greg Digger (4 life points): Each time another character is eliminated, he regains 2 life points. As usual, he cannot exceed his starting number of life points this way.
• Herb Hunter (4 life points): Each time another character is eliminated, he draws 2 extra cards from the deck. Thus, if he himself kills an Outlaw, he draws 5 cards.
• José Delgado (4 life points): During his turn, he can discard a blue-bordered card from his hand to draw 2 cards from the deck. He can use this ability twice per turn.
• Molly Stark (4 life points): Each time she voluntarily plays or discards a Missed!, Beer, or BANG! card when it is not her turn, she draws a card from the deck. If she discards a BANG! during a Duel, she does not draw her replacement cards until the end of the Duel, when she would draw one card for each BANG! she used during the Duel. Cards she is forced to discard due to cards like Cat Balou, Brawl, or Can-Can are not considered voluntarily discarded!
• Pat Brennan (4 life points): During phase 1 of his turn, he can choose to draw the usual two cards from the deck, or, instead, draw one card (and only this card) in play and add it to his hand. The card can be in front of any player, and can be a blue-bordered card or a green-bordered card.
• Pixie Pete (3 life points): During phase 1 of his turn, he draws 3 cards instead of 2.
• Sean Mallory (3 life points): In phase 3 of his turn, he can hold up to 10 cards in his hand. He does not need to discard any cards if he has more cards than the number of life points he has left, but fewer than 11.
• Tequila Joe (4 life points): Each time he plays a Beer, he regains 2 life points instead of 1. He regains only 1 life point from similar cards like Saloon, Tequila, or Canteen.
• Vera Custer (3 life points): At the start of her turn, before drawing any cards (in phase 1), she chooses any other character still in play. Until her next turn, she has the same ability as that character.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends when a role's victory conditions are met. Victory conditions vary depending on the number of players and each player's role:

For 8 Players

• The Sheriff and their Deputies win if all Outlaws and Renegades are eliminated.
• The Outlaws win if the Sheriff is eliminated. If the Sheriff is confronted by two Renegades in the final stages of the game and the Sheriff is killed first, the Outlaws win.
• Each Renegade plays for themselves and wins only if they are the last player alive.

For 3 Players

You win as soon as you achieve your objective, if you dealt the final blow to your target:

• The Deputy wins if they personally kill the Renegade.
• The Renegade wins if they personally kill the Outlaw.
• The Outlaw wins if they personally kill the Deputy.

If the other player dealt the final blow, then the objective for both survivors is to be the last man standing. For example, if the Outlaw killed the Renegade, the Deputy has not won – they must now kill the Outlaw, who must in turn kill the Deputy to win.

Tips for Winning

Refer to the manual for details on this section.