How to Play The Gang

Game Objective

In The Gang, you are a group of professional thieves aiming to carry out a series of heists. Success depends on the perfect coordination of the Gang. To win the game, you must work together to crack three safes without triggering the alarm three times. The game is based on a variant of poker, Texas Hold'em, played cooperatively.

Preparation (Setup)

1. Separate the challenge cards and specialist cards and place them back in the box, as they will not be used in the basic game.
2. Place the three alarm cards and the three safe cards with their gray sides facing up on the edge of the play area.
3. Each player receives a “Gameplay” overview card and a “Hand Ranking” overview card. The remaining overview cards are placed in the box.
4. Separate all chips with a star value greater than the number of players and place them back in the box. For example, in a four-player game, only use the 1, 2, 3, and 4-star chips of each color.
5. Place the remaining chips, ordered by color (white, yellow, orange, red), on the edge of the playing surface, with the light side facing up. The dark side is not used in the basic game.
6. Shuffle the 52 playing cards and place the deck face down in the center of the table, leaving enough space for five community cards next to it.

Game Flow

A complete game of The Gang consists of three to five heists. Each heist is divided into four rounds and a Showdown.

Heist Process

1. 1st Round (“Pre-Flop”)
   1. Deal two pocket cards face down to each player.
   2. Lay out the white chips in the center of the table. Players take the white chips.
2. 2nd Round (“Flop”)
   1. One player draws three cards from the deck and places them face up in the center of the table as community cards.
   2. Lay out the yellow chips in the center of the table. Players take the yellow chips.
3. 3rd Round (“Turn”)
   1. One player draws one card from the deck and places it face up next to the other three community cards.
   2. Lay out the orange chips in the center of the table. Players take the orange chips.
4. 4th Round (“River”)
   1. One player draws one card from the deck and places it face up next to the other four community cards.
   2. Lay out the red chips in the center of the table. Players take the red chips.
5. The Showdown

   After the 4th Round, the heist proceeds to the Showdown. The only chips that matter are the red ones taken in the 4th Round. Starting with the player with the 1-star red chip, players reveal their hands in ascending order (1 star, 2 stars, etc.) and declare their best possible poker hand, consisting of exactly five cards (two pocket cards + five community cards).

Actions and How to Play

Communication

In The Gang, communication about the cards in your hand is strictly limited. You cannot show, tell, or hint at what cards you have in your hand to other players. Furthermore, if you know something about another player's hand just by knowing your own hand, you also cannot disclose that information.

The only opportunity for communication is through the chips. Pay attention to who takes which chip in each round and how the chips change between you.

Taking Chips

In each round (1 to 4), a set of chips of a specific color is laid out in the center of the table. The chips show an increasing number of stars, which indicate the strength of the chips. They are the method through which you communicate your estimate of the strength of your own hand (pocket cards + community cards) in relation to the other players.

• You can take any chip from the current round at any time and place it in front of you. It can be a chip from the center of the table or a chip that is already in front of another player.
• You can never have more than one chip of the same color in front of you.
• You can place a chip from the current round that is in front of you back in the center of the table.
• You can never place a chip in front of another player.

There is no turn order for taking chips; everyone plays at the same time. The round ends as soon as everyone has a chip in front of them.

Hand Ranking

It is crucial to know the poker hand rankings well to evaluate your own hand compared to others. The best possible hand consists of exactly five cards from the seven available (two pocket cards + five community cards). The order of hand rankings, from weakest to strongest, is:

• High Card
• Pair
• Two Pair
• Three of a Kind
• Straight
• Flush
• Full House
• Four of a Kind
• Straight Flush
• Royal Flush

Refer to the hand ranking overview card for details on each combination.

Individual Card Values (from weakest to strongest)

The highest card is A (ace) followed by K (king), Q (queen), J (jack), and then the numerical values in descending order: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2. Cards of different suits have the same value.

Kicker Card

A kicker card is a card that does not contribute to the actual hand but is used to break ties when the main hands are equal. A maximum of five cards are incorporated into the hand ranking evaluation.

End of Game and Scoring

The game can end in two ways, depending on which condition occurs first:

• Victory: You win if you manage to turn three safe cards to their golden side. This happens when all players reveal equally strong or stronger hands, one after another, without making mistakes in the order of the chips during the Showdown.
• Defeat: You lose if you need to turn the third alarm card to its red side. This happens if, during the Showdown, one of you reveals a weaker hand than the one previously revealed, indicating an error in the order of the chips.

If a heist is successful, a safe card is turned to its golden side. If a heist fails, an alarm card is turned to its red side.

True Tie

If the card combinations of several players are exactly the same (even after considering the kicker cards), for example, when the best possible combination consists of the five community cards, then there is a true tie. Among players involved in a true tie, the order of the chips chosen is irrelevant, as long as the ranking compared to all other players is correct.

Tips for Winning

• Communication through Chips: Pay close attention to who takes which chip in each round and how the chips change between you. The chips are the only means of communicating the strength of your hand.
• Know the Hand Rankings: It is extremely important to know the poker hand rankings well to correctly evaluate your own hand compared to others and avoid mistakes in the Showdown.
• Don't Bluff: Unlike regular poker, in The Gang you absolutely do not want to bluff. Honesty in evaluating the strength of your hand is crucial for cooperative success.