Cash 'n Guns (Second Edition)

This game is crazy, loud, and I love it.

Quick Word I know, I know, I know – the actual quote was about a knife, not a gun. I don’t care. Brief Game Synopsis If you are reading this review then I am going to assume you know how to play the base game, if not, read the review I already wrote up for that. The rules are not much changed for this. More bling and more bang as you get new guns and new abilities are introduced to spice up the game without changing the core flavor. Toys With Rules Again, Repos does a fine job with a clear little rules add-on guide that walks you nicely through the new contents. There is not a whole lot to absorb but enough that it might be a good idea to give the rules summary another once-over just before playing. Boards ‘N Bits The expansion supplies more of the same great quality bits as the base game (but this time, I noticed no smell on the guns). My Thoughts While it can be true to say that More Ca$h ‘N More Guns simply adds more cash and guns, it is not entirely accurate. The appeal of the new powers and variety of gun types offered draws in a lot more playability without adding more complexity or setup/rules explanation time. Although I enjoyed the base game quite a bit, it was not until this expansion that the game really took off for me and became one of my favorite party games. Son’s Thoughts Again, my six year old son has not played the game (officially), but insisted on going on the record as saying: Dad, I think that while the big gun is cooler, I like the smallest one, the – what’d you call it? Oh yeah, a ladies gun (he means derringer…and I think I called it a purse gun”) because – yeah, I mean I’m no girl, but you would never see it, and I would be able to sneak up and shoot you and you’d be surprised and scream and die and stuff. It’d be hilarious. He then rejected my instance that he didn’t understand the rules by explaining to me that if I didn’t play it that way, then I was the one who was mistaken. But someday, when I’m older, I will understand. Pro’s + Cool new guns + Not complicated Con’s - The cool new guns only come into play if certain powers are used, so you either have to rig the draw deck or skip out on them - Barely all crams into main box Purchase, Play, or Pass If you like the base game then it is almost a required Purchase. If the base game was not to your taste this will not be either (which is only logical).

Quick Word I was not sure what to expect when I first cracked the seal and the funky aroma of foam guns wafted out of the box. Then the silly artwork made me frown and I begin to doubt if this was really going to be the game for me. You see, this game came into my life because someone told me this game made you feel like a gangsta (yes with an “a”) and that was the “cool” feeling I was looking to chase down. Brief Game Synopsis Ca$h 'n Guns is a game in which players get to wield comically oversized foam guns and while balancing pretending to “whack” their friends, steal as much loot as possible over several turns, and not get dead. A typical turn is played out with each player secretly choosing to use a Bang card, with which they will shoot someone, or a Click card that is essentially a bluff. There are a finite number of clicks and bangs available to each person so some strategy is employed when deciding which card to use. Once each person secretly decided if they will shoot or not by laying the card face down in front of them, the Godfather counts down to zero and everyone aims their gun at someone at the same time. The Godfather gets to make one person re-aim. Then each person decides if they will take cover by knocking their pawn over (thus negating a wound potentially, but also skipping out on the looting phase). But real mine don’t cower so once everyone braces themselves the cards are flipped and wounds are distributed where applicable. Survivors get take turns taking available loot. Rinse and repeat, and of course special abilities add variety and rule changes here and there. Toys With Rules This is not a rules heavy game but Repos did a nice job laying out the rules in a very clear, well formatted rulebook complete with pictures and all kinds of shiny purddiness. The abilities are all explained in detail to avoid confusion. Boards ‘N Bits Obviously, one of the biggest draws to this game is holding the giant foam guns…which are quite a delight. I will say, though, that mine had a strong smell at first that after a few years, is still slightly evident. The giant prop is not really needed as you could always use your fingers to make a gun or something, but it really adds to the funky theme and is visually appealing (people’s eyebrows always raise in interest once I pull them out) I am not a fan of small cards, but the Bang and Click cards do what they need to do. I am a fan of sleeving games but have not felt the need to do that with these and they have held up fine after many a play. The Character Ability cards are all nice and give you the needed info and the Turn Order Marker and Character pawns are all of good design that help immerse players; the artwork is silly and fun and keeps the game from being taken too seriously. The Reservoir Dog and Pulp Fiction quotes the game inspires helps. My Thoughts Let me just start with saying, I. LOVE. THIS. GAME….with a caveat. The first few times I played it was good but it wasn’t great for me. The expansion, which will be covered later, is what made it awesome. New guns, new abilities, new levels of funocity. That being said, I think this game is really solid fun if you have the group who is wanting to have fun. And it scales beautifully. It is equally fun with 4 as with 8 (or 10 – more on that in a sec). With lower counts it is super tense as you get more wounds but with more people it becomes chaotic and births some seriously goofy moments. I brought to a game night and we had 2 extra people show up. Only about 3 of the people were gamers but when the non-gamers saw I had a game with guns they wanted in. As I said, I have the expansion which offers more guns so I used a deck of cards to create Click and Bang cards for the new players, and we had it. The looting was a little more intense as we had more people vying for the cash but I was the only one who had played it before so I was the only one who noticed. Next time, I will just add Some extra cash and dimand pieces or something. I will also say, that I don’t typically think that most people consider this a gateway game, but it is for me. Adults from all walks of life seem to get in it once they know it is meant to be silly and the rules are a breeze to teach. Son’s Thoughts My six year old boy, Judah cannot give his thoughts because though I believe he is old enough to grasp the game, I suspect his mother would kill me if I let our son play (although, I have totally played an impromptu version with his friends at a party using water guns, playing cards for the click and bang, band aids for health, Jokers for ammo packs, and poker chits for the money (no special powers or special Loot was used) and they all had fun. So here is what a friend of mine had to say: This is a game that only gets better with each play. There is a lot more strategy involved then you first think but what you really learn is to watch the people, to study their micro expressions and mannerisms. The Bang/Click cards create more intense and dramatic moments then even cut throat games of poker…or at least cut throat games of penny poker. One of the truest testaments of this game is the sheer variety of people that this game speaks to. I have now seen people I knew, KNEW would not play any sort of game involving guns threaten to shoot their friends heads off. It is such a fun experience, man. Pro’s + Great ice breaker + Extremely scalable + Short but satisfying play time Con’s - Really does need the expansion - Guns have a bad smell (my wife is extremely sensitive to that) - Theme is definitely a turn-off for some types of people Purchase, Play, or Pass In my opinion, no true game collection would be complete without Ca$h 'n Guns (2nd Edition), so obviously it is a definite Purchase. It is my go-to group game and sees a lot of love when playing with non-gamers, followed only by Deception: Murder in Hong Kong. As long as no one takes themselves or the theme too seriously, this game is a guaranteed hit.

Quick Word I know, I know, I know – the actual quote was about a knife, not a gun. I don’t care. Brief Game Synopsis If you are reading this review then I am going to assume you know how to play the base game, if not, read the review I already wrote up for that. The rules are not much changed for this. More bling and more bang as you get new guns and new abilities are introduced to spice up the game without changing the core flavor. Toys With Rules Again, Repos does a fine job with a clear little rules add-on guide that walks you nicely through the new contents. There is not a whole lot to absorb but enough that it might be a good idea to give the rules summary another once-over just before playing. Boards ‘N Bits The expansion supplies more of the same great quality bits as the base game (but this time, I noticed no smell on the guns). My Thoughts While it can be true to say that More Ca$h ‘N More Guns simply adds more cash and guns, it is not entirely accurate. The appeal of the new powers and variety of gun types offered draws in a lot more playability without adding more complexity or setup/rules explanation time. Although I enjoyed the base game quite a bit, it was not until this expansion that the game really took off for me and became one of my favorite party games. Son’s Thoughts Again, my six year old son has not played the game (officially), but insisted on going on the record as saying: Dad, I think that while the big gun is cooler, I like the smallest one, the – what’d you call it? Oh yeah, a ladies gun (he means derringer…and I think I called it a purse gun”) because – yeah, I mean I’m no girl, but you would never see it, and I would be able to sneak up and shoot you and you’d be surprised and scream and die and stuff. It’d be hilarious. He then rejected my instance that he didn’t understand the rules by explaining to me that if I didn’t play it that way, then I was the one who was mistaken. But someday, when I’m older, I will understand. Pro’s + Cool new guns + Not complicated Con’s - The cool new guns only come into play if certain powers are used, so you either have to rig the draw deck or skip out on them - Barely all crams into main box Purchase, Play, or Pass If you like the base game then it is almost a required Purchase. If the base game was not to your taste this will not be either (which is only logical).

Quick Word I was not sure what to expect when I first cracked the seal and the funky aroma of foam guns wafted out of the box. Then the silly artwork made me frown and I begin to doubt if this was really going to be the game for me. You see, this game came into my life because someone told me this game made you feel like a gangsta (yes with an “a”) and that was the “cool” feeling I was looking to chase down. Brief Game Synopsis Ca$h 'n Guns is a game in which players get to wield comically oversized foam guns and while balancing pretending to “whack” their friends, steal as much loot as possible over several turns, and not get dead. A typical turn is played out with each player secretly choosing to use a Bang card, with which they will shoot someone, or a Click card that is essentially a bluff. There are a finite number of clicks and bangs available to each person so some strategy is employed when deciding which card to use. Once each person secretly decided if they will shoot or not by laying the card face down in front of them, the Godfather counts down to zero and everyone aims their gun at someone at the same time. The Godfather gets to make one person re-aim. Then each person decides if they will take cover by knocking their pawn over (thus negating a wound potentially, but also skipping out on the looting phase). But real mine don’t cower so once everyone braces themselves the cards are flipped and wounds are distributed where applicable. Survivors get take turns taking available loot. Rinse and repeat, and of course special abilities add variety and rule changes here and there. Toys With Rules This is not a rules heavy game but Repos did a nice job laying out the rules in a very clear, well formatted rulebook complete with pictures and all kinds of shiny purddiness. The abilities are all explained in detail to avoid confusion. Boards ‘N Bits Obviously, one of the biggest draws to this game is holding the giant foam guns…which are quite a delight. I will say, though, that mine had a strong smell at first that after a few years, is still slightly evident. The giant prop is not really needed as you could always use your fingers to make a gun or something, but it really adds to the funky theme and is visually appealing (people’s eyebrows always raise in interest once I pull them out) I am not a fan of small cards, but the Bang and Click cards do what they need to do. I am a fan of sleeving games but have not felt the need to do that with these and they have held up fine after many a play. The Character Ability cards are all nice and give you the needed info and the Turn Order Marker and Character pawns are all of good design that help immerse players; the artwork is silly and fun and keeps the game from being taken too seriously. The Reservoir Dog and Pulp Fiction quotes the game inspires helps. My Thoughts Let me just start with saying, I. LOVE. THIS. GAME….with a caveat. The first few times I played it was good but it wasn’t great for me. The expansion, which will be covered later, is what made it awesome. New guns, new abilities, new levels of funocity. That being said, I think this game is really solid fun if you have the group who is wanting to have fun. And it scales beautifully. It is equally fun with 4 as with 8 (or 10 – more on that in a sec). With lower counts it is super tense as you get more wounds but with more people it becomes chaotic and births some seriously goofy moments. I brought to a game night and we had 2 extra people show up. Only about 3 of the people were gamers but when the non-gamers saw I had a game with guns they wanted in. As I said, I have the expansion which offers more guns so I used a deck of cards to create Click and Bang cards for the new players, and we had it. The looting was a little more intense as we had more people vying for the cash but I was the only one who had played it before so I was the only one who noticed. Next time, I will just add Some extra cash and dimand pieces or something. I will also say, that I don’t typically think that most people consider this a gateway game, but it is for me. Adults from all walks of life seem to get in it once they know it is meant to be silly and the rules are a breeze to teach. Son’s Thoughts My six year old boy, Judah cannot give his thoughts because though I believe he is old enough to grasp the game, I suspect his mother would kill me if I let our son play (although, I have totally played an impromptu version with his friends at a party using water guns, playing cards for the click and bang, band aids for health, Jokers for ammo packs, and poker chits for the money (no special powers or special Loot was used) and they all had fun. So here is what a friend of mine had to say: This is a game that only gets better with each play. There is a lot more strategy involved then you first think but what you really learn is to watch the people, to study their micro expressions and mannerisms. The Bang/Click cards create more intense and dramatic moments then even cut throat games of poker…or at least cut throat games of penny poker. One of the truest testaments of this game is the sheer variety of people that this game speaks to. I have now seen people I knew, KNEW would not play any sort of game involving guns threaten to shoot their friends heads off. It is such a fun experience, man. Pro’s + Great ice breaker + Extremely scalable + Short but satisfying play time Con’s - Really does need the expansion - Guns have a bad smell (my wife is extremely sensitive to that) - Theme is definitely a turn-off for some types of people Purchase, Play, or Pass In my opinion, no true game collection would be complete without Ca$h 'n Guns (2nd Edition), so obviously it is a definite Purchase. It is my go-to group game and sees a lot of love when playing with non-gamers, followed only by Deception: Murder in Hong Kong. As long as no one takes themselves or the theme too seriously, this game is a guaranteed hit.

Cash n' Guns is a fantastic party game whether its good friends or strangers at a mixer. Players take the role of criminals splitting the loot after a heist. But nobody trusts one another so the guns come out. Unfortunately (or fortunately) everyone only has a few bullets so the gun (or guns) pointed at you may be filled with blanks (this time). The question you have to ask yourself is: Do you feel lucky? If you take your chances, you may get shot and lose your chance at loot (or be out entirely). If you flinch and dive for cover, you may avoid getting shot but you won't get your share of the loot this turn. At the end of the game, the player with the most loot (and still alive) wins. The game becomes one of bluffing when you have a blank and trying to see through the bluffs of your opponents. There's also extra strategy in choosing loot (as some becomes more valuable the more you have) or deciding to take extra live bullets or a medpack to hopefully keep yourself alive even if you don't get as much loot this turn. Component quality is great with the foam guns being simple but fantastic props for the standoff part of the game. The character cards and loot are quality card stock and have fun, cartoony art reminiscent of Munchkin.

Cash n' Guns is a fantastic party game whether its good friends or strangers at a mixer. Players take the role of criminals splitting the loot after a heist. But nobody trusts one another so the guns come out. Unfortunately (or fortunately) everyone only has a few bullets so the gun (or guns) pointed at you may be filled with blanks (this time). The question you have to ask yourself is: Do you feel lucky? If you take your chances, you may get shot and lose your chance at loot (or be out entirely). If you flinch and dive for cover, you may avoid getting shot but you won't get your share of the loot this turn. At the end of the game, the player with the most loot (and still alive) wins. The game becomes one of bluffing when you have a blank and trying to see through the bluffs of your opponents. There's also extra strategy in choosing loot (as some becomes more valuable the more you have) or deciding to take extra live bullets or a medpack to hopefully keep yourself alive even if you don't get as much loot this turn. Component quality is great with the foam guns being simple but fantastic props for the standoff part of the game. The character cards and loot are quality card stock and have fun, cartoony art reminiscent of Munchkin.

Cash n' Guns brings the final scene of True Romance to life, but in a way that's safe and doesn't render anyone without an eye at the end of the game. At the core of the game is bluffing. Everyone's got a foam gun (GREAT quality, and feels cool to hold in your hand), and they choose to "load" the gun with a bullet card or a "Click" card, then everyone aims their guns at someone around the table. At which point, each player can decide to either ride it out or back out of that round. If you back out, or if you end up getting shot, you don't get to collect any loot for that round. The player with the most loot wins. I've got a friend that loves this game, but balks at the price tag. When I explain to him that you only pay it once, then get to play that game as often as you like forever, he still can't see the upside. Whatever, man, I'm buying it. I'll just charge him $2.00 every time we play.

Cash n' Guns brings the final scene of True Romance to life, but in a way that's safe and doesn't render anyone without an eye at the end of the game. At the core of the game is bluffing. Everyone's got a foam gun (GREAT quality, and feels cool to hold in your hand), and they choose to load the gun with a bullet card or a Click card, then everyone aims their guns at someone around the table. At which point, each player can decide to either ride it out or back out of that round. If you back out, or if you end up getting shot, you don't get to collect any loot for that round. The player with the most loot wins. I've got a friend that loves this game, but balks at the price tag. When I explain to him that you only pay it once, then get to play that game as often as you like forever, he still can't see the upside. Whatever, man, I'm buying it. I'll just charge him $2.00 every time we play.

Lots of fun with the right group of friends or family. The guns make the game. More fun to introduce it to new groups, as playing it many times can get stale. Overall, pretty great at what it's trying to be.