What if Tarantino designed a game?

Imagine that you're a part of the IOGre's gang.  You're a gamer, you have the qualifications:  Ruthless, Driven, Clever....  maybe too clever.  Maybe it was a mistake to include you in this caper.....

Welcome to Cash & Gun$.

The idea behind the game is simple,  The players are a gang, and after a successful heist, they have rendezvoused back at the hideout to divvy up their ill-gotten gains.  There are just a few small problems: they're all greedy, they don't trust each other, and they're all armed.

Each player's ammo and willingness to kill their erstwhile partners is represented by 8 cards, which range through four "Click"s, (an empty threat, a bluff), to three "Bang!"s (exactly what it sounds like) to one "Bang! Bang! Bang!" ( a quick shot that trumps a Bang! card).  There are eight rounds, and every round a portion of the loot is placed in the center of the table.  The fun begins by picking one of your cards.... which one is a decision to be made carefully, as they can only be used once.  Once selected, it will be placed face down in front of you, and you pick up your gun.  (Six orange foam guns come with the game.... The IOGre does not condone the use of real guns while playing this game.)




 

*note: The IOGre is NOT at the table

Now we see how brave you are.  If no one is pointing a gun at you, no worries.  You will collect this round, and have no reason to drop out.

But if you have a gun trained on you, (or two, or five.... ) look into the eyes of the player who has the drop on you and consider.... what card did they play... are they bluffing... can I afford to take the chance?

You may stay in at this point, and accept the consequences, or you may choose to "wimp out" and not participate in this round of splitting the loot.  If you choose to sit this one out you get a token which will count against you at the end of the game, deducting $5000 per token from your haul.  In turn each remaining player will reveal their chosen card.  "Click"s will draw sighs of relief as no one will be wounded by that shot, and "Bang"s will cause a wound to the person staring down the barrel.  In the case where two players shoot each other with "Bang" cards, both will be wounded, unless one of the cards is "Bang! Bang! Bang!".  In that case the player gets their shot off first and will be unscathed.  Choose carefully whether to stay in or not, as 3 wounds will kill you and remove you from the game entirely.  If you survive to the end of the round you get your share of the loot.

This game isn't difficult.  It's fast, most importantly, it's FUN.

Once you have played the basic game described above, the rules do offer variants.... one gives each player a special ability, allowing them to change the rules for themselves in some way.  For instance, one ability allows a player to grab a second gun from an eliminated player and use it in addition to their own.  Another variant allows one player to be an undercover cop, who must be ferreted out by the other players, otherwise he could bring the whole caper down around their ears!

As for expansions, like all good games, this has them too. 
There is Cash & Gun$: Yakuza!  This expansion brings the maximum player total up from 6 to 9 and the ability to play as teams or allies. New Foam weapons are added as well.   The Katana can only menace other players who are unfortunate enough to be adjacent to the wielder, but the Shuriken are so accurate they allow the player to change his target before the cards are revealed.

Cash & Gun$: Live! should be noted here as well.  It is not an expansion, but a complete stand alone game designed for conventions, large parties, etc...  its an 8 to 20 player game a' la Are You the Werewolf?  Thankfully it was not what the IOGre feared, and does not feature live ammo.

Cash & Gun$ is available at your local game store, and is made by the fine folks at Asmodee Games: http://us.asmodee.com/ressources/jeux_versions/cash-n-guns_2.php