Cash 'n Guns

I'll make you an offer you can't refuse: Play Cash 'n Guns and have a lot of fun doing it. This wonderfully straight forward game allows you to embrace your inner gangster as you try to accumulate as much cash as possible. So that's half of the title, but it wouldn't be Cash 'n Guns without the guns. This game delivers with six foam pistols you wield against the other players.

Game play is quite simple, easy to follow, yet tense and fun. Each turn a haul of cash is laid out. Based on this, players decide if they are going to try to shoot another player, eliminating them before the loot is split, or simply point an empty barrel at the other criminal, hoping they back out for fear of being wasted. Players make this choice by picking a card that says whether they shoot or not and placing it face down in front of them. A player then counts to three and everyone points their gun at someone. After another three count anyone who wishes to back out can do so. After that, shots are revealed and damage is taken. Finally, the loot is split between the gangsters left standing.

Cash 'n Guns is a great party game that's quick to learn and fun to play for even those people who might not normally enjoy a “board” game. The cash and other pieces are made of thick and durable cardboard, the guns of sturdy orange foam. The art makes the theme, as each player is represented by a different gangster, from Iggy the leather back to Black Lotus, an apparent Yakuza princess. These avatars literally fall over (you knock them over) if a player is shot or backs down from a standoff.

Personal feuds are quick to develop as players seek revenge for earlier attacks or try to scare someone away from a large haul of loot, all the while trying to avoid collecting three wounds, which mean permanent death and removal from the game. Elimination in this game isn't all that bad, however. It's rare in all but five or six player games and even when a player is eliminated, you'll probably start a the next game in five or ten minutes.

The theme of shooting others for money isn't the most kid friendly and some more mature players may find the game play wears thin and repetitive after a few plays (though there are some optional rules to help with that). But Cash 'n Guns is an unmistakably enjoyable experience and great warm up before other games or activities. Unfortunately, at just over $30 the price tag may turn away some of those who would truly enjoy a game that isn't as rule heavy as a lot of other more intense and pricy board games. But don't let it dissuade you: Cash 'n Guns is the offer, you know what you have to do.