I got a copy of BANG! The Bullet for my birthday in early December. By January 1st I had played this game over 20 times with four different groups of people, and had bought 3 more copies to give or sell to people in my gaming group. My family borrowed it from me the day after Christmas and played it 8 times that day before I came back over at 6pm. Then we played two more games!

BANG! is simple to set up and quick to play, two big plusses; it is also a ton of fun, which is the most important thing. I have introduced this game to people as young as ten years old and as old as sixty-five, and they have all been able to play and enjoy the game, and just about everyone has a chance of winning. This version allows for as few as three and as many as eight players, so you can play just about anywhere with just about anyone. My family's experience is that 5 to 7 is about the right size group, with four the game is too obvious, with eight there are too many people to keep things moving. The cards are easy to understand and once you have played a round or two you will be able to understand what any card does as soon as it comes up. The mechanics of the game provide for lots of variation, lots of guessing and a little bit of strategy. It's a card game and as such is mostly the luck of the draw, but a clever player can usually make the best of just about any hand.

The western theme permeates every aspect of the game, and you'll often find yourself adopting a terrible western drawl as you play, because it just fits. The bullet includes all the expansions, which gives you lots of variation that wouldn't be in the original set. I really cannot recommend this game enough.

Bang itself is a good game that is well adjusted for larger groups. The larger the group the more important the Fist Full Of Cards is since it can help weed thru the players. We have been able to have good games with up to 11 people by having all the expansion cards on the table. Nice display item too with the shaped container.

One nice optional house rule we use with large groups is that anyone who has a *BANG* card has to use it during their turn. This helps in groups that like each other too much to not want to be the first one to shoot another. "Sorry, but I have to use a bang card... so I shoot you"

I am not a Western fan and wasn't excited to play this after hearing the description, but my fellow players proved that "my opinion was wrong". The highlight, especially for the men that were playing, was the requirement to yell, "Bang!" whenever you "shoot" a player with a "Bang" card. In fact, one player went out to buy cap guns to add to the excitement! This is a fun, easy to learn game that you can play over and over without getting tired of it - especially with all the expansions!