FAQ A Fistful of Cards

NOTE: these FAQs have been written by me, however they are not the official ones, which hold in sanctioned tournaments -- even if, of course, most of the answers are essentially the same. You will find here also questions which are not-so-frequentyl-asked to be put in the official FAQ found on dV Games official site.

Q1. What A Fistful of Cards does?

A. At the beginning of his turn, the player is the target of as many BANG! as the number of cards in his hand. These BANGs! can be cancelled normally by means of Missed! cards or similar ones (Barrel, characters' special abilities like Jourdonnais', and so on). ERRATA: the English text on old editions is wrong: the player can avoid the BANG! and does not automatically lose life points.

Q2. Does Lasso apply to green cards as well as blue cards?

A. Yes, since both are cards "in play".

Q3. What I have to do if, with the Abandoned Mine in play, there is only one card in the discard pile?

A. Draw both cards from the draw deck, and discard as usual on the discard deck.

Q4. Where I have to place my played cards while Abandoned Mine is in play, especially when I play Wells Fargo, General Store or Stagecoach?

A. There is a difference between "discarded" and "played" cards: Stagecoach, General Store and Wells Fargo are "played", while cards exceeding hand size limit at the end of the turn or by means of a Duel are "discarded". So, discarded cards goes on the draw deck, while played cards go on the discard deck. Draw the cards after Stagecoach and Wells Fargo always from the draw deck. Note that this applies to current player only: all other players draw and discard normally.

Q5. Where Jose Delgado places the blue cards with his ability with the Abandoned Mine in play?

A. The Abandoned Mine does not apply to characters. So Jose Delgado always discards as normal on the discard pile.

Q6. When I guess wrong the color of the card with the Peyote, do I keep the last card?

A. No. This means that if you guess wrong the very first card, you don't draw any card in that turn.

Q7. How many life points I lose if I am hit by the effect of the Sniper?

A. Only one life point: in fact, the effect of the two combined BANG!s "counts as a BANG!".

Q8. How many times and against which targets can I use the effect of the Sniper?

A. As many times as you wish. In addition, the effect of the Sniper does not count as a played BANG! card, so you can shoot your normal BANG! during your turn. For example, if you have 7 BANG! cards in your hand, you could fire a total of 4 shots (3 shots with the effects of the Sniper and one normal BANG!). All the targets must be at a reachable distance.

Q9. How does the Ranch work?

A. The English text on older editions is wrong. This is the correct text: "At the end of phase 1 of your turn, you may discard any number of cards from your hand and then draw an equal number from the deck (only once!)".

Q10. If I discard BANG! cards with the Ricochet, may I use a normal BANG! during my turn?

A. Yes: the BANG!s used with the Ricochet are "discarded", not "played".

Q11. A player has to be killed before the round the Dead Man enters in play to come back to life?

A. No, you can be killed in the same round the Dead Man is in play... provided you have not still played your turn.

Q12. When I come back to life with 2 cards thanks to the Dead Man, do I draw normally 2 cards in phase 1 of my turn?

A. Yes.

Q13. What does Kit Carlson do with the Law of the West in play?

A. Kit Carlson looks at the first 3 cards of the deck, chooses the two to draw and shows the second one (note that he cannot change the cards order!): if he can, he must play that card afterwards, during the same turn.

Q14. Can I use cards like Barrel, Bible etc. or characters special abilities (like Jourdonnais') to avoid the effect of the Russian Roulette?

A. yes.

Q15. What does "at the beginning of the turn" mean?

A. It means "before any other action", including the check for the Dynamite or the Jail.

Q16. Does distance matter when applying the effect of the Ricochet?

A. No, you may target players at any distance.

Q17. While the Ambush is in play, do the abilities of characters like Rose Doolan and Paul Regret still work?

A. Yes.

Q18. The target of BANG! card by the Sniper has to be at a reachable distance?

A. Yes.

Q19. Can I give a life point to an eliminated player via Blood Brothers?

A. No, character receiving the life point must be already alive.