Designer's Notes Dodge City

Even by very first prototypes of BANG! it was obvious that there was lot of space for adding new effects and characters with peculiar abilities. One of the most common reactions of player becoming very kin to the game was to suggest original cards, ranging from the character with one life point to the card which made all players change their place on the table. So, when it came to cut down the game from its original three-deck format (with 27 characters and 108 "game" cards), inevitably we had to made painful choices, especially with cards sporting very odd effects which could not be represented by symbols -- which, by the way, were among the most amusing cards of all.

Luckily, the success of the game made it possible to design an expansion allowing to draw on some of the most loved cards by playtesters, left over from the daVinci edition. It also adds some of my favorite characters of all time like Apache Kid (did you notice all Indians! cards are of the Diamond suit?), Chuck Wengam, Sean Mallory, Bill Noface and José Delgado. Now, with the possibility of choosing among almost 30 characters, games are even more fun and varied. Designing new characters is very enjoying and I am always ready to listen to suggestions; however, balance issues regarding the limited range of possible life points, the already existing characters and the available space for the ability text caused many promising characters to be discarded.
As regards the "game" cards, the most tempting action was to add a bunch of cards with unique effects (one above all: the Buntline Special, a weapon with range 1 which requires two Missed! cards to avoid his shots). Unfortunately, this is impossible while being consistent with the iconic system without text on the cards; it would require a dozen of cards with the book symbol, which in turn would require a constant reference to the manual. On the other hand, daVinci disliked the idea of adding lots of new symbols. In the end, we found an agreement on a new game mechanic and only one fresh symbol: quite a challenge since I had to fill no less than 40 cards only with them.
For the first goal, I added the green bordered cards, sort of a mix between the brown bordered cards (immediate effect) and the blue bordered ones (permanent effect). This helps characters with 3 life points, who can hold in their hand few cards only, and makes the game somewhat less tactical. Regarding the new symbol, the first idea was to insert cards with two mutually exclusive effects (e.g., a BANG! or a Missed!): this enriched the strategic side of the game, but proved to be a bit confusing for players. So I introduced cards which required a payment to be played: this originated the final new symbol which, by the way, allows to balance powerful effects like the Springfield and the Brawl.
Le regole per giocare in 8 erano pronte già dalla prima stesura del gioco (che era per 2-9 giocatori) e si è trattato solo di testarle a fondo per verificarne il reale funzionamento e bilanciamento. Quando uno dei due Rinnegati ha iniziato a vincere anche partite di questo genere, l’espansione aveva superato il suo test più difficile.
The rules to play with 8 players were ready even from the first version of the game: it was only a matter of hard playtesting to check for balance. When one of the two Renegades started to win games with 8 players, this side of the expansion passed its most difficult test.
The special rules for 3 players, on the contrary, are designed by Silvano Sorrentino, as usual extremely precious for his creative ideas, and they work smoothly even if, of course, they sacrifice the hidden roles mechanic: but with so few players that's a light loss.
I wish to thank all groups of players who during this period gave me their ideas, their enthusiasm and their suggestions: it is wonderful to see how other people become fond of something you have created. A special thank goes to all the daVinci staff for its unique advices, to Giovanni Ottieri for his character José Delgado, and to the Civitavecchia Game Club "Luigi Valentini".