Ca$h 'n Gun$ Revisted

After that long post talking about different party games, it occurs to me that one of the game I mentioned (Ca$h 'n Gun$) isn't that mainstream, and probably should be described to casual readers (all 5 of you, according to probably erroneous site tracking information).

Ca$h 'n Gun$ is a game which recreates the end of Reservoir Dogs complete with foam guns to point at people's heads. The premise is that you are returning after a successful crime and need to split the money. You deal up some bills from a bag and then the game starts.

Players decide if they will load their gun or not (using a card mechanism so players can count your bullets). They then simultaneously point foam guns at each other. You can then chicken out (which might be a good idea if 5 players have guns pointed at you). Chickening out does cost you points at the end, but it's better than being dead.

Everyone left in then reveals how the loaded their guns. If you are shot you get a wound per bullet. 3 wounds and you are out. I should also mention that shots are mostly simultaneous, too; it's possible for 2 players to shoot each other. The complication is the Bang! Bang! Bang! card. This give that shooter priority over normal shots.

Anyone left after the gun play (ie people who didn't chicken out or get shot) get a cut of the loot, but it must be divided evenly so there's often some left in the pot. Most money minus chicken tokens held by someone with less than 3 wounds at the end of the game is the winner.

I don't really like the game that much. It is fun to point guns at each other, but the payoffs are highly dependent on the number of players left to split the money. I've been in every split except one (due to being shot) and lost by a large margin because the one split I missed was worth 3 times any other one. I supposed there might be some strategy in figuring out the shares based on number of players, but that's seems very mathy for a party game. It also seems unthematic.

I'm playing a game about a shoot out over criminal loot and win because I calculate the division better than others? Oh well. At least it is a quick game (unlike Cranium).