Chairman of the Board: Thug life

‘Ca$h ’n Gun$’ game review

By Ed Appleby, Illustrator

Sometimes you just want to take out your friends and steal their stuff. Luckily, there’s a game for that.

Ca$h ’n Gun$ is a risk management game for four to six players designed by Ludovic Maublanc and published by Repos Production in 2005 with illustrations by Gérard Mathieu. The second edition (as Ca$h ’n Guns), for up to eight players, came out in 2014 with illustrations by John Kovalic.

In the game, each of the players takes the role of a gangster. You have just completed the heist and now it’s time to “negotiate” for your share of the loot.

There are eight rounds during which a section of the loot is up for grabs. You then load your gun with a bullet card—which can be blanks, live rounds, or trigger happy rounds—and then you proceed to chose which other player to intimidate by pointing your gun at them. Players then have the option to back out before the bullets begin to fly.

Players who remain in the round uninjured then split the loot. The player with the highest valued loot wins.

Though some of the initial setup and rule clarifications can drag on a bit, the gameplay is simple and fun. The game provides actual foam guns, which are surprisingly satisfying to point at your friends. As all player actions need to be made at the same time, the game goes pretty fast. There are also a lot of opportunities to really get into character and have fun with the game.

I would recommend Ca$h ’n Gun$ for tight groups of players, friends who are looking for something fun and aren’t put off by a little direct player-versus-player action. Also, if you want to level up the fun of the game, try using Nerf guns.