Yesterday I got a chance to play Bang the Dice Game The Walking Dead edition with some of my students.

I've talked about Bang the Dice Game before on this blog. It's a great game especially if you have a largish gaming group (5-8) players and want a game that everyone can play. There are very few that handle that large a group. It's what makes this game also great to use with students, three copies will easily handle a class of twenty four students, and it's not mega expensive to buy.

So what are the differences between Bang the Dice Game and Bang the Dice Game The Walking Dead edition?

Firstly theme. The original Bang the Dice Game (and I am going to get so bored typing that each time, probably as bored as you will be reading it) has a western theme. While The Walking Dead edition is as its name suggests based on the comic/graphic novel of the same name, and not the the tv series. That's important because the art work used for the game is from or similar to the comic and not from the tv series. And for those that are not familiar with The Walking Dead, the theme is zombies, and survival against the odds.

Secondly, and for me this is a massive difference, the quality of the components used. For me The Walking Dead components, dice and counters are a lesser quality than the same components in Bang the Dice Game. The cardboard used for the wound splatters (life counters) is thinner and glossier and not that nice in the hand. While the dice are not as high quality. The images on the dice will I'm sure start to rub off with a lot of use.

My first game with these students there was just three of us playing the game. I hadn't played the game before with three players, and it had been a thing I'd wanted to do. Just to experience it, and see how it felt.

Playing with three players the rules are slightly different. You have one survivor, one saviour and a hilltop survivor. And these are face up so everyone knows who has which role. Off the top of my head I can't remember who has to shot who. But for example and this is most likely wrong, the survivor has to kill the saviour player, the hilltop survivor has to kill the survivor, you get the picture. After that the game plays as normal until a winner emerges.

It was interesting playing like this, is it as much fun as the hidden role mode of the regular game? Not really, but it is still a fun experience.

While we were playing this three player game, another student got curious about the game and wanted to join in. So our second play was the regular rules with four players.

The students did enjoy playing, because after the game we played another two games at their request before time ran out. They loved the interaction, and sometimes forgot who they were meant to be going after based on their faction, and repaid wounds inflicted on them by one of their classmates irrelivant of the other players likely faction.

At one point, one student managed to kill himself with a self inflicted zombie horde! Which was a source of banter after we finished playing.

I think the requests to play again show the strength of the under lying game. The students didn't comment on the component quality, however this group hadn't played the original version so had nothing to compare with.

A fun version of the game, just a shame about the quality. Have I made that clear enough in this post that I don't like the quality of the components?

Anyway choose the theme you like, buy, and have fun!!!

Posted by me using my iPad and the Blogsy app