Bandit's Bluff
A worker placement game about 2-4 rival gangs in the wild west. Unique aspects of deck building with poker, high risk/reward scenarios, and many ways to make it rich, it's a race to be the biggest, baddest boss in Bandit's Bluff!
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The Town
Howdy partner! Welcome to Bandit’s Bluff!
A rough and tumble town right out of the old west, Bandit's Buff isn't for the faint of heart. Take a trip to the local bar, The Tipsy Taps, where gangs can corral and build up their numbers, or sit at the poker table to take down a big hand. Careful, though, you might not be the only gang trying to recruit, and if you're not early enough, the game might be full.
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You might also build your notoriety around the town by robbing the local bank! Even if you're caught, the local sheriff is a greased palm away from letting you right back at it!
Cattle rustling is a lucrative business opportunity for the new recruits, or maybe you'd like to try your hand at investing and taking advantage of the beauties of compound interest.
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It might seem like there is plenty to do in the town of Bandit's Bluff, but you'll soon realize that's a whole lot less true when other gangs get involved... as the old adage goes, this town isn't big enough for the two of you!
The Game
Worker Placement at its core... so much more.
Bandit's Bluff is a worker placement game that has elements from many different genres. Inspired by games like Alien Frontiers and Stone Age, Bandit's Bluff combines several mechanics from various euro-games with classic games like Poker and Liar's Dice, creating a unique experience with familiar aesthetics.
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Play takes place over seven days. All players start each round with a showdown to determine who will be the first player, and to determine play direction. Then, play continues with the placement of gang members around the town. Gambling, robbing, buying, rustling, and watering are several possible decisions a player can make. Almost all actions have an inherent risk/reward for taking them.
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Not entirely random, Bandit's Bluff is a mix of calculated luck. Players utilize poker cards that double as power cards, deciding if they want to manipulate actions, giving themselves an edge, or try and chase big money by saving them up. Holding too much money will cost you in donations, but investing in the bank for high interest will put your money at risk of getting heisted.
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So will you play it safe? Or risk it all to be the best? It's your decision.
The Project
Years in the making!
Nate started developing Bandit's Bluff years ago, around 2014, to create a game for himself to combine liars dice with a worker placement game (his personal favorite). However, the more he talked about it, the more interested people became, so he enlisted his brother and wife to help fully flesh out the game. In 2019, after years of edits, balancing, and reiterations, he printed what was officially v4.7 but ultimately was v1.0, the game that would get released. Now, in 2020, they have begun cleaning up, branding, and putting art to the dream, moving BB out of the prototype phase and into the final steps towards production. The goal is to Kickstart Bandit's Bluff in 2021 as a ready to produce board game, so that people can invest in something that is already fully developed.
