Bang and Twang

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Rules download

Printer-friendly Bang & Twang rules PDF download: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xt871hggyrq0eu4/Bang%26TwangInstructionsPrinterFriendly.pdf?dl=0

Full-colour Bang & Twang rules PDF download: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2f5jj6xupcokmgc/Bang%26TwangInstructions.pdf?dl=0

The rules:

The Forest Dragon: Bang & Twang!

Instructions
Types of Card

There are 3 types of Bang & Twang card:
Riff Cards

There are just 3 of these. They show an orange drum and “Bang” on one side and a green mandolin and “Twang” on the other. Later you might use the special Bang & Twang coasters or coins instead.

Sequence Cards

There are 16 of these. They show sequences of Bangs and Twangs on one side, and the forest leaves on the other side. They each have a score in the corner. You’ll use these sequence cards in every game of Bang & Twang.

Tune Cards

Tune cards come in sets of 8, which are the same colour and have the same symbol in the bottom left hand corner. They have the forest leaves on the back. You’ll only use one set of 8 tune cards per game. Using a different set of tune cards changes the way the game plays.

For the first game you’ll need the tune cards with a green background and a green circle in the corner. These are the best tune cards to use to learn how to play.

Set up the game!

Put the three Riff Cards in a row in the middle of the table, all showing the same side. It doesn’t matter if it’s 3 “Twangs” or 3 “Bangs”, as long as they’re all the same.

You’ll all need to view them from one side, since they have a right way up, so you all need to see the same sequence of Riff Cards. You can’t play upside down!

Sort the other cards. You’ll need the 16 sequence cards that show three symbols.

You’ll need to add in one set of 8 special, or “tune” cards. You need one set of tune cards per game. They should all be the same colour and show the same symbol in the corner.

For your first few games use the green tune cards with the green circles in the corner. These are the best cards for learning the game. 

You won’t need the other sets just yet, so put those safely in the box.

Shuffle the sequence cards and the tune cards together. They need to be really well shuffled for the best game.

Deal out 2 cards to each player. These two cards are each player’s hand. Right up until the cards run out, you’ll almost always have 2 cards in your hand. Keep your hand secret.

Put all the remaining cards in a pile where everyone can reach them. This pile is called the draw pile. 

Optional Rule: Play with your hands “open” and let everyone see what cards you’ve got. For younger players you can help each other, with older players you can hinder each other!

The game takes about 10 minutes to play. The youngest player probably needs to go first. If they don’t then the person who last played or sang a folk song goes first.

How to play Bang & Twang

Each player gets a turn.

On your turn you are aiming to save, or “bank” one of the cards from your hand. 

The cards you save in your bank will make up your score at the end of the game. 

To bank a sequence card from your hand it must exactly match the sequence (or “riff”) shown by the riff cards. 

If you can bank, it is usually a good idea to do it. To bank a card, take it from your hand, read out the title and the sequence, and place it face down in front of you. 

Banked cards make up a single pile called your “bank”.When banking a card it always goes on top of your bank. You can’t change the order of your banked cards.

Once you’ve banked a card go to “Once you’ve done your thing”.

If you can’t match a riff straight away, or you don’t want to match a riff, you can do one of three things to the riff cards on your turn:

• You can flip over one riff card. If that makes a match with a card in your hand, bank that card! You can usually only bank one per turn.

• You can move one riff card to a different place in the riff order. If that makes a match with a card in your hand, bank that card! You can only bank one per turn, even if both match.

• You can play a tune card. All the rules for what to do when you play a tune card are on the cards themselves. 

Tune cards might let you take cards from other player’s bank, let you bank some points without matching the riff cards, and other fun things!It is important to always follow the order of actions the tune cards says.

Once you’ve followed the instructions on the tune card go to “Once you’ve done your thing” . 

Important Rule!

You have to do SOMETHING on your turn. You cannot pass. So you may just flip or move a riff card without banking anything. 

Banking a Card

When you match the riff with one of your cards, you bank it. You can normally only bank one, even if both of your cards match. This means you place it facedown in front of you in your “bank”. Keep them face down in a neat pile one on top of the other. The last card you banked is always on the top of your bank. You must not rearrange the order of your bank, unless a tune card allows it.

Taking a card from someone else’s bank

If a tune card allows you to take a card from someone else’s bank, you simply take the top card (or ask them to pass it to you). You don’t normally get to look at the cards in their banked pile. But there’s no rule against watching other player’s closely to see what they’re banking!

Once you’ve done your thing

Once you’ve taken your action (banking, flipping or moving and banking, or playing a tune card) replenish or “refresh” the cards in your hand from the draw pile to a total of two. Sometimes you might need to take two cards from the draw pile.

Make sure you replenish your hand so that it is at least two cards. 

Sometimes a special card might let you have more than two, but usually you make sure you end your go with 2 cards in your hand.And then it’s the next player’s go. You can play clockwise or anti-clockwise around the table.

When the cards run out

When the draw pile runs out of cards the game is ending. As soon as a player runs out of cards on their go, and the draw deck is empty, then the game immediately ends! It’s a race to the finish!

Beginning your turn with no cards

If you begin your go with no cards, all you can do is move or flip the riff cards and then refresh your hand to 2 cards. And that’s it for your go.

If you begin your go with no cards and the draw deck is empty then the game ends!

Scoring

Once the game ends, add up all your banked cards. The player with the most points wins! You only count banked cards in your score.

Different Tunes

The Forest Dragon Bang & Twang game comes with 6 sets of tune cards! You only use one set of tune cards at a time, but once you feel confident with the first tune, swap it out for another one. To do this, find all 8 special cards with the same symbol in the draw deck and take them out.  Replace them with a new set of tune special cards with the same symbol and shuffle well!

Once you’re an expert Banger & Twanger you’ll be able to remix the tune cards into multicoloured WONDERTUNES!

Bang & Twang Credits

Game Design and Art: Rory, Ben and Jon Hodgson

Layout: Paul Bourne

Playtesters: Andy,  Matt, Bill, Will, Grace, Elijah, Nina

Special Thanks to our Kickstarter backers!

©2018 Handiwork Games Ltd, All Rights Reserved