About this deal
To move onto a rubble or base camp space, use any cards from your hand. The number of symbols on the space indicates the number of cards you need to play. The identity of those cards is irrelevant. I won’t go into the full gameplay here because it’s so similar to how I explained Family Inc. But the gameplay differences are notable, as I find myself preferring them as well.
But the one trademark Knizian wrinkle that really seals the deal for Gang of Dice is the fact that the sixth side of every die displays a Boss rather than a 6. This Boss face has no value, ever, meaning it will never trigger an explosion, only the other faces (1-5) can do that. Furthermore, ties are fairly common, and the tiebreaker always goes in favor of whoever rolled more dice. So a sum of 9 from three dice (a 4, 5, and Boss) always beats out a sum of 9 from two dice. As for the aforementioned expansions, Knizia says, "Being able to control doing the graphics, it gives me freedom to do expansions myself for different territories. There are lots of expansion opportunities in El Dorado, and the advantage now is that I don't have to convince an individual publisher. I discuss it with Vincent, and we do it." The modular board is ace. Setting it up in different ways allows for oodles of replayability, especially as each section is double-sided. Not only that, it can be made shorter or longer to adjust the length of the game.
Facts
Play one card from your hand and place it above your expedition board. Most cards have a power value. The power value allows you to move 1 or more spaces of the same type adjacent to the position of your playing piece. Then, you may play another card to make an additional move. Play any number of cards from your hand to (A) move your playing piece and/or (B) buy up to 1 new card for your expedition. Exception: If you play an item card without using its function (e.g. to pass a rubble space, or to spend it as % a coin), place it above the expedition board after you played it, then put it on your discard pile.
You’re always allowed to choose as many dice as you wish to start your roll, then you have 3 Yahtzee style rolls to get the best result (unless you explode immediately). That decision of how many dice to roll is layered with plenty of nuance on its own—more dice means you’ll have more options to work with, yet you also have a higher risk of exploding and losing those extra dice than if you had chosen less. Wise players will know when to cut their losses in a round and roll the obligatory 1 die rather than risk it big. Choose a card on the market board that you can afford and put it face up on your discard pile. You may neither use that card during this turn, nor put it directly in your hand. The card will eventually be shuffled into your draw pile with the rest of the discard pile.
What We Don’t Like About El Dorado
At this point, Knizia says they have the graphics, a working template of the game in the English language, and the ability to license the game in territories or language/territory combinations not covered by Ravensburger. When publishers want to join the project, they need only to replace the English in the master template with a translation of the text into the language(s) specified in their license with Knizia. It’s unclear whether No Mercy or Hit! will become easily available for folks in North America, as it does not have English rules in the box (although you can find a fan translation on Board Game Geek). That’s a bit of a shame, because I find myself preferring No Mercy over Family Inc. (although who knows… it’s possible that Cheeky Monkey is the best of the bunch).