Gnadenlos!

About this board game

Gnadenlos! is a competitive prospecting boom-town game for 3–4 players, played in about 45 minutes. Players seek the most prestige by hiring adventurers to handle gold prospecting, gun battles, and poker games on their behalf.

Adventurers are acquired through bidding, but payment is made with IOUs because the money has not arrived yet. Each adventurer has a rating for Gold Fever, High Noon, and the Poker Game. During an event, players choose an adventurer card face down and reveal their choices simultaneously: the highest relevant rating wins, while the lowest usually loses.

• Gold Fever: The winner and second-highest player receive gold, which can be exchanged for prestige points or used to pay debts.
• High Noon: The winner retrieves two IOUs, while the loser is shot and loses the adventurer card. The undertaker also advances along the timing track.
• The Poker Game: The winner advances on the prestige track, while the loser moves backward.

IOUs are placed in rows beside one of six die symbols. When enough rows have been filled, Pay Day begins: a die is rolled, and the outermost IOU beside the matching symbol is revealed. Its owner must pay. If a player cannot meet a debt, that player receives a vulture chip and moves five spaces back on the prestige track.

Gnadenlos! ends when a player has three vulture chips, someone reaches or passes the winning space, or the undertaker reaches his final space. The player farthest along the prestige track wins, making every bid, event, and debt a tense gamble for success.