Board Game Arena

A lot of people play dynamite like it's mandatory to play it. "I have dynamite so I must play it". And then sometimes they get blown up.
Sometimes their teammate gets blown up. But most of the time it is played when there is no real reason to play it. Why do people do it?
To me the dynamite is a last ditch effort to try and turn the tide. Like 2 outlaws against 1 or if you are up against Jesse or Sid in a 1vs1.

Players often make bad moves. It's one of the reasons I usually prefer 1 v 1 games, so that I can limit the punishment for bad moves to the player that made them. Though before writing them off do a double check that one of the characters on their team isn't Luck Duke or Kit Carson.

I feel that 80% of dynamite hit me or my team rather than others, so I have to quit these games and also play more dynamites so they can hit others more often.

They probably haven’t learned the basics of probability, or they’re just new to the game.

I am one of these players that in most cases plays dynamite right away, as it adds a level of tension. The moment when all players lean forward and eagerly watch the card as it's revealed at the beginning of a turn is very enjoyable IRL. And I will continue to play this way, because that is what's fun for me, however, I will never become upset at someone if I see them discarding the dynamite (I accept that other people play differently than me). I'd argue that if someone becomes upset when another player strays from the optimal strategy, then BGA is not really for them, or at least they shouldn't join tables with random people.

Do keep in mind that this is BGA, not a gambling site. Most people come here to have fun, and for a lot of people fun doesn't mean going down the rabbit hole of the one-and-only holy strategy, and it's not only about winning. I've played a lot of Bang games where I ended up on the losing side, but still had a great time playing. The only thing a player stands to lose is fun, not money or prestige, and calling someone a bad player when they do something outside the bounds of THE strategy, is quite off-putting, and IMHO, pretty arrogant.

I'm of course not talking about tournaments, only standard games. Tournaments are very different, where strategy matters a lot more. There's a reason it never even came to my mind to enter a tournament. I come here when time permits to play a few games, knowing the base rules, and I will not commit to learning all the ins and outs of strategies on a PhD level. I'd forget it anyway as sometimes I don't get to play for months at a time.

One last note on knowing the basics of probability: I'm not in a casino playing Black Jack or Poker with money on the table. I do understand quite a bit about calculating probabilities, and I'm also not new to Bang, but I come to BGA to relax, not to solve equations. I also don't keep track of which cards have been played, or how many of this or that card are still in the deck. If you do, great, those skills take time to master and are therefore admirable, just don't get upset at me for not doing the same thing.

When you say "tournament", if you mean aslo Arena mode, I quite agree with you.

Because it’s fun to play

reasons why people can play dynamite when they are not losing:
Suzy Lafayette has last card in hands: dynamite
they are outlaw 1 hp and they have last card in hands: dynamite and onother outlaw play after them (way to say them something like kill me)
second card on law of the west
round before fistful of cards
they know that they will win this round and they only want to have a good time

w1nner-l0ser wrote: ↑14 January 2026, 15:55 reasons why people can play dynamite when they are not losing:
Suzy Lafayette has last card in hands: dynamite
they are outlaw 1 hp and they have last card in hands: dynamite and onother outlaw play after them (way to say them something like kill me)
second card on law of the west
round before fistful of cards
they know that they will win this round and they only want to have a good time

How can you have a list of reasons to play dynamite and not mention kit lol

Bart gets 3 cards also. But thread is legit. Ppl often play it when there is no need to

ChiefPointThief wrote: ↑14 January 2026, 16:29

w1nner-l0ser wrote: ↑14 January 2026, 15:55 reasons why people can play dynamite when they are not losing:
Suzy Lafayette has last card in hands: dynamite
they are outlaw 1 hp and they have last card in hands: dynamite and onother outlaw play after them (way to say them something like kill me)
second card on law of the west
round before fistful of cards
they know that they will win this round and they only want to have a good time

How can you have a list of reasons to play dynamite and not mention kit lol

Bart gets 3 cards also. But thread is legit. Ppl often play it when there is no need to

Yes kit is good reason too (if not play 1v1 vs Lucky Duke)
or round before abandoned mine is not bad reason too