THEN THEN THEN

An analog-Darwinian reaction game with gun cards for 2 to 4 knuckleheads aged 14 and up.

The history of the Yakuza and Tekiya, along with their colorful members, dates back to the early 17th century. It tells tales of smuggling, black-market trading, prostitution, protection rackets, and similar business ventures. The now significantly diminished Yakuza society includes, among others, the Bakuto and Tekiya clans. While the former specialize in shady gambling and armed financial dealings, the Tekiya dedicate themselves to the brighter side of the coin – food, snacks, and life at festivals and markets.

Tekiya operate their business wherever temples, cultural festivals, weekly markets, and other public events beckon. Their stalls are called Yatai (屋台) – delightfully colorful, eccentric, and highly individual booths offering all kinds of delicious snacks and small, fun games for the whole family. Here you can find classic Japanese street food, such as Takoyaki (たこ焼き), Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き), frankfurters (フランクフルト), and brightly colored Kakigori (かき氷). Popular games include Shateki (射的), which are shooting galleries, or Super Ball Sukui (スーパーボールすくい), where you trade caught balls for goldfish.

This finally brings us to the game itself.

... Ichien-san from the ice stall claims to make the best Kakigori in the entire area, while all other booths allegedly only sell inferior junk. That causes trouble! Anyone who publicly elevates themselves above the competition violates custom and order – and no Tekiya will stand for that. But should one report it to the Oyabun and risk, at worst, losing a finger via yubitsume? Absolutely not! Such rule violations are better settled among yourselves – in a dark corner of the park. And then it's: dan... dan... dan (ダンダンダン)! Which means something like "bang, bang, bang!" Whoever survives the duel of the trigger-happy rivals ends up owning a few more food stalls.

Taking turns and moving quickly, you flip cards from your own stack and place them face-up in the center of the table. A sizable arsenal of handguns gradually accumulates there. As soon as a loaded weapon with a handle and barrel points at two of you simultaneously, a shootout occurs. Whoever gets shot or makes a mistake beforehand is punished: you must take all the cards from the center of the table. You bribe the police with the top card, and the rest go face-down under your stack. Then, you continue with a new face-up card. And so on... Whoever is the first to completely exhaust their stack wins.

A bunch of quirky special cards also provides variety for future rounds and keeps the fun level high. It’s hard to imagine more chaos!