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About The Gang
The Gang takes Texas Hold'em and makes it cooperative. Nobody bets; instead, after each stage of the deal, players take numbered chips to claim where they think their hand ranks at the table, and they can take chips from each other until everyone is settled. If the final ranking is right, the gang cracks a vault. It is a clever piece of silent communication from John Cooper and Kory Heath.
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Is The Gang Right for You?
Best for
The Gang is for groups who enjoy The Crew or The Mind and want the same kind of silent coordination in a new form. It helps if someone knows how Texas Hold'em hands rank, but nobody needs to play poker. Four or five players is ideal, and a game takes about twenty minutes. Because it uses a standard deck and familiar hands, it also works well with relatives who play cards but not hobby games.
Maybe skip it if…
Players who do not know poker hand rankings will spend a first game looking at a player aid. And if your group cannot resist hinting with words, the puzzle disappears.
How to Play The Gang
Setup
Shuffle a standard deck and set out the chips for your player count in four colours. Lay out the vault and alarm cards.
On Your Turn
- Deal two cards to each player, then take white chips: a higher number claims a stronger hand.
- Reveal the flop, turn and river in turn, taking yellow, orange and then red chips after each, from the centre or from another player.
- Reveal hands from the lowest red chip upward. Each hand must be at least as strong as the one before.
How to Win
A correct order cracks a vault and a wrong one trips an alarm. Crack three vaults before three alarms to win together.
💡 Strategy Tips
The early chips are a conversation. Taking the highest white chip with a low pair tells everyone something false.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Talking about your hand. The only communication allowed is through the chips you take and swap.
- Treating the white chip as a promise. Early chips reflect only two cards, and a good table expects them to move.
- Refusing to give up a chip. If someone takes your chip, they are telling you something; listen before snatching it back.
- Forgetting that the board cards are shared. A pair on the table helps everyone, so your strength is relative, not absolute.
Advanced Strategy
- Agree a loose convention for the white chips before you start, such as high numbers for pairs or high cards only.
- Watch who moves last. The player who settles the chips often has the clearest view of the table.
- Think about what the board makes likely. If three cards of a suit are out, a flush is probable for someone.
- Close ties are the most common failure. When two hands seem similar, take chips that leave room to swap on the river.
Variants & House Rules
Challenges and Specialists
Included in the box. Challenge cards make rounds harder and Specialist cards give the gang one-off help. Add them once the basic game feels comfortable.
Deluxe edition
A deluxe edition has also been released. The standard box already contains the full game.
Video Guides
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Our Verdict
The Gang is a clever reinvention of poker as a cooperative game about communication without words. It uses a familiar deck and familiar hands, which makes it quick to teach, and the chip swapping creates tense, quiet rounds in which one silent swap can say more than a paragraph. It was on the Kennerspiel des Jahres recommendation list in 2025, and we think it earned the place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to know poker?
You need to know the hand rankings, which are on the player aid. No betting or bluffing knowledge is needed.
Can two people play?
Not officially. The game is for three to six players.
Who designed The Gang?
John Cooper and Kory Heath. It is published by KOSMOS.