On the 8th day of Gamesmas.

Dead Man's Hand was the game of choice for the Wednesday night fun. Pooch, McBeth, Mczermof, Scotty and Tank all gathered to break out their Lawmen and Outlaws and head into the Old West. This genre has long been a favourite of mine and I have built a great little town I have named (after a favourite radio drama - yes I am old) Clermont.

This game is based on the storytelling. the scenarios are set up as little scenes that you follow through to a big shootout. The first scene we did was from a "Belly Full of Lead" and was a tutorial for Mr Pooch and Scott to learn the ropes. Scott played a mysterious stranger walking into to town when he comes across 3 drunken Outlaws (Pooch), and the tension rises. Inevitably the shooting' starts - but even in their inebriated state the outlaws mercilessly gunned down our hero.

As you can see in the picture the game has cards. These are used for initiative, the players deal out a card to each model and flip them over to find out who goes first. You also have cards in your hand - that you can play to give you a extra boost in special, cinematic moments.

On to the main event - our two fearless Lawmen face down a ruthless gang of Outlaws. Scott and I ran the Lawmen and Mczermof and Pooch ran the Outlaws with McBeth keeping us on the straight and narrow. We skipped the middle scene and went straight to the end. The game lends itself to having multiple players taking charge and off we went. The Sheriff came under a lot of early pressure - so he and the Marshall took cover until the mooks could arrive in support. This is where we found a flaw in the game - namely the same flaw we usually find in every game we play......the bloody dice. McZ and Pooch couldn't roll above 10 on a 20 sided dice. Scott got a few great shots of - even rolling a 20 from a mook to take out an Outlaw. In the end the Lawmen won only losing one mook to a cracking shot from the gunslinger.

Overall a great little game - with a real cinematic feel - quick and fun - but as with any game, if the dice let you down, it directly impacts the enjoyment of the game.

Tank