LogFAQs > #964980499

42. Deadwood 1876

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/245197

Category: Player vs player
Key mechanics: Hand management, take that, temporary alliances
Rules complexity (0 to 7): 3
Game length: 30-40 minutes
First played: 2021
Experience: 1 play over 1 session with 6 players

In Deadwood 1876, your goal is to end the game with the most gold by winning a Final Showdown. But that gold is revealed through flipped cards. Your player token is in one of three locations, and you collect a balance of gold and guns throughout the game, all while either temporarily being allies with the people in your location, or by fighting those allies and trying to force them out of your locations.

This is probably a game where I'd have a lot more to say back in November, when I played it on that wild weekend of gaming. My major memory of the game is that it's not quite as hectic as it seems; while there is a lot that happens outside of your control - you do go one player at a time instead of simultaneously - the game moves a little slower than you'd think. It takes a fair bit of time to gather your guns and gold, and it's pretty difficult to move locations in the way you actually want. That said, the game's silliness definitely comes through, and if you're okay with a semi-arbitrary outcome that feels a little divorced from the decision-making that happens in the game, it's at least a cool experience.

The awkwardness of Deadwood 1876 is that it occupies a weird space between party game and "gamer's game." It's just a little long and fiddly to be a true party game - think Good Cop, Bad Cop (but less unfun), but it's a little too chaotic with too few turns for a more regular game. I can imagine that it gets better as everyone is more experienced with the game, it plays faster, and everyone has a better of idea what they should be doing.