Dead Man’s Hand, one of the best loved Western Skirmish Games is getting a second edition ten years after its original release. Let’s take a look at what’s in the making over at Great Escape Games.
Dead Man’s Hand, released by Great Escape Games in 2013, is a fast paced, western themed, skirmish game that pits two gangs of less than a dozen miniatures against one another. Games are easy to learn and go quickly, usually resolving in around half an hour.
The game was an undeniable hit, due in large part to its cinematic and enjoyable gameplay that keeps both players involved at all times. For those who are unaware, the term “dead man’s hand” refers to the winning hand held by Wild Bill Hickok at the time of his murder: aces and eights. In accordance with this choice of title, Dead Man’s Hand features hands of playing card, alongside more traditional dice mechanics. For the second edition, Great Escape Games promises a more polished version with no fundamental changes.
From a single book with four factions, the game exploded outward with four expansion books, scores of metal miniatures, MDF buildings by 4Ground, and ultimately two multipart plastic sets of gunfighters. The Dead Man’s Hand Redux: 2nd Edition Starter Set will bring the very best of all these aspects to you in one box. It includes:
- 10 plastic male gunfighters
- 5 plastic female plastic gunfighters
- 3 Dead Man’s Hand Main Street Buildings and one sprue of boardwalks
- Card deck, markers and dice
- Brand new rule book and card deck
- Updated rules
- Rules for trains, stagecoaches, citizens, cattle herds and more
- New campaign system
- Updated factions
- New scenes
- New Legends of the Old West
That’s a good haul! Great Escape Games is running a kickstarter for this 2nd Edition set currently. As of the time of this writing, the KS is more than $20,000 over it’s $36,000 goal with 19 days left to go.
Are you planning on backing the kickstarter, or have you done so already? Have you played Dead Man’s Hand before? Let us know what you think about it in the comments!
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