The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Following in the footsteps of Steve Jackson Games' excellent "Cardboard Heroes", Pinnacle Entertainment has released the "Cardstock Cowboys: Weird West #1: Starter Pack". The $19.95 packet contains sixteen 8 1/2" x 11" sheets made of sturdy, glossy cardstock, on which are printed lots of miniature cowboys for you to cut-out and stand up on your gaming table.

Each figure has three sides: two with excellent full color paintings of the character, and one black silhouette representing the character's rear facing. Thus, when assembled, most of the figures are 1 1/4" high triangular cylinders, which gives them a slightly more three dimensional feel than some of Steve Jackson Games' 2-sided Cardboard Heroes.

Also included are characters on horseback. Unlike the cowboys on foot, these larger, wider minatures only have two sides, but still look pretty good when assembled.

The best thing about this set is the great selection of figures you get. There are four figures for every PC occupation, two of them male, and two of them female. Thus, you get two male gunfighters and two female gunfighters; two male hucksters and two female hucksters (etc). You also get repeats of these characters all on horseback. About half the figures are PCs. One quarter are goons (bandits, desperadoes, indian braves, etc.) some of which are repeated on horseback. The rest are commonly encountered monsters and varmits (walkin' dead, jackalopes, dust devils, ghouls, etc). As a bonus, there are two huge figures: a Maze Dragon and a Mojave Rattler. You get 202 figures in all. That adds up to about 9-10 cents each.

All of the figures are well-drawn, dynamically posed, and make great eye-candy during a gaming session.

The figures are all 25mm scale (not 30mm, like the Rail Wars pewter miniatures), so they might look slightly smaller when placed on the table next to the metal figs. Of course, if you're like me, you bought the Cardstock Cowboys instead of the metal figures to save money and because they're much easier to carry around.

The only thing I could find wrong with the set (and this is a quibble) is that no dropped items or objects were included. Most of the sheets with mounted figures have patches of white space on them, which could've been filled with dropped shotguns, pistols, cameras or bank strongboxes. Pinnacle may have included these in later sets, though.

These figures are fully compatible with the Rail Wars miniatures game, as well as a free set of rules, High Noon, which is downloadable on Pinnacle's website.

I really can't recommend Cardstock Cowboys enough. They are a must if you play Deadlands, but work well for any RPG set in Wild West. In a pinch, some of the figures would work in a Cthulhu game set in the Victorian Era (although most of them are waving pistols around). The zombies and cultists would come in handy in any horror game, and the huge figure of the mojave rattler makes a great Cthonian.

If you like Cardstock Cowboys Set#1 (as I did), keep your eyes peeled for Wierd West#2: Horrors of the Wierd West and the Hell on Earth #1: Starter Pack. Pinnacle also sells the three sets in a $50.00 bundle on their website. Though I haven't purchased these new sets, if they're at least as good as the one reviewed here, they're definitely worth picking up.

Pinnacle says they plan to include more sheets of Cardstock Cowboys as inserts in their upcoming adventures. If they start producing Superhero figures for Brave New World, they'll have made me a loyal customer for life!

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Cardstock Cowboys: Wierd West #1 Starter Pack
Author: artist uncredited Category: Company/Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Inc. Line: Deadlands Cost: $19.95 Page count: 16 sheets ISBN: 1-889546-75-5 Capsule Review by Steven N. Parsonage on 04/20/00. Genre tags: Horror Old_West	Following in the footsteps of Steve Jackson Games' excellent "Cardboard Heroes", Pinnacle Entertainment has released the "Cardstock Cowboys: Weird West #1: Starter Pack". The $19.95 packet contains sixteen 8 1/2" x 11" sheets made of sturdy, glossy cardstock, on which are printed lots of miniature cowboys for you to cut-out and stand up on your gaming table. Each figure has three sides: two with excellent full color paintings of the character, and one black silhouette representing the character's rear facing. Thus, when assembled, most of the figures are 1 1/4" high triangular cylinders, which gives them a slightly more three dimensional feel than some of Steve Jackson Games' 2-sided Cardboard Heroes. Also included are characters on horseback. Unlike the cowboys on foot, these larger, wider minatures only have two sides, but still look pretty good when assembled. The best thing about this set is the great selection of figures you get. There are four figures for every PC occupation, two of them male, and two of them female. Thus, you get two male gunfighters and two female gunfighters; two male hucksters and two female hucksters (etc). You also get repeats of these characters all on horseback. About half the figures are PCs. One quarter are goons (bandits, desperadoes, indian braves, etc.) some of which are repeated on horseback. The rest are commonly encountered monsters and varmits (walkin' dead, jackalopes, dust devils, ghouls, etc). As a bonus, there are two huge figures: a Maze Dragon and a Mojave Rattler. You get 202 figures in all. That adds up to about 9-10 cents each. All of the figures are well-drawn, dynamically posed, and make great eye-candy during a gaming session. The figures are all 25mm scale (not 30mm, like the Rail Wars pewter miniatures), so they might look slightly smaller when placed on the table next to the metal figs. Of course, if you're like me, you bought the Cardstock Cowboys instead of the metal figures to save money and because they're much easier to carry around. The only thing I could find wrong with the set (and this is a quibble) is that no dropped items or objects were included. Most of the sheets with mounted figures have patches of white space on them, which could've been filled with dropped shotguns, pistols, cameras or bank strongboxes. Pinnacle may have included these in later sets, though. These figures are fully compatible with the Rail Wars miniatures game, as well as a free set of rules, High Noon, which is downloadable on Pinnacle's website. I really can't recommend Cardstock Cowboys enough. They are a must if you play Deadlands, but work well for any RPG set in Wild West. In a pinch, some of the figures would work in a Cthulhu game set in the Victorian Era (although most of them are waving pistols around). The zombies and cultists would come in handy in any horror game, and the huge figure of the mojave rattler makes a great Cthonian. If you like Cardstock Cowboys Set#1 (as I did), keep your eyes peeled for Wierd West#2: Horrors of the Wierd West and the Hell on Earth #1: Starter Pack. Pinnacle also sells the three sets in a $50.00 bundle on their website. Though I haven't purchased these new sets, if they're at least as good as the one reviewed here, they're definitely worth picking up. Pinnacle says they plan to include more sheets of Cardstock Cowboys as inserts in their upcoming adventures. If they start producing Superhero figures for Brave New World, they'll have made me a loyal customer for life! Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Cardstock Cowboys: Wierd West #1 Starter Pack