The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I've always wished I could be one of those minatures guys who could paint those little pieces of art. I wish I could afford the cash outlay for the things. The first time I saw the Diskwars line, I thought, "Pogs?". Then someone explained to me what they are; a miniatures game for the poor unfortunate bastards who can't afford them. I was intriguedbut it took the current Deadlands dearth of new releases to actually get me to try them. I saw the Deadlands version based off of the Doomtown card game and figured "What the Heck."

I never understood the card game. I bought the intro set and played a few demos but it never got me in the 'Deadlands' mood. This is somewhat associated with the CCG, as ghost rock fever hits this small town near Gomorra. Factions line up, and people are shot.

The game's rules straddle the fine line between hardcore minis and pick up game. The games I've played last less than two hours. The game basically allows the player to assign 'cards' to their pieces to move them but the player may also hold cards to power special abilities. Some guys shoot, some guys fight, and it is able to carry a lot of the Deadlands special abilities like Hucksters, Mad Science, and Miracles. The game flowed quickly and actually required strategy. My friends and I were chuckling and spouting off "Ah'll getcha, varmint" dialog all the way.

But not everything is perfect. The way the starters are set up, you get five faction flats of disks, and then a random assortment. I couldn't use the starting scenario included with the game because I didn't have enough buildings to do so. There isn't a way to get the random flats without buying other starters, and even if you bought one of each starter faction, you wouldn't be guaranteed all the pieces. If there were "boosters", I might be more lenient but even that implies a randomness that I don't want. Another problem is the jargon. Since this is an offshoot of Doomtown, the designers felt the need to use terminaoligy from that game and made some things hard to understand. Boot the dude to get +3BR, indeed. Sometimes I think people try to be too clever with new words for old concepts.

All in all, Range Wars is a good addition to the Deadlands fan who wants a fix without hauling out the rpg, the cards or the minis. I was surprised with how much fun I had and will probably collect 'em all.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Doomtown: Range Wars
Author: PEG/FFG Category: Miniature Company/Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games Line: DiskWars Cost: $9.99 Playtest Review by Rob Wieland on 01/08/01. Genre tags: Old West Diceless	I've always wished I could be one of those minatures guys who could paint those little pieces of art. I wish I could afford the cash outlay for the things. The first time I saw the Diskwars line, I thought, "Pogs?". Then someone explained to me what they are; a miniatures game for the poor unfortunate bastards who can't afford them. I was intriguedbut it took the current Deadlands dearth of new releases to actually get me to try them. I saw the Deadlands version based off of the Doomtown card game and figured "What the Heck." I never understood the card game. I bought the intro set and played a few demos but it never got me in the 'Deadlands' mood. This is somewhat associated with the CCG, as ghost rock fever hits this small town near Gomorra. Factions line up, and people are shot. The game's rules straddle the fine line between hardcore minis and pick up game. The games I've played last less than two hours. The game basically allows the player to assign 'cards' to their pieces to move them but the player may also hold cards to power special abilities. Some guys shoot, some guys fight, and it is able to carry a lot of the Deadlands special abilities like Hucksters, Mad Science, and Miracles. The game flowed quickly and actually required strategy. My friends and I were chuckling and spouting off "Ah'll getcha, varmint" dialog all the way. But not everything is perfect. The way the starters are set up, you get five faction flats of disks, and then a random assortment. I couldn't use the starting scenario included with the game because I didn't have enough buildings to do so. There isn't a way to get the random flats without buying other starters, and even if you bought one of each starter faction, you wouldn't be guaranteed all the pieces. If there were "boosters", I might be more lenient but even that implies a randomness that I don't want. Another problem is the jargon. Since this is an offshoot of Doomtown, the designers felt the need to use terminaoligy from that game and made some things hard to understand. Boot the dude to get +3BR, indeed. Sometimes I think people try to be too clever with new words for old concepts. All in all, Range Wars is a good addition to the Deadlands fan who wants a fix without hauling out the rpg, the cards or the minis. I was surprised with how much fun I had and will probably collect 'em all. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average)

Doomtown: Range Wars