"Dead Man's Hand" Topic

Do you have to play with their figures since they come with cards or can you use other Old West Figures?

Of course you can, use anyone's figures, it's not against the law.

We use a whole mix of figures for DMH. Rather than being a problem, it is an opportunity to create new characters and gangs.

Robert

I have built 4 gangs for DMH all using figures from different manufacturers. I'm now building 2 more gangs (Pinkertons & 7th Cavalry) and will buy the cards separately fm Great Escape Games to use them to their full potential.

If you don't use the "official" figures who would ever know?

So – yes you can.

The cards that come with the Great Escape Games figures are simply a single card that gives a description of that particular gangs special rules – the Law for example can remove one under fire marker at the end of a turn and any lawman within line of sight of the Sheriff gets a +1 to nerve tests. These special gang rules are in the are in the rule book, the cards simply allow you to keep it in front of you as a reminder :)
Play with whatever figures you want!

That's actually one of the highlights of Old West gaming (and several other genres). Certain genres lend themselves to simply using models for a heap of games. If you have a nice collection of Old West figures you can play:

Shoot N' Skedaddle
Dead Man's Hand
Fistful of Lead
Gutshot
Legends of the Old West
The Rules w/ No Name
Blackwater Gulch
Wild West Exodus (maybe?)
Desperado
etc.

A lot of the games also address different types of Old West gaming so you can play any game to suit your mood or interests. Gutshot for example is far more role-playing-esque, whereas Desperado is really good for large convention games with a lot of players. SnS and DMH are "skirmish" level games, and if you've grown up on GW games or mechanics Legends of the Old West might appeal to you.

You get a ton of value out of your miniatures/terrain etc., because I don't believe any of the above require anything (any scale you want, any basing you want, any size game/board you want).

There are some other genres like this, such as Gladiators. If you have Gladiators – again, you have a dozen rules sets you can pick up and play at a moment's notice.

Dead Mans hand is my first wild west game….love it for what it is. Simple fast and fun. If I should dive into another what would you suggest? Not looking for overcomplicated games but easy to setup and mere time playing than looking into the rulebook.

And pls have a look on some the gangs I painted for myself or for commisions. There are dmh, perry, Artizan and black scorpion. Right now I play cowboys using knuckleduster miniatures. So Imho use what you like.

link

Cheers