DEAD MAN’S HAND
THE SHOOTOUT AT OLD LENTON
By Dan Faulconbridge
“Tension. Cowboy films always contain tension, and that’s
not something I felt was reflected in any other Western
Gunfight game I’ve played. I wanted to make a game that
captured the action and tension of the cowboy films I have
grown up loving”.
Mark Wheatley of Great Escape Games
and I were in casual discussion whilst
packing away the MDF buildings, metal
figures, dice and other paraphernalia we
had been using to play my first game of
Dead Man’s Hand.
I continued to quiz Mark about Dead
Man’s Hand, the third game release from
the Great Escape Games stable -
“I said to my Great Escape partner, Stu;
we should make an Old West/Cowboy
game, and he said, that would be really
good, but it’s very different to anything
we’ve done already. How should we go
about it? We need to get that tension in
before everyone starts blasting, as well
as the carnage that ultimately ensues, just
like in the movies! We mulled over ideas
for quite a long time before we came up
with the idea of the cards”.
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Dead Man’s Hand is a card driven
game. Each gang, of which there are
four in the rulebook - Cowboys, Lawmen,
Desperados and Outlaws - has a set of
cards, based on the design of a standard
set of playing cards, with a different suite
for each gang. Cards two through ten are
identical in each suite/for each gang, the
‘picture cards’ however are unique to
the gangs.
The cards serve two purposes in the
game, to dictate the order of play - the
figure having the highest card assigned to
it going first, and players also keep
a ‘hand’ of three cards which they can
use to play abilities on their figures or
their opponents, like “Stumble” or “Dirt
in your Eyes”.
“I really like the way the cards work”
Mark continued, “they add an exciting
level of unpredictability to the games.
One minute everything is going fine,
and your plan is that you are going to
do X, Y and Z, and then, on the turn
of your opponent’s card, your man
stumbles or his weapon jams, something
unpredictable which changes the flow of
the game and adds to that tension we are
looking to create with the game.
“Another thing I really like about the
game” explained Mark, “is that it’s really
quick and easy to play. The scenarios are
set up like films, split into three scenes,
the game we played today was a middle
scene, prior to that you would ordinarily
play an opening scene, and follow it
with the finale. You don’t have to play
all three scenes (we didn’t) but the three
linked scenarios route is the general plan/
guideline for a complete Dead Man’s
Hand game”.
ON WITH THE SHOOTOUT
Prior to this discussion and the
simultaneous clearing of the table, we
had played our game - The Shootout at
Old Lenton. Picking a simple scenario to
ease me into the rules Mark had chosen
18/03/2013 21:28
 a ‘mid-scene’ encounter between a small group of gun
totin’ no-good outlaws who had sidled into town, forced
their way into the Sheriff’s Office and had begun laying
down their own mean justice on the citizens of Old
Lenton. Mark was going to take charge of this desperate CARDS
crew, whilst I was given the ‘goodies’ - three lawmen ’S A L L IN THE
IT rson

1800 - 1900
y each pe

OLD west
who were tasked with either sending the outlaws to Boot
o rd e r to dictate pla top of his pack)
In the
Hill in a hail of bullets, or making their way across town self (from over and looks
deals him rn s
from their starting position and taking back the Sheriff’s
a card, w
hich h e tu card next
Office. I was quietly confident my Lawmen would see o w e d to place this ards
ll c
off the vermin, they always did in the movies (well, at. He is a figures. The other
a n y o f his a lt u n se e n, and
to ) are de
almost always)! e r fi g u re y e r’s other
(one p n y o f the pla
xt to a d over.
With our two gangs in place, it was time to take three placed ne re then being turne hest
cards from our decks for our respective hands, and to figures, b
e fo as the ig h
w h ose card h est
see who had the initiative (went first), by attributing The fi g u re cond high
e g o e s fi rst, the se ll figure have
more cards to each of our figures, of which I had three valu until a
nd so on, e turn is
(lawmen) and Mark had four (outlaws). second, a a c ti ons and th
perform e d th e ir s are re-
This first flop was kind to Mark, with his first two cards h p o in t the card
hic
over, at w ay.
higher than mine, so he moved, or rather could perform
e a lt in th e same w
d dictate
actions for two of his Outlaws before I had a chance to do s used to
so much as chew tobacca’. s w e ll a s the card c a rd s are also
A
f p la y; three h card
the ord e r o
p la y e r’s hand. ac E
From here on in we’ll let the photos from the game guide the ese
dealt into d when th too
you through the action…. ta in s a n ability, an h a n d , so
co n e
re p la y e d from th
cards a
bilities.
OUTLAWS LAWMEN are their a

THE FIRS
T FLOP OF
LAWMEN
CARDS.

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 TU R N 1
THE FIRST OUTLAW MAKES
HIS MOVE. DECLARING HIS
THREE ACTIONS, HE MOVES
OUT FROM BEHIND THE
WAGON, INTO THE STREET,
TAKES A POT SHOT AT ONE OF
THE LAWMEN AND DUCKS BACK
INTO COVER AGAIN. HIS SHOT
PINGS HARMLESSLY OFF THE
WALL OF THE BANK.

ONE OF THE OTHER OUTLAWS (THE BOSS) BEGINS TO MOVE UP

THE STREET, ANOTHER HEADS FOR THE BACK OF THE BUILDINGS,
WHILST THE LAWMEN BEGIN TO TAKE OFFENSIVE ACTION;
WITH THE BLACK WAIST-COATED MARSHAL MOVING FORWARD
INTO POINT BLANK RANGE OF THE OUTLAW ON THE BALCONY,
SHOOTING AND SCORING A 19, WHICH MEANS HE‛S A GONER. THE
OUTLAW TUMBLES BACK AND OVER THE BALCONY WITH A BULLET
WOUND TO THE FOREHEAD, BEFORE FALLING TO THE GROUND IN
A CLOUD OF BLOOD AND DUST.

ROLLS TO HIT
ARE MADE
USING A D20,
WITH 11 BEING
THE DESIRED
MINIMUM SCORE.
ALL ROLLS ARE
SUBJECT TO
MODIFIERS (+1 IF
YOUR MAN IS A
GUNSLINGER ETC),
AND THE HIGHER
THE FINAL
RESULT, THE
MORE DAMAGE
IS INFLICTED.

THE NEXT LAWMAN

MOVES DOWN THE STREET THE BOOT MARKERS
INDICATE THAT THE
TO GIVE HIMSELF A CLEAR
MODELS HAVE MOVED
VIEW OF THE SKULKING EITHER ONCE, TWICE
OUTLAW. BRINGING HIS OR THREE TIMES. THIS
SHOTGUN TO BEAR AT AFFECTS SHOOTING
CLOSE RANGE. KERBOOM! MODIFIERS.
BIG NOISE – NO HIT.

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 TUR N 2 THE OUTLAW BOSS GETS THE TURN UNDERWAY
BY PLAYING A CARD FROM THE OUTLAW‛S HAND;
‘HOSTAGE‛, THIS ALLOWS THIS GOOD-FOR-
NOTHING BANDIT TO SNATCH AN INNOCENT
BYSTANDER AND USE HIM AS A HUMAN SHIELD!

THE LAWMAN WITH THE SHOTGUN MOVES

TO WITHIN POINT BLANK RANGE OF ONE OF
THE OUTLAWS, AND LET‛S FLY WITH BOTH FIRING BOTH BARRELS MEANS
BARRELS, SURELY HE CAN‛T MISS…? AND HE +6 TO HIT AT CLOSE RANGE
DOESN‛T, SCORING A 16. THE OUTLAW IS
BLOWN TO PIECES.

USING TWO ACTIONS THE MARSHAL CLIMBS UP ONTO THE

HOTEL ROOF. FROM UP HIGH HE HAS A GOOD VIEW OF THE
OUTLAW BOSS ACROSS THE STREET, ALTHOUGH HAVING
TAKEN THAT PESKY HOSTAGE MEANS THE MARSHAL HAS
TO PASS A NERVE TEST TO BE ABLE TO SHOOT. HE PASSES
THE TEST BUT MISSES THE SHOT.

MOVEM
ENT
The move
me
loose, if th nt rules are very
ere is a w
nearby yo ind
u can clim ow
it without b through
an
is a roof y y penalty, if there
ou can ju
onto it, so mp
the terrain up
a feature b
of the gam ecomes
than an o e, rather
bsta
giving a v cle to movement,
ery
feel to DM three dimensiona
H games. l

NERVE TESTS ARE TAKEN ON A

D10, WITH A SCORE OF 3 OR MORE
REQUIRED TO PASS IN THIS CASE.
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 THE REPEATER-ARMED LAWMAN
MOVES TO THE BACK OF THE BUILDINGS
AND TAKES A SHOT AT THE OUTLAW SNEAKING UP
FROM THE REAR. HIS SHOT PINS THE OUTLAW.

YOU CAN SEE THE “UNDER FIRE” MARKER NEXT TO THE

OUTLAW ON THE RIGHT. FIGURES “UNDER FIRE” SUFFER A

3
PENALTY OF -1 FOR THEIR TO HIT ROLLS AND NERVE TESTS

TUR N
FOR EACH MARKER.

MOVING FIRST, THE REPEATER-ARMED LAWMAN SWITCHES HIS

ATTENTION TO THE OUTLAW BOSS. MOVING INTO POSITION
BELOW THE HOTEL VERANDA FROM WHERE HE (ON PASSING A
‘NERVE TEST‛) FIRES AND HITS HIS TARGET. AS A RESULT THE
HOSTAGE BREAKS FREE AND HARES OFF DOWN THE STREET.

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 STUMBLE! AS
THE MARSHAL IN ORDER TO WIN THE GAME
MOVES ALONG THE LAWMEN HAVE TO GET
THE ROOFTOPS TO THE SHERIFF‛S OFFICE,
THE OUTLAWS ALTHOUGH IN HINDSIGHT
MAYBE THE MARSHAL SHOULD
PLAY THE
JUST HAVE STAYED WHERE HE
‘STUMBLE!‛ WAS AND KEPT ON SHOOTIN‛.
CARD ON HIM,
HE LOSES HIS
FOOTING ON
THE ROOF AND
FALLS TO THE
GROUND BELOW.

THE FALLEN MARSHAL APPEARS OUT OF A CLOUD OF DUST

IN FRONT OF THE SHOTGUN-WIELDING OUTLAW. ALREADY
FEELING FRAGILE FROM HIS FALL, THE MARSHAL IS THEN
ON THE RECEIVING END OF BOTH BARRELS FROM THE
OUTLAW. BOOM! HE‛S DOWN AND OUT IN AN EXPLOSION OF
BLOOD, GUTS AND TOBACCA‛.

N 4
THE FIRST

TU R
LAWMAN DIES.

CONTINUING TO MOVE DOWN THE

STREET (TOWARDS THE SHERIFF‛S
OFFICE) THE REPEATER-ARMED
LAWMAN FIRES OFF ANOTHER SHOT
AT THE OUTLAW BOSS ON THE WAY.
ANOTHER HIT MEANS THE BOSS HAS
NOW SUFFERED THREE HITS. HE CAN
SUSTAIN FIVE BEFORE BOWING OUT
OF THE GAME.

THE MORE HITS A MODEL TAKES, THE MORE LIKELY IT IS TO

FAIL A NERVE TEST. HITS CAN BE ‘RECOVERED‛ AS AN ACTION.

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 THE OUTLAW BOSS DECIDES
IT‛S TIME TO MAKE FOR
COVER AND DUCKS INTO
THE UNDERTAKER‛S STORE
IN AN EFFORT TO FIND A
QUIET SPOT TO RECOVER.
HOWEVER, THERE IS MORE
TROUBLE WAITING FOR HIM
IN THE BUILDINGS AS AN
‘UPSTANDING CITIZEN‛ (IN
THIS CASE AN OLD LADY,
WHO NEVER DID NO HARM
TO NOBODY) TAKES THE LAW
INTO HER OWN HANDS AND
ATTEMPTS TO FIGHT OFF
THE INTRUDER!

UNFORTUNATELY
GRANDMA‛S SHOT MISSES,
THEN THE OUTLAW TURNS
HIS GUNS ON HER, BRUTALLY
SHOOTING HER DEAD.

THE ‘UPSTANDING CITIZEN‛ CARD

IS PLAYED BY THE LAWMAN (FROM
HIS HAND) AS THE BAD GUY
ENTERS THE BUILDING.

TU R N 5
ATTENTION IS NOW FULLY
FOCUSED AROUND THE
SHERIFF‛S OFFICE AS THE
REMAINING LAWMEN BOLT
DOWN THE STREET AND TRY
TO GET INSIDE, WHILST THE
TWO REMAINING OUTLAWS
PEPPER THEM WITH LEAD.

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 THE SHOTGUN-ARMED LAWMAN
DOESN‛T QUITE MAKE IT, AND IS
NOW A TASTY TARGET FOR ONE OF
THE OUTLAWS, WHO SHOOTS AND
KILLS HIS MAN.

THERE IS ONLY ONE LAWMAN LEFT NOW, AND

BEFORE HE CAN RACE INTO THE SHERIFF‛S OFFICE
HE RECEIVES A SHOT FROM THE OUTLAW BOSS IN
THE UNDERTAKER‛S.

THE OUTLAW PLAYER NEEDS A STRAIGHT

20 TO KILL THE LAWMAN AND WIN THE
GAME… IT‛S A 19, SO NEAR YET SO FAR!
IT‛S ALL OVER – THE LAST LAWMAN
ARRIVES BACK AT THE SHERIFF‛S OFFICE.
TWO OF HIS COMPANIONS HAVE BEEN
TAKEN DOWN, WITH TWO OUTLAWS IN
REPLY. SOME GOOD SHOOTING, AGGRESSIVE
TACTICS AND LUCK OF THE CARDS‛N‛DICE
MADE FOR A TIGHT LAWMAN WIN.

DEAD MAN‛S HAND IS RELEASED BY GREAT ESCAPE GAMES IN APRIL 2013.

ALL THE FIGURES USED ARE FROM GREAT ESCAPE GAMES 28MM DEAD MAN‛S
HAND FIGURE RANGE, EXCEPT THE TWO CIVILIANS, WHICH ARE FOUNDRY.
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