chococowboy

Doomtown Reloaded is a multiplier, collectible card game that is a remake from an older game from the 90’s called Deadlands Doomtown. The game takes place just after the civil war, but history is a little different than what we are usually taught about that time. The South kept their sovereignty, California fell into the ocean, and the Sioux regain control of the Dakotas. **** has found a crack in the earth, and is leaking its monsters, and magic into the world. The world discovers a new super fuel called ghost rock which pushes technology to advance faster than we originally could.
The game is focused on an old west town called Gomorra. Gomorra has boomed due to deposits of ghost rock found around the city, leading to flocks of all kinds of different types of people to flood to the town hoping to make it rich. But the town isn’t big enough for more than one person, and that is where the player comes in to the picture. Each player is vying for control of the town. How a player gains influence and control is up to them, but a player cannot win the game until a player has more control than each other player has influence. A player gets control by having deeds, properties in the town, and gets influence by having dudes, characters in the game, in play.
There are four different outfits a player can choose from. The Law dogs, the Sloane gang, the Morgan cattle company, and the fourth ring. Each has its own special characteristics. For an example, the fourth ring tends to have better magical abilities versus the other three outfits.
The game is separated into different phases that make up one day in the town. The game begins with the gambling phase where both players draw five cards. In Doomtown, the player with the lowest hand wins. The player that wins the first gambling phase gets to go first. Then comes the Upkeep phase. This is where the players collect their money from their deeds and pay their dudes upkeep. After the upkeep phase comes the high noon phase. Each player should have previously drawn five cards from their deck. During the high noon phase is when each player gets to make their moves. Each player makes one move at a time going clockwise. If a player doesn’t have a move to make, they can pass. Finally, the players end the day with the sundown phase where players get to see if anyone won the game, discard cards, and unboot their cards for the next day.
The high noon phase of the game is brilliant. Doomtown has managed to create a game where a player can become completely unique in how they will take over this town. If a player chooses they can spend most of their time and ghost rock on developing deeds in the town to make them more ghost rock which also helps their influence. Another player may spend their time developing their dudes and calling out other players to shoot-outs. The game is open enough to give the players anatomy to choose and strategize how to pursue taking over the town. But, just like the old wild west, a player can still win on plain old luck. When players battle, or call each other out to a shoot-out the winner is determined by playing poker. The player with the best hand wins. This makes deck building interesting. In other deck building games, the player is mostly focused on creating the best combination of potions, spells, and characters, but in Doomtown a player may leave bad cards in their deck, because that card gives them a better chance at getting a good hand in poker.
When a player chooses to use a card, they are forced to boot that dude. When a player moves their dude onto a deed they must also boot that card. This part of the game is tricky, and takes a lot of time to get comfortable with doing. A player can also use different action cards and spell cards to give talents or abilities to their dudes. They can also purchase goods for their dudes. All of which is used to make the dudes more influential in the town and game.
If you are a patient person who loves collectible card games, then Doomtown is the game for you. But, if you are looking to jump right into a game, without having to take the time to study the design and rules of the game, then this game is not for you. The first time I played the game, it was difficult to wrap my head around the multiple moving pieces, and I became frustrated that I couldn’t just start playing. The second time I played, my opponent quit. He thought the game was too complicated rendering it not enjoyable. The game takes time to learn, and if you are not willing to put time into learning how to play the game it won’t be an enjoyable experience.
The game has been compared to chess, and I would say that is accurate. The game moves slowly, and a lot of its strategy deals with the positioning of a player’s dudes. The first time most players play the game they try to play it too quickly and rush into shoot outs, only to find that it doesn’t work well for the player.
A well designed game, that is enjoyable for the right type of player. The game executes on its theme, and maintains its promises of not gouging its players of their money for rare cards and super rare cards. Worth a try for any serious game player.