Deadwood on Locationby Rebecca HenelyReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 7 Once again, you are a horrible actor on the worst B-movie backlot in America: Deadwood. However, this time you're working "on location," which means that you and all of the actors have to take the bus to get to all of your jobs. Earn the most money at the end of four "days" and you win!I've learned something very important from this reviewing experience: board games are like sex. If your partner(s) is/are enjoying the experience, you will too. If they aren't, you're in for a night of lousy gaming. Unfortunately, while Kat and George (my roommate and her boyfriend) were great people to play the original Deadwood with, I couldn't say the same about the people I played the expansion pack with. I played the game twice, never finishing either time. For the first time, I played with my high school friends Alison and Elah. While they were okay with the game, we only got through one "day" (i.e. when ten cards are used up. Confused? Read my review of the original Deadwood.) and while Alison enjoyed it, Elah found the game too confusing (although she swears she loves Parcheesi so I take her words with a grain of salt). Then I played with my brother and mom, who didn't like the original game when I tried it out on them. Mark was surly, but eventually found himself a strategy and started to enjoy himself. Mom didn't understand the "bus stop" concept and basically moved from location to location without any clear goal in mind. We ended up going through three "days", (Mark apparently had to watch wrestling) so I feel that I've gotten the full gaming experience out of it. A bit too much experience, actually. If I played this game without playing the original with Kat and George, I probably would have given it a 5 or 6, saying that the people I was playing with were too confused for it to be enjoyable. However, since I know what this game can be like with agreeable participants, I'm giving it a 7 (the original got an 8). This score is based on the game's potential for fun, rather than how much fun I had playing it. The reason I knocked it down from 8 to 7 is the bus stop feature. In the expansion, you roll three dice while at a bus stop. If any of the three dice are the three dice that are written on the bus stop, you can go to that location (there are six locations, all numbered). For example, let's say the bus stop has 1, 3, and 6 written on it and you roll a 2, 3, and 6. That means you can go to locations 3 or 6. While this does add an interesting aspect to the game, Deadwood is so confusing by itself that it can be an impediment. If you hated rolling dice just to finish a scene, the bus stop feature will drive you crazy. I did like the new feature, but it also seemed to make the game a lot longer to play. However, there is a good new aspect to the expansion: now you can move twice, which is good for those who were tired of wasting their turns in the first game by landing on a spot where you couldn't do anything. This is great if you land on a bad set and want to try a new one. Also, bus stop rolls don't count as turns, so if you didn't like your roll on one bus stop, all you do is leave, come back, and roll again. Essentially, if you liked Deadwood, you'll like the expansion. If you didn't like Deadwood, you'll hate the expansion even more. As for myself, I recommend the expansion and liked playing with it. However, when it comes right down to it I prefer the original. Oh, and if you play this game? Find your own Kat and George first. Otherwise, you might never want to play it again. Written: January 17, 2004
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