Some Lore for the Greenhorns...

"In 1863, a vengeful Sioux shaman known as Raven conducted a ritual known as the Reckoning, which weakened the border with the spiritual realm, unleashing terrible creatures, spirits, and undead. In addition, many people became able to harness various forms of magic, both demonic and holy. The Reckoning also caused most of California's coast to sink, leaving plateaus jutting from the ocean (a locale known as the Great Maze). Around the same time, a new super-fuel known as ghost rock was discovered, which spurred the equivalent of a gold rush to the Great Maze, as well as a leap forward into an era of steampunk technology.

Doomtown was set in Gomorra, a boomtown on the edge of the Great Maze. Due to a preponderance of ghost rock in its vicinity, various factions fight for control of the town. As the town grew and factions arrived, the conflict between the peacekeeping Law Dogs and an outlaw gang called the Blackjacks escalated toward a climactic shootout at high noon. The violence rocked the town, but greater conflict brewed in the background.

An escalating conflict builds between the Law Dogs and the Sloane Gang of outlaws, culminating in a high noon shootout and a dead sheriff. A mysterious illness sweeps through town, and the secretive Fourth Ring circus open a sanitarium for relief efforts, while the Morgan Cattle Company use 'mad science' in search for a cure. The Fourth Ring are revealed to be turning the townsfolk into zombies. They unleash this horde on Gomorra, but are thwarted by the combined efforts of the other factions. .... " -- Wiki.

"In Deadwood, South Dakota, Eagle woman That All Look At tries to enforce a fragile treaty. Hao-Te Zui's Anarchists fight for the townsfolk that E.B Farnum's consortium of Entrepreneurs are trying to drive out of business. Bass Reeves, the West's most persistent Marshal, arrives in pursuit of the notorious outlaw, Jessica Patchett, who's trying to escape her bloody past. And out in the Badlands, Ursula's cult prepares to summon the power of the great Worm." -- Publisher.

"Yeah, I skipped some stuff. What of it?" -- Unknown.

Mechanics for the New Folks in Town

Note: This review was written for the first printing of Weird West.
The second printing is out, but the review should still apply!
No gettin' around it. Doomtown is one of the best-themed games I've played, but it's dang complicated. You got your gunslingin' Dudes, such as the lovely Hattie DeLorre and handsome Tommy Harden, with their one red-chip Influence point. You got your Deeds, like B&B Attorneys, with its one blue-chip Control Point. You want more Control Points than your opponent(s) have Influence at the end of the turn. But, to put cards into play, you need to pay up some Ghost Rock -- that's that number in the lower left corner of most of the cards. You begin with an Outfit, such as the Law Dogs, who starts with 19 ghost rock, and up to five Dudes (that you gotta play for). You still with me?

At the start of the turn, everyone antes up 1 Ghost Rock for the Gamblin' Phase for a round of lowball. Doomtown uses poker hands for ante and shootouts. You even use the same draw deck for the cards you will put into play and your poker hands. Set aside your play hand, and draw your draw hand for poker. And, yes, part of the strategy of the game is putting out cards into play on the table, and leaving your poker-hand cards in your deck (yes, it gets reshuffled when you run out of cards). But, while you play lowball for ante, you want high poker hands when you're in a shootout. Decisions, decisions.

After ante, it's High Noon. Despite its name, everyone does a lot of different things at noon, including shootouts! You can Recruit a Dude or Build a Deed, by paying their ghost rock cost. Hattie's cost is 4 and B&B Attorney's cost is 2. The other number, on the lower right, is the production of the card. At the start of the turn, B&B Attorneys generates 1 ghost rock. At the start of the game, you place your outfit card right in front of you, as your home. This is the beginning of your street. When you Build a Deed, you place it at the end of your street (yes, adjacency to your home will matter!). When you Recruit a Dude, you place them at your home. The middle of the table is town square, a sort of no-man's land that'a adjacent to all in-town deeds and homes. Some card effects will give you a bonus if you have someone still alive with the most influence in town square at the end of a round.

When your dudes enter play at your home, you'll want them to do more than just sit around! When you Move Your Dude, you usually boot him or her, rotating them sideways. When a dude is booted, he's tuckered out and pretty vulnerable. Other effects may boot cards, and some cards can sometimes do stuff when booted! When moving, two major exceptions are moving from your home to the town square, and from town square to an adjacent location except their home. Remember that word, adjacent! Town square can get awfully busy with those unbooted dudes, and an unbooted dude can Call Out a Dude for a shootout! This town ain't big enough for the two of us!

Now, if you Call Out a Dude for a shootout, if they're unbooted, they can boot and run home. But, if they're unbooted or think they can take you on, they will accept your challenge! Now, suppose Tommy alone gets into a shootout. That silver bullet means he's a stud, and that number in the bullet is his bullet rating. So Tommy is a 1-stud. Let's suppose he's the only shooter in the fight. From your play deck, you draw five cards, plus a number of cards equal to your stud shooter's bullet rating. So you draw six cards. Make your best poker hand from what you got, and discard down to five. Now, Doomtown is one of those constructed deck games. Who's to say you can't stack your deck so you get good cards for shootouts? Well, if you show a hand that ain't legal, you have an cheatin' hand! And, if your opponent plays a card effect that affects cheatin' hands, your cheatin' hand may backfire on you! Tommy's card effect says, "If your opponent in Tommy's shootout reveals a cheatin' hand, raise your hand rank by 1 this round." Think twice when you're the bad guy facing Tommy!

Now, let's suppose Hattie is the lone shooter in a shootout. That brass bullet means she's a draw, and that number in the bullet is her bullet rating. Hattie is a 1-draw. From your play deck, you draw five cards. You can then discard an draw up to a number of cards of you draw shooter's bullet rating. Draws are generally not as good as studs because you gotta discard cards before you know what card will replace them! Hattie also has a card effect, and it happens when she's in a "Shootout: Give one opposing wanted dude -3 bullets". What's a wanted dude? That's any dude that has one or more ghost rock on them as a bounty. You can get a bounty by starting a shootout at a private location, or through a card effect that puts a bounty on your head.

Public? Private? Locations are divided into public and private property. The town square is public, so if and when you start a shootout there, anyone who's not wanted stays that way. But suppose an opposing dude starts a shootout at B&B Attorneys. Well, now they're wanted! Have a ghost rock! And, as said, card effects can cause dudes to gain a bounty. So you could Build a Deed with B&B Attorneys during your first turn in High Noon. Then, next turn, you boot B&B Attorneys (you remember what boot means right?) to give an opposing dude 1 bounty and make him wanted! Then you get him in a shootout with Hattie. During the shootout, you use Hattie's card effect to reduce his bullet rating by 3 bullets! If you're a 3-stud who has a bounty on him, watch out for Hattie!

Still, Hattie's only a 1-draw. She'll need some backup, such as Tommy. That's where posses come in! If you're in a shootout, you can gather a posse of dudes from your current location and adjacent ones. Remember how I told you to remember adjacency? So suppose Hattie's been called out in the town square, and Tommy's unbooted at home. Home is adjacent to the town square. At the beginning of a shootout, you form posses. Unbooted dudes can boot to join a posse in an adjacent location. So Tommy boots to join the posse at the town square! After posses are formed, you designate your shooter! Tommy's a 1-stud and Hattie's only a 1-draw, so Tommy becomes the shooter. After shootout effects, such as Hattie's, you draw a hand of five cards plus one card for Tommy's 1-stud. With posses, you then draw additional cards equal to the number (not bullet ratings) of studs in your posse, not counting your shooter. With Tommy and Hattie, this is zero, because the posse has no additional studs beyond Tommy. Then, you may discard and draw up to a number of additional cards equal to the number (not bullet ratings) of draws in your posse, not counting your shooter. This is up to one discard and draw, since Hattie is a draw. Phew! That's a complicated way of saying you draw one additional card because your shooter is Tommy's 1-stud, then can discard and draw one card because Hattie's an additional draw! Don't forget Tommy's card effect if your opponent draws a cheatin' hand! (Hint: Practice a few shootouts with your opponent before the game. Start with one dude vs. one dude, then with multiple dudes vs. multiple dudes.) For each rank of difference, the loser suffers a casualty. The loser then discards one dude per casualty, or aces a dude per two casualties. Ace means your card goes to a special pile called Boot Hill. When you run out of cards from your draw deck, you reshuffle your discard pile and form a new draw deck. But cards in your Boot Hill are out of play unless you have a card effect!

Hearts: Now, didja get all that? Well, obviously, there's more, so, yeah, this game's complicated. I mean, I haven't even talked about hearts. Okay, let's talk about hearts. Hearts are whuddayacallthem attachments. You usually attach 'em to a dude. Some are goods, some are steampunky Gadgets, some are even spells. A Horse is a goods, and you can attach it to a dude, but a dude can only have one Horse at a time. Gadgets you can only attach to a dude who's a Mad Scientist. Hex spells attach to Hucksters. Spirit spells attach to Shamans. Miracle spells attach to Blessed. And, yeah, each of these attachments have their own little rules to keep track of.

Clubs: Finally, Clubs! Clubs are usually "play and discard" card effects that cause all sorts of trouble -- for your opponent! Suppose yer in a shootout. Just play "It's Not What You Know..." and lower your opponent's hand rank by one. That'll prevent your losing a casualty or even cause your opponent to gain one! You can even play it on yourself during ante, if doing so will win you lowball! Clubs almost always go into your discard pile while the others either stay on the table or go to your Boot Hill. Part of the strategy of the game is knowing that your clubs will be in your draw deck for those poker draw hands later in the game! Did I say this game was complicated? Well, it is, so take a look at these Doomtown Community tutorial videos on YouTube and try out the *free* Print and Play Demo Decks on Drive Thru RPG. I'll be right here when you're ready!

Target Audiences

Greenhorns: Even if Doomtown is one of my favorite games, I know that asking a newbie to pony up a passel of money for a base set is kinda asking much. So get an account on DriveThruRPG and try some demo decks to see if the game is right for you! The cards for the demo decks are from the older "Doomtown Reloaded" base set from AEG, but you'll get a good understanding of the rules nonetheless. Just sleeve them with some playing cards as backs (you can use two sets of regular poker cards), and you're good to go! Once you have the rules down and find out you like the game, pick up the "Weird West" base game, from which you can make six starter decks from the "Weird West" base set.

One or two base sets: You can have 4x of a specific card in a deck, but a base set "only" has 2x of each card. So you should buy two base sets, right??? Not exactly. Dudes (spades) and deeds (diamonds) are unique, meaning that you can have only one in play. And "in play" also includes Boot Hill. You remember Boot Hill, right? If one of your dudes (or other cards) gets aced (killed), they end up in Boot Hill and won't find a way back out of it without a card effect! You can't just play a dude from your hand if they're six feet under! That said, you may find some clubs (actions) that you REALLY like, or want to make several decks ahead of time using the same cards (although, again, a single Weird West set will make six starter decks). Those are common reasons to buy a second set.

Okay, once you tried a game or two, take a look at the starter deck highlights, so you get an idea how the decks play right out of the box!

Veterans: Free Solo Rules and Other Downloads on the Pine Box Entertainment Website! The PBE website has the updated rules, including rules for solo play! As of this writing, "Weird West" has two expansions sets, "Whispers of War" and "Debt of Blood". If you already have a good supply of cards, go lookit them two sets first. "Weird West" is still a good source of updated base set cards, and, as said, you can make six starter decks from the cards for yer friends. You can also play a "Boss Battle" of 2-to-1, including co-op. The boss battle uses the "Weird West" version of Events to shake up the game, and includes two scenarios, the basic one, and one against the Ivor Hawley and his Abominations! Go read up on the goodies on the Pine Box Entertainment site!

And, of course, you can read this review. The focus is on the starter decks, but I'll show off not just cards from the set, but start you off on decks you can build with it!

But here's a deal you're gonna like: If you play casual and don't mind earlier printings of a card, take a look at the "Old Timer Bundles" on the Pine Box Entertainment site. The "Old Timer: Doomtown Convention Starter Bundle" includes a copy of the earlier base set, "Doomtown: Reloaded". The base set and expansions in this bundle has many earlier printings of the cards in "Weird West", at 2x of each card in the base set, or 4x in the expansion.

Online Play: And here's something newfangled for you veteran Mad Scientists: Doomtown Online! Yep, you solo's can also take on other "players around the world via a browser based virtual format. This is free to use and you can import decks from the Doomtown Database deckbuilder at dtdb.co". I'll stick to bits of paper, but, if you already know the Doomtown rules, you can check out the preview and tutorial on YouTube.

So What's in the Box?

Glad you asked!

Over 260 Unique Cards (520+ total cards in each Weird West Edition box) including:

78 Faction Dudes; 13 for each Faction, 2 copies
13 Drifters; 2 copies
12 Outfits; 2 for each Faction, 2 copies
47 Action Cards, 2 copies
39 Deeds; 3 each value, 2 copies
38 Goods; 28 Regular, 10 Gadget Goods, 2 copies
30 Spells; 2 copies
1 Black Joker; 3 copies
1 Red Joker; 3 copies
1 Reference Card; 3 copies
Events and Special Cards for 2v1 Scenarios
Plus promos, Town Square Scenarios, and punchboard tokens!

Starter Decks

As said, with the base game, you can create a starter deck for each of the six factions! (Each deck will have one Joker instead of two, so proxy.) However, the starter decks aren't exactly newbie friendly. They're there to show off special abilities of their factions -- and special abilities mean more rules to learn. Also, as said, new players should start with the demo decks. Otherwise, they can play the Outlaw and Law Dog decks. Next, in difficulty, would be the Entrepreneur deck, because of their Gadgets. Then the Fearmongers and who have Hexes. First People is challenging, since they want to hold the town square as well as ready their spells. Last would be the Anarchists, with their unique Technique rules. Play the Town Square Scenario Variant, "Shooting Range" (Play until someone has six Control Points) first. For a teaching game, you can play open-handed and introduce rules gradually.

Personally, I find Jobs to be hardest to learn, so you can tell players to ignore Job abilities on cards. Make the following modifications to two of the decks: For Outlaws, replace the 2-club "Mugging" and 7-club "Ambush" (two of each) cards with 2-club "Make the Right Choice" and 7-club "Comin' Up Roses". For Entrepreneurs, replace the two 6-club "Technological Expedition" cards with the extra 6-club "Faster on the Draw" alternative art cards.

Veterans looking over the starter card values will notice that they're pretty much built around three values, so can warn players not to expect straights. The Anarchist's starter deck *starts* with 20 clubs, so may have flushes, later in the game, once the other suits are on the table. Myself, I stuck small sticky notes on the Outfits to remind me which values are most common in the deck. Aggressive players know they can't Call Out a Dude in their own home, so you can explain how card effects like Ambush and Bounty Hunter take precedence.

Highlights

In this section, I'll give some tips on using some of the more interesting cards in the starter decks. Afterwards, I'll discuss deckbuilding, then go cards in each starter decks in more detail, as well as suggest other decks you can make. Of course, you don't have to play the starter decks, but I'll use them as a common point of reference.

Law Dogs

Law Dogs

Make your opponents Wanted then collect their Bounty!
(Or just gun 'em down like I do.)

The Law Dogs starter deck centers around card values 3 6 8 and cards that take out Wanted Dudes. The Law Dogs Outlaw card lets your dudes use their influence to make other dudes wanted!

Philip Swinford (starting dude): In multiplayer, if more than one opponent is cheatin' during the Gambling Phase, you can use his effect more than once!
Law Dogs (home card): Are your opponents too chicken to leave their homes? Well, make them wanted!
Bounty Hunter (action) and Judge Harry Somerset (Dude): Are your opponents still too chicken to leave their homes? These card effects will force a wanted dude into a shootout, even in their own home!
Hustings (deed): Are your opponents still too chicken to leave their Homes? Well, lower their influence! Stirs up a hornet's nest in multiplayer. Play after a bunch of control points are on the board.
El Anonimo and Bobo (dudes): These dudes are cheap to get into play, but have a high upkeep. That's how much ghost rock you gotta pay each round just for them to hang around. Make sure you use them the round you get them into play! They're pretty powerful, so play them when you're going to have a big shootout. Like after everyone's reacted to Hustings!

Outlaws

Play aggressively!
Who cares if yer wanted?

The Outlaws starter deck centers around card values 4 5 7. Several cards receive bonuses for having bounty (and therefore being wanted)!

Miranda Clarke (starting dude): Two bounty and she's a 2-stud! Give her a control point with the Sloan outfit card to increase her influence.
Jacqueline Isham (starting dude): She's inexpensive and becomes a 2-stud when defending in a shootout.
Pearl-Handled Revolver (goods): Make your 2-draw dude, such as Allie Hensman (one of your starting dudes) or Jacqueline into a stud!
B&B Attorneys (deed): This deed can make a dude no longer Wanted (good if the Law Dogs are around) or give Miranda her second bounty!
Kidnappin' (action): As a card effect, this Job will let you discard an opponent's dude, including in their home -- if it succeeds.
Pistol Whip (action): Boot your useless draw to force a stud to go home and leave the shootout!

Entrepreneurs

Play Horses and Gadgets on your dudes.
Then send 'em out!

The Entrepreneurs starter deck centers around card values 6 8 J. You'll want these higher numbers to succeed at pulls to invent them Gadgets! Oh, did I forget to mention Gadgets? Gadgets are Goods, but only Mad Scientists can bring them into play with a skill test. Diego has a Mad Scientist skill rating of 0, as indicated by his Mad Scientist 0. Yagn's Mechanical Skeleton has a difficulty rating of 9, as indicated by its Gadget 9. Pull the top card of your deck, then add the investing dude's Mad Scientist skill rating to the value of the card. If the skill test equals or exceeds the difficulty, the Gadget is successfully invented! So suppose Diego Linares attempts to invent the Yagn's Mechanical Skeleton. He pulls a 6-value card. His total of 0+6 is less than the 9 difficulty, so he would normally fail. But his text box says "While inventing a Horse or Sidekick, Diego gets a +4 Mad Scientist" and the Skeleton has the Horse keyword. So his total is 0+4+6, which is greater than the 9 difficulty. He successfully invents the Skeleton! Next turn, he can Trade Goods and give the Skeleton to Chuan "Jen" Qi, whose text box gives her bonuses for having a Horse and a Gadget. Ride 'em Chuan!

Diego Linares (starting dude): Use Diego's +4 Mad Scientist to invent the Yagn's Mechanical Skeleton Horse Gadget.
Chuan "Jen" Qi (starting dude): As a Trade Goods Noon play, give the Yagn's Mechanical Skeleton to Chuan "Jen" Qi to give her both bonuses!
Arnold Stewart (Starting Dude): This is your highest skilled Mad Scientist when not investing a Horse Gadget.

Fearmongers

Cast Hexes and send out your Abominations!

The Fearmongers deck centers around card values 9 10 Q. You'll want these higher numbers to succeed at pulls to cast those Hexes!

Valeria Batten (starting dude): As a 0-Stud (and your only starting dude who's a stud!), Valeria will be a backup dude to your shooter. Don't let her find herself alone! Her ability isn't important because the deck has no Mystical Gadgets.
Alfred Byrne (starting dude): All of your other starting dudes will probably be out fighting. Consider keeping Alfred at home for Hexes that affect a nearby location. A nearby location is either the same location as the dude (so would be home for Alfred) or an adjacent location (namely the town square and the deeds to the right and left of home).
Phantasm and Blood Curse: These Hexes affect a dude at a nearby location.
Soul Cage: You can use the Soul Cage's Cheatin' Resolution during the Gambling Phase! Attach it to Alfred and keep him away from fights if you want to make sure them Abominations keep coming back. Or attach it to Valeria if you want to bring them right into a shootout!
Bobo (Abomination, dude): This dude is cheap to get into play, but has a high upkeep. He's pretty powerful, so play him when you're going to have a big shootout and discard him the turn after. If you've been keeping Alfred at Home, Bobo will have at least a +1 bullet bonus. When he's in the discard pile, he can come back with the Soul Cage!

First Peoples

Cast Spirits and hold the town square!

The First People deck centers around card values 9 10 J K but no Q. The deck benefits from keeping your dudes in the town square. But holding the town square is dangerous, so better have some experience before playing this deck!

Zachary Deloria and Enapay (starting dudes): Enapay gets +2 Influence during High Noon, for 3-Influence. Zachary gets a bullet bonus of equal to the highest Influence of his Dudes at his location and starts as a 0-stud. So he'll be a 3-stud if he's in the same location as Enapay. Not bad for the beginning of the game! Keep Enapay around to reduce the cost of Eagle Woman.
Mazatl (starting dude) and Red Horse's Tail, Spirit Trail, and Fire of Nanahbozho (Totem Spirits): These are the Totem-related cards in the deck. Your shaman can attach a Totem to a location -- including the town square! Attach Red Horse's Tail to the town square so your shaman can (hopefully) send home your opponent's best shooter! (Grit is the total of the dude's value, bullets, and influence.)
Huntsmen's Society (deed): This Deed will lower the upkeep of your more powerful dudes in your deck at nearby location -- and that would include the town square! Nearby locations are the location of the card and adjacent locations. Play Huntsmen's Society right next to your home, so its ability affects its location, your home, the town square, and any deed adjacent to it! Bloody Teeth, Clint Ramsey, Smiling Frog, and Eagle Woman That All Look At are your 10 or higher-value dudes in your deck with upkeep.
Alexander Sequoia (starting dude), Recruitment Drive, Meet the New Boss, Election Day Slaughter (actions): Your outfit, Alexander, and Zachary have abilities or bonuses if they are in the town square. The other actions are all jobs that target the town square. If you're a new player, you might have the veteran of your play group substitute these action cards in your deck for other actions that aren't jobs. For 10-clubs, Too Much Attention and Unprepared are good cards. For J-clubs, Flight of the Lepus. For K-clubs, Nightmare at Noon and Point Black are good cards.

Anarchists

Kung Fu!

Strategically, the Anarchist starting deck is not as difficult as the First People starting deck, but Techniques play differently than skill checks. After a pull (draw the top card of your draw deck), you want a value that's equal to or less than the dude's value plus Kung Fu rating. So, with Emre, you would need to pull a card that is equal to or less than 6+1. The Anarchist deck centers around card values A 2 3 4 and starts with 20 clubs. As you play the deck, the clubs will stay in the deck (clubs are actions and most are "play and discard"), while others will be played out of your deck. As a result, you will also have flushes towards the end of the game.

Emil, the Turkish Bear (starting dude): Your only starting dude who's a stud and able to play Kung Fu cards. Keep him alive with sacrificial draw dudes.
Ambush (action): This job will ace a dude in their home -- if successful.
Hustings (deed): Are your opponents still too chicken to leave their homes? Well, lower their influence! Be careful about using this during mulitplayer. Play after a bunch of control points -- preferably yours! -- are on the board.

More Notes for the Newbies: Deckbuilding

Before we look even closer at the cards, a few words about deckbuilding! With Doomtown's unique poker-themed draw hands, you want to build your deck suchthat you're drawing high-ranked poker hands. This usually means selecting cards, not including your starting dudes (because they start the game not in your deck), that have the same value. The starter decks mostly center around three different values, and this is a good rule of thumb for newer players. The Law Dogs starter deck, for example, have cards centered around values 3 6 8. Note that, when a deck is centered around cards of the same value, it's likely to draw an illegal, Cheatin' hand. A Cheatin' hand is vulnerable to some nasty card effects, such as Cheatin' Resolutions. Some players, in fact, will make decks specifically to avoid Cheatin' hands. Try a few games with the Bicycle format, which allows no more than a single card of each value and suit. (This format works well with the 2x of each card in the "Weird West" base set!)

Clubs (Actions): As said earlier, actions (Clubs) are mostly play and discard, so will be recycled into your discard faster than the other three suits, which typically play to the table. Dudes with high upkeep costs (Spades) typically return to the discard after a round or two. If you have a dude with upkeep (see the lower right number on Deborah West's card), you can return them to the discard pile by not paying upkeep. Dudes (spades) and Goods (hearts) play onto the table and typically don't go to the discard pile until the dude is discarded in a shootout. Deeds (diamonds) typically aren't removed from the table once they're in play.

Synergy and Dependency: Many of Doomtown's cards work together, or have effects that depend on other cards. For example, the 8-club Bounty Hunter can only be played on a wanted Dude. The Law Dog outfit card allows you to place a bounty on another dude and make them wanted.

Starting Dudes: You can have a maximum of five starting dudes. The starter deck lists suggest your starting dudes, but you can pick whichever you'd like. Since starting dudes don't start in your deck, they won't be drawn into a poker hand until they're discarded from play. So their poker values (their suit and value) aren't as important. When selecting shootout dudes, pick at least one dude who's a stud (silver bullet) and one dude who's cannon fodder. Make sure you have some influence (red chip on the left side), and minimize upkeep costs (number in the lower right corner). The starter deck starting dudes have up to one upkeep. Eric has a very good post on BoardGameGeek about selecting your starting dudes, even if it was written for the original Doomtown!

Pulls: Decks that rely on spells, Gadgets, and Kung Fu rely on successful pulls! Generally, decks that rely on spells and Gadgets mean you want high values to succeed in pulls. Kung Fu decks want low values to succeed in pulls. To refine this, look at the highest difficulty of the spells and Gadgets you want in your deck. Then subtract the lowest skill of the dudes in your deck. That's the minimum value you prefer for all the cards *in* your deck. As an example, suppose we are making a Miracle deck. We see that "Shield of Faith" has a difficulty of 7. We also want Deborah West in the deck. Her skill is Blessed 0. So we ideally want a deck that has cards of value 7 or more. Decks that don't rely on pulls, such as the starting decks for Law Dogs and Outlaws (as well as an Abomination-only Fearmonger deck) thus have a greater pool of cards to choose from. If you're stuck making decks for everyone, mebbe make the Lawdogs and Outcast decks last.

A Closer Look at the Cards

In this section, we'll look closer at the starter decks, plus additional decks you can make from the Weird West base set!
If you're new to Doomtown, you might want to skip this part and jump down to the end.

Law Dogs Starter Deck: The Wanted Deck

As also said earlier, the Law Dogs starter deck make opposing dudes wanted, then takes them out! This deck has cards centered around values 3 6 8. Despite the deck having some cards with effects dependent on legal poker hand, it's likely to draw illegal hands.

Starting Dudes: We can see that two of the deck's starting dudes, Hattie DeLorre and "Thunder Boy" Nabbe, have effects that depend on a wanted dude. It's not hard for trigger-happy players to make themselves wanted, but the Law Dogs outfit card can also make other dudes wanted by placing a bounty on their head. Philip Swinford and Tommy Harden have effects that depend on an opponent who plays a Cheatin' hand. As said, Philip's ability can also be used during the Gamblin' Phase and once per Cheatin' opponent, making him particularly powerful in multiplayer games! His ability doesn't depend on being in a shootout, so keep him at home. His ability, however, also depends on your draw hand being legal, which this deck isn't particularly made for. Poor ol' Rob Wilby is just there to be shot! Because the deck is centered around values 3 6 8, you may consider returning 6-Space "Thunder Boy" Nabbe and 3-Spade Tommy Harden to the deck instead of using them as starter dudes.

Sun in Yer Eyes

Clubs (Actions): This deck is centered around values 3 6 8. The 3-club "Sun in Yer Eyes" and "The Stakes Just Rose" are two powerful actions to have in a deck, as is the 8-club "Bounty Hunter", which depends on the target being wanted. As said, the Law Dog outfit card can be used to make other dudes wanted. "This'll Hurt in the Morning'" isn't one of the strongest Cheatin' Resolution cards, but it's an 8-club. The 6-Club "Faster on the Draw" synergizes with your Deputy dudes, including your starting Law Dog dudes. You actually get two additional alternative art promotional "Faster on the Draw" cards with the Weird West base set, so you can replace two cards in this starter deck with the two promotional cards. K-Club "Point Blank" isn't one of the three values the deck is centered around, so you could swap out "Point Blank" for the "Faster on the Draw" cards.

Ramiro Mendoza

Spades (Dudes), 3-Spades. 3-spades comes up pretty dry if you're looking for 0-upkeep Law Dogs and drifters. The starter deck thus chose a costly drifter and dudes from other factions for their 3 values. As said, you can also return the 3-spade Tommy Harden to the deck, replacing him with a different stud.

Erik Samson

Spades (Dudes), 6-Spades. Law Dog Eric Samson and Fearmongers Bobo are the 6-spade dudes in this deck, as is starting Dude, "Thunder Boy" Nabbe. Jael's Guile is a Mystical Melee Weapon that will give both bonuses to Eric.

Judge Harry Somerset

Spades (Dudes): The 8-Spades. Law Dog Judge Harry Somerset (Exp.1) and El Anónimo are the 8-spade dudes in this deck. El Anónimo has a very high upkeep but low cost, meaning that you'll bring him out one turn, and, after not paying Upkeep, let him go to the discard pile the next. Judge Harry Somerset (Exp.1)'s high cost and high upkeep means you won't bring him out until late game. Continuously returning El Anónimo to the discard pile and keeping Judge Harry Somerset in your deck will mean you can keep drawing 8-value cards in your draw hands. Judge Harry Somerset (Exp.1) has a job that lets you go after wanted dudes anywhere on the board, including their home. The K-spade Dude, Bass Reeves, also has a high cost and high upkeep. You can replace him with another Dude, since the deck is not centered around K-values.

Hustings

Diamonds (Deeds): Do your opponent's dudes refuse to leave home? When combined with your outfit's ability, you can more easily make them wanted! Hustings played later in the game when you have Control Points and your opponent's Dudes are booted at Home can win you the game when you suddenly reduce their influence! And, after you make a dude wanted, you can boot the Gomorra Gazette go gain some ghost rock! Can't really say much about the other deeds in the deck, other than you could swap out deeds that don't support the 3 6 8 values.

Bowie

Hearts (Goods): Bowie Knife and Winchester Model 1873 will turn the 2-draw "Thunder Boy" Nabbe and Erik Samson into a 3-stud! Jacqueline Isham is another 2-draw Dude you can include with your starting dudes to become a 3-Stud. She already becomes a stud when defending. K-Heart Fancy New Hat can be swapped out for another card of 3 6 8 value.

Deckbuilding: A 7-Difficulty Blessed Law Dogs Deck

The Law Dog's "Saved by Grace" and a few of their dudes have the Blessed keyword. Let's make a deck around them!

Saved

A 7-Difficulty Law Dogs Blessed deck: I looked through the Blessings, and, at 7-Difficulty, you can build a minimum 7-value deck where every 7-difficulty Miracle can be successfully cast by a 0-Blessing Dude. Because their values are below 7, starting Dudes would include 4-Spade Padre Ernesto de Diaz, and 6-Spade Erik Samson. Both Erik Samson and Deborah West benefit from the high-value Jael's Guile and Silver-Weaved Staff, and "Sword of the Spirit" benefits from a Melee Weapons. Ezrael Jones's 9-value means he can be included in the deck. Holy Roller's disadvantage is that it's a 6-value card, but pulling this card would by the Blessed 1 Dudes would still result in successful castings. Holy Roller works best with the Padre, to make him a 1-Stud, I suppose.

Deckbuilding: A Blessed Kung Fu Anarchists Deck

A Blessed Kung Fu Anarchists deck: Blessed decks prefer high-value pulls while Kung-Fu decks low-values, so it's definitely challenging to build a deck that accommodates both! From the "Weird West" cards, we can at least start with a 6-pull deck. This would satisfy a Blessed pull for the Holy Roller Miracle, and a Kung Fu pull for the Kung Fu Dudes listed above. If you want 5-value cards, such as Confession, you might drop the Blessed-0 He Fang and Stevie Lyndon, who would fail the 6-difficulty Miracles if they pull a 5-value card. If you want 7-value cards, such as "Shield of Faith" and "Two Hundred Fifty Rounds", you might drop Shi Long Peng, and "Mahogany" Jackson, who would fail their Kung Fu checks if they pull a 7-value card. As for the Outfit, the "House of Many Faiths" supports a Blessed deck. I only mention Natalya because she can be summoned with He Fant's effect, and is a low-pull for a Kung Fu deck. When we review the Anarchists starter deck, we'll take a closer look at a Kung Fu-only deck.

Outlaws: The Sloan Gang and Deadwood Miner's Alliance

The deck works with either Outlaw card, so try them both! Both of them provide Control Points while one of your Dudes is in the Town Square. The Sloane Gang is slightly riskier because a booted Dude in the Town Square is vulnerable to callouts. The Deadwood Miner's Alliance makes your Dude Wanted, which makes them vulnerable to certain cards that affected Wanted Dudes. But the Outlaws themselves have cards which provide benefits for Wanted Dudes. This deck has card centered around values 4 5 7.

Allie Hensman

Starting Dudes: Control Points: These three Dudes are examples of Dudes with effects related to giving them Control Points. To give Miranda a Control Point, use The Sloane Gang's Outfit ability or have her visit Hunter Protections. You'll have to get your Dudes out of their Home to gain these Control Points, so there's some risk. It's not required that you win this way, though. Make sure to give Allie a Pearl-Handed Revolver so she can become a stud! You don't have to start with Miranda as a Starting Dude, since she's 4-value and the deck centers around values 4 5 7.

Ike Clanton

Other Starting Dudes: While this starting deck has Dudes with Influence, that's not always the case with an Outlaws deck. Ike is useful when you have an Outlaws deck that has Outlaw Dudes with high bullet ratings, but little or no Influence. Jacqueline Isham becomes a stud when defending. You have two Pearl-Handed Revolvers in the deck, so you could give her one to make her a 2-stud when on the offensive.

4 Rattler

Spades (Dudes): With the deck centered around values 4 5 7, these Dudes can stay in the deck or be played. Brute is a Dude from the Fearmongers faction. But he has 0-Influence, so will require no Upkeep. If Baker's bounty becomes too high, you can always decline to pay the upkeep and return him to the deck. Dave "Slim" Gorman fits better in a Huckster deck (Hucksters cast Hex spells and this deck has no Hexes) but I didn't find an obvious 7-Spade replacement for him from the Weird West set. Jessica's K-value doesn't support this deck, so you could replace her with another card.

2 Mugging

Clubs (Actions): This deck's assortment of Actions is pretty strong. The 2-value Mugging doesn't support this 4 5 7 deck, so I'd replace it with 4-Club Ambush, which can go after Dudes holed up in their Home. Belligerence is useful for Outlaw cards which give bonuses for Wanted Dudes. Kidnappin' and Ambush allow you to go after a Dude holed up in his Home.

La Quema

Hearts (Goods): Most of these Goods support the 4 5 7 focus of this deck, except La Quema, which is an A. La Quema isn't a bad card, but you can switch it out with a 4- 5- or 7-value card.

Mayors

Diamonds (Deeds): Like the Goods, most of these Deeds support the 4 5 7 focus of this deck, except the Mayor's Office, which is another A. B&B Attorneys can help mitigate an opponent's Law Dogs deck that makes your Dudes Wanted.

The Entrepreneurs: Morgan's Regulators

This starter deck is centered around Horses and Gadgets. A booted Dude in Town Square is vulnerable to callouts, so the Morgan's Regulators ability can avoid this. You can also play Farnum's Consortium with this deck. This deck has card centered around values 6 8 J. As this is a Gadget deck, the lowest value in the deck is 6, which will succeed when inventing the difficulty 6 Gadgets in this deck.

Diego

Starting Dudes: Have Diego boot to invent Yagn's Mechanical Skeleton, which is a Horse Gadget, then Trade it to Chuan "Jen" Qi, so she receives both benefits. If Yagn's Mechanical Skeleton is in the discard pile (eg. after you draw a hand in the Gamblin' Phase), Maggie Harris can start a Job at your Home (which is unlikely to be defended by your opponent) to retrieve the Skeleton. If you don't have a Horse Gadget in your discard pile, you can use Arnold Stewart's effect, if he already has a Gadget (the deck only has one Out of Town Deed, btw). You can also add a Mechanical Horse or Personal Ornithopter to the deck, to increase the chances of drawing a Horse Gadget early in the game, although neither supports the deck values of 6 8 J.

See

Hearts (Goods): Gadgets. As said, since the lowest value in the deck is a 6, the 6-Difficulty See-Through Spectacles will always be invented.
Roan

Hearts (Goods): Horses. The Q-Heart "Guide Horse" doesn't support the 6 8 J values the deck centers around, so can be substituted.
Hellstromme

Diamonds (Deeds): Hellstromme Plant #9. This card benefits Horse and Gadget decks and ts J rank is good for Gadget pulls.
Calling

Clubs (Actions): "Calling the Cavalry" and "Ridden Down" fit in a Horse deck, while "Technological Exhibition" fits in a Gadget deck. The Q-Clubs "It's Not What You Know" doesn't support the 6 8 J values the deck centers around, so can be removed.

POST

Deck changes: Q-value: Alternately, you may want to make this deck into a 8 J Q deck, with cards like the Q-value "POST-A-TRON" and "Bio-Charged Neutralizer". With a Q-value, you have a greater chance of succeeding with Gadget pulls.

Deckbuilding: A Horse Deck

Horse deck: 8-value looks to be a good number for the deck to support, then possibly 6 and J. The tricky part of a Horse deck is that no Dude may have more than one Horse. so you can't just stuff a bunch of Horses into it!

Deckbuilding: A Law Dogs Gadget Deck

Law Dogs Gadget Deck: The Law Dogs have a few Mad Scientists, so you could try a Law Dogs Gadget deck. Start with the Entrepreneur starter deck and swap out the Entrepreneur Dudes for Law Dog Dudes. Note that Andreas is a Stud, so you can use "Yagn's Mechanical Skeleton" for its bullet bonus. The 3-Heart "Culpability Scientizer" is a poor card to make a pull with, but can be easily invented and makes an opposing Dude Wanted when it comes into play.

Deckbuilding: A Horse Gadget Deck

Horse Gadget deck: As said, don't just throw every Horse Gadget into a Horse Gadget deck! Each Dude can have, at most one Horse, weapon, and attire. The starter deck is already a Horse Gadget deck, but, because its values are 6 8 J, while this one is 9 10 J. "Old Marge's Manor" can pay the Ghost Rock costs of the "Mechanical Horse".

Deckbuilding: A Plain Ol' Horse Deck

Plain Ol' Horse deck: Values 8 5 6 support this deck. Jarret Black and Maggie Harris can be part of your Starting Dudes. El Anónimo is an 8-Spade Dude you can easily drop into a deck that centers around an 8 value. Put him into play this turn, but don't pay upkeep next turn. He'll still be in your deck so you can draw an 8-value card.

Deckbuilding: 5-Difficulty Entrepreneur Gadget Deck

5-Difficulty Gadget Deck: You can make an Entrepreneur 5-Difficulty Gadget Deck, centering around values 7 9 and J. With the Entrepreneurs, start with Arnold Stewart and Searmus O'Toole as your Starting Dudes. They're both at least Mad Scientist 1, so the deck can have a minimum of 4-value for a card, such as the "Disingenuine Currency Press". I added the Rapier because of the Hydro-Puncher's ability. You may want to have fewer Clubs in this deck because of Seamus O'Toole's ability.

Deckbuilding: 6-Difficulty Gadget Entrepreneur Deck

6-Difficulty Gadget Deck: This deck is similar to the 5-Difficulty Gadget Entrepreneur Deck, with the addition of the "See-Through Spectacles" and "POST-A-TRON".

Deckbuilding: 5-Difficulty Law Dogs Gadget Deck

5-Difficulty Gadget Deck: You can also make a Law Dogs 5-Difficulty Gadget Deck, centering around values 5 7 9. Drew Beauman might be a better starting Dude, since he can invent Gadgets during the Gamblin' Phase, has no Upkeep, and has a high enough Mad Scientist to invent the "Disingenuine Currency Press". If you want to make Dudes Wanted, add the "Culpability Scientizer"; this card's 3-value means it will cause Gadget pulls to fail, though.

Deckbuilding: 6-Difficulty Gadget Law Dogs Deck

6-Difficulty Gadget Deck: This deck is similar to the 5-Difficulty Gadget Law Dogs Deck, with the addition of the "See-Through Spectacles" and "POST-A-TRON". With the 6-Heart "See-Through Spectacles", the 6-Club "Technological Exhibition" becomes a possible card to add to the deck making the deck center around 6 7 9 and/or J values.

Fearmongers: The Serpentine Syndicate and Encroaching Darkness

The Fearmonger's starter deck is a Huckster and Abominations deck. Since it has spells, it has high values so it can succeed with pulls. This deck has card centered around values 9 10 Q.
Landon

Spades (Dudes): Abominations. Landon Grimes, Paliaccio, and The Brute are part of your starting Dudes. Landon Grimes can bring in Abominations and Hucksters to a Shootout, even when booted. Note that Pagliacco is a Non-Unique, so you can add the second copy of her to your Starting Dudes or deck. Bobo has a low cost and high Upkeep, so you can play him, keep him around a turn to do his dirty work, and discard him the turn after. Alan Campbell can use his effect while booted! The Soul Cage will bring back Abominations, including those Aced from play. It can also be used during the Gamblin' Phase! "No Turning Back" is an Action that Aces a Dude. Note that Cheatin' hands usually start with Rank 4: Three of a Kind, so bringing back Alan Campbell into play is not unlikely. Angela Payne isn't an Abomination, but she's part of the deck. Her 10-Spade supports this deck, and this deck could use another Stud.

Valeria

Spades (Dudes): Hucksters. Valeria Batten and Alfred Bryne are part of your starting Dudes. Valeria Batten is the only Starting Dude who's a Stud, and her 0-Stud makes her a backup shooter, so she should team up in a shootout with another Dude. Weird West, btw, does not have any Mystical Gadgets.

Paralysis

Hearts(Goods): Hexes. In general, the more powerful spells have a lower value. This means that, until they're played, these lower-value spells will make pulls less likely to succeed. Phantasm and Blood Curse affect Dudes in *nearby* locations. So you could keep a Huckster, such as Alfred Bryne or Sylvester Heath, at Home, and have him cast spells on opponent Dudes in Town Square and the two Deeds adjacent to Home. The 8-Hearts Phantasm doesn't support the deck values of 9 10 Q, so you could try replacing it with the J-Hearts Forget. Most of the Hexes in this deck have a 9 or 12 difficulty, and most of the Hucksters are 1-skill, meaning that a J pull will cause most of the Hexes in this deck to succeed.

Wendys

Hearts(Goods): These cards support the 9 10 Q focus of this deck.
Flight

Clubs (Actions): The Clubs in this deck support its 9 10 Q focus. However, while the J-Clubs "Flight of the Lepus" is a good card for pulls, it doesn't support the focus of the deck. You could swap it for a Q-Club, such as a second "It's Not What You Know..." or "Thirst for Blood".

Deckbuilding: Abomination Deck

Abomination Deck: With the Rattler Young 'Un and The Brute (and even Natalya from the Anarchists) Value 4 is a likely choice for building the deck around. Pagliaccio is a Non-Unique, so you could have 4x of her in a deck, or even as starting Dudes. If you do make a Paggliacio deck, you might add Hawley's Rose to the deck. The Q-Heart Soul Cage is a must for this deck, so you could build a deck around the Q-value as well.

Deckbuilding: Fearmonger Huckster Deck

Huckster Deck: Values 9 10 J Q K. At least in theory, you could even get a straight flush!
Note: "Weird West" has the promotional revised Ivor Hawley card.

Deckbuilding: Outlaws Huckster Deck

Another Huckster Deck: Outlaws. Maria Kingsford and Wilber Crowly have no Upkeep, so you could include them with your starting Dudes. (Dave is the only stud of these Hucksters.) Maria has a bounty-related effect, so you could use the "Deadwood Miner's Alliance" Outfit with the deck. The deck can support values 7 10 J Q, so I've listed the Hexes that correspond to these values.

Deckbuilding: Low-Difficulty Huckster Deck

Low-Difficulty Huckster Deck: I didn't find it too obvious what values to center the deck around. If you have a 0-Huckster Dude, he has a slight chance of pulling a 5-value Corporeal when he needs a 6-value to cast another spell, but Weird West has plenty of 1-Huckster Dudes, so you might not even need a 0-Huckster. 6-Spade Bobo fits in a Huckster deck.

First People Deck

This is a Shaman deck, centering around Town Square. Since it has spells, it has high values 9 10 J K so it can succeed with pulls.
Although the Spiritual Society is the Outfit for this deck, you can also try out the Black Hills Guardians for it as well.

Alexander

Starting Dudes: Zachary has a bullet bonus equal to the highest influence among your dudes at his location, including both himself an opponents. Pair him up with Enapay, whose 3-Influence during High Noon will make Zachary into a 3-stud. The cost of Eagle Woman That All Look At is reduced by one of your Dudes, so will cost three less ghost rock while Enapay is in play, possibly coming out sooner in the game than your opponent's K-value Dudes! Alexander and Zachary receive benefits when in the Town Square. Maztl's Totem ability works with Spirit Trail and Fire of Nanahbozho.
10 Recruitment

Clubs (Actions): Town Square Jobs. This deck has several cards with Jobs marking the Town Square, with values supporting the deck's 9 10 J K focus. For your first games, you might try swapping in other Actions of the same values.

8 Spirit 10

Hearts (Goods): Spells. The deck only has two 8-value cards, and they're both Spirit Dance. Once they're out of play, your Shaman 1 Dudes will be able to successfully cast almost any spell in this deck. Of the four Shamans you have in this deck, only Mazatl has a 0-Shaman skill.

J Huntsmens

Deeds (Diamond): Huntsmen's Society. This card benefits four of the fourteen Dudes in this deck. If you place it adjacent to your Home deed, it will affect your Home and Town Square as well! Play the "Fire of Nanahbozho" Totem on it!

Mariel

Deckbuilding: Holy Ground Totem Deck

This deck uses Totems to create Holy Grounds.
Black

Mazatl and Lydia are your Starting Dudes. This is a Q and 10 or higher deck. Many of these cards overlap the starter deck, so try converting the starter deck to a Holy Ground Totem deck by swapping various cards.

Deckbuilding: 5 and 6-Difficulty Spirit Deck with Totems and Holy Ground

This is another Spirit deck.
Black

Another Spirit Deck: Most of the Spirits in this deck have a 5-Difficulty. 10-Heart "Spirit Trail" is 6-Difficulty, but it's in this deck because of 10-Spade "Bloody Teeth" and its high pull value. Mazatl, a Starting Dude, can cast Spirits successfully most of the time, and can move to Totems, anyway. This deck contains several Totems. Enapay has a 3-Influence at Noon, which makes Zachary a 3-Stud; both can be Starting Dudes. Q-value Spirits and Deeds make the deck values 10 Q. Ideally, you'd want the 4-Heart "Spirits of the Ancestors" played on Mazatl to reduce the chance of him failing to cast the spell and turn him into a 4-Stud!

Anarchists: 108 Gracious Gifts

This is a Kung Fu deck.
108

This is a Kung Fu deck, so has low-value cards to succeed on Technique checks. This deck centers around values A 2 3 4, with club flushes. The occasional 5 means you can try for a straight flush if you draw it. You can try replacing cards over value-5 with value-5 cards, such as the K-Spade Hao-T'e Zui with 5-Spade Shi Long Peng.

2 Zhus

Clubs: Techniques, Tao of Zhu Bajie. While all Techniques in this deck are the same school, the 10-Club "Crushing Invincibility" risks more failed Kung Fu pulls for greater effects.

Dudes and their Techniques

Before creating a sample Kung Fu deck, I though I'd build a table of which Techniques a particular Dude could use.
A Daomei

Techniques: Basically, if you want to guarantee a Dude with Kung Fu will be able to successfully pull for a Technique you play on him, your deck must have no value higher than the Dude's Value plus Kung Fu. So, for 5-Spade and 1-Kung Fu "Mahogany" Jackson, your deck would have no card higher than 6-value. Natalya isn't a Kung Fu Dude, but is an Abomination He Fang can put into play at a reduced cost; her low value means pulling will result in a successful Technique pull. Xui Yin Chen's ability can make Natalya into a 2-Stud.

A 4 5 6 Kung Fu Deck

A Kung Fu deck with values up to 6
2 Zhus

Kung Fu: 4 5 6. So, after reviewing the Kung Fu and Technique cards, this deck has the most Kung Fu Dudes and most Techniques they could all successfully use. Such a deck would center around values 4 5 6. You could start with Yunxu Jiang and He Fang as Starting Dudes, along with a few Studs.

Legends: Doc Holliday

"There Comes a Reckoning" introduced Legends, and the Weird West Doc Holliday is an alternate art card of the Doc Holliday Legend last seen in the red-expansion "Out for Blood". (The Doc Holliday card pictured is from "Out for Blood". The Weird West artwork is based on the rightmost character in the above Doomtown game mat.) Legends are an optional additional starting card ability, similar to an outfit, but usually with a notable drawback. Doc Holliday enhances spellcaster shootout decks by giving a bullet bonus of the spellcaster in the shootout (not necessarily in your posse) to your dude. The drawback is a bullet penalty in a shootout if you don't have a spellcaster in your posse.

Doc Holliday with the Fearmonger starting deck might work. Landon Grimes ensures that a Huckster will be in posse he's in. Valeria becomes a 1-Stud. Bobo is a cheap Stud, and can be brought back with the Soul Cage. Ursula, the Worm Queen, is the only Huckster Abomination. While her cost is initially high, the Soul Cage could still bring her out if you have a few Hucksters in play. Ursula starts as a 2-stud, and Doc Holliday will give her a bonus equal to her Huckster 2, to maker her a 4-stud!

Promo Cards

Weird West also comes with several promo cards: 2x Alternative art for "Faster on the Draw"; Tarot-sized cards for the two Outfits for each faction; full bleed faction leaders; updated Bai Yang Chen card (originally from the red-expansion "Welcome to Deadwood" set); alternative art for Wyatt and Virgil Earp dude cards (originally featured in the red-expansion "Hell's Comin' With Me"); and additional punchboard tokens, including faction symbols. While the promos are impressive, the faction leader bleed cards won't have much play, since you already have 2x of each as standard cards. I would have preferred additional Jokers, so that each starter deck could have two Jokers instead of one (the set comes with 6x Jokers).

Punchboard tokens: https://boardgamegeek.com/image/7328541/doomtown-weird-west-edition

1 vs. One or Many : Boss Battle

"I no longer had Ivor staking my antes. Then Mario had vanished into the maze like a pickpocket in the Mersey Fog, leaving the once proud Sloane gang broken and aimless in his wake. Mr Baird seemed like the perfect lead for a new direction. He had the kind of connections you’d expect from a less than an honest broker. But even a player without a Joker up his sleeve would surely feel there was more than a hint of sulphur to him.

A boneheaded Yankee might have missed the signs, but I knew my suspicions about him were justified when I sat down. The shadows moved incessantly in the gaslight, that wasn’t strange in and of itself. Except that Mr Baird’s was one of the only establishments in Gomorra with electric lighting, powered no doubt by the ghost boiler I could faintly hear screaming in the background. As I sat down, I noted that he had already poured whisky for three, completely ignoring me when I asked who might be joining us. For a moment, I wondered if it would be Healey, but as we shook hands and the clock finished striking, my eyes glanced at the extra glass and found it empty." -- Aces Low – Act I, Doomtown Fiction, https://pineboxentertainment.com/2024/06/14/aces-low-act-i/

Is everyone just turtlin' inside their homes doing nuthin? Well, how about a Boss Battle! It's a one-versus-many variant, where, if the many Heroes don't get a move on', then the one Villain automatically wins the game in just a handful of turns! The Boss Battle scenarios will give the Villain various advantages to fend of the Heroes. The Villain can also hole up, but, after each Gamblin' phase, an event card is revealed. Event cards have had a major change in Weird West. Essentially, they've been removed from the standard game and, as part of scenario setup, you have a separate deck of event cards, as specified by the scenario. At the start of each round, an event card is revealed and its effects come into play. Frex, with "Spread the Word!", the heroes need "at least 5 dudes with influence in at least 5 different locations" to gain a victory point. The default winning conditions are either the Heroes with three victory points, or the Villain undefeated by turn five. The second printing has both the Boss Battle and multiplayer rules in the physical rulebook. If you have the first printing, download the multiplayer rules from the Doomtown website, or second printing rules from DriveThruRPG. The Weird West rulebook comes with two scenarios, a basic one that uses the included event cards, and a detailed one, where you take on the Fearmongers and Ivan himself!

And I did try a Boss Battle with an Automaton Villain versus myself and an Automaton Hero! That was certainly different! The Automaton Hero, of course, could care less about the event cards and any other scenario rules. The Automaton Hero gleefully sent its dudes to the town square and picked unnecessary fights with the Villain. Better him than me, I suppose. The Automatons happily wiped each other out, but that didn't make the game easier! The heroes' objective was to successfully run jobs against the villain on the "Open Wound" deeds around town. Except that every job attempt added a 2-stud to the villain's side! No fair! And Ivor comes back the next day! Even no fairer! The Automatons nearly wiped each other out, but yours truly had to spread his dudes all over town and control those deeds before Ivor came back from the grave!

Solo (and More): The Automaton

“Seamus, for the umpteenth time, this is not a weapon. And it is most certainly not an in-CEN-DI-ary device.”

“Well, what in tarnation is it then?”

“Dang if I know. But if Sylvester Heath gave us the blueprints that found their way to his Curiosity Shoppe, rather than selling them, you better believe it’s something usefully important. The plans show extenders and ratchets and gears like it does the same thing over and over.”

“If and when it works, that is, “ said Seamus. He cautiously peered around the shield. “Do you really think this gadget can neutralize whatever causes technology to fail around these parts?

“Anything is better than sticks n’ stones. Let’s turn on the juice and cut this thing loose.” -- Debt of Blood, https://pineboxentertainment.com/2025/01/06/debt-of-blood/

Doomtown is one of the most complicated card games out there so I was pleasantly surprised to see an AI for the game. With the AI, you "plug in" an Archetype, one of Doomtown's styles of play. For now, the only Archetype available is Gunfighter, an aggressive player who has no problems taking the town square and sitting on your deeds! While certainly a welcome change from the player who holes up in their home, the Gunfighter happily uses up his dudes, and doesn't wait to equip them! "Rules as written", The Automaton works best with the Outlaws (a faction that's the best, imo, for aggressive players) as well as the Fearmongers in the Boss Battle: Showstopper Variant (the Fearmongers start in play with several strong dudes and even Ivor with two spells!).

For more satisfying play, I would recommended, if you're not playing the Outlaws, to play a few "prepatory" turns, where the Automaton and you stay at home and prepare yourselves, such as attaching cards, the Law Dogs Outfit making your guys Wanted, etc.. The Automaton will stick to a fight to the end, so I'd tweak the rules that he retreats if he had only one Dude left and you have, say, three or more.

For some chaos, try the Automaton as the other half of your team in Boss Battle! I tried some Boss Battles with the Automaton as the Boss, and then as a team member and the Boss! For the latter, your Automaton is quite happy to upset the proverbial apple cart, while you're the one actually trying to win the game. It's like playing with your kid brother and his itchy trigger finger.

Complicated: Doomtown players shouldn't be surprised when I say that the AI is complicated. Basically, the AI breaks down a player's turn into multiple smaller steps, each step a randomizing pull from the deck. Depending on the suit, the AI rules then tell the player to check this-or-that to take an action for the Automaton. Too many times, though, you end up doing nothing. For example, during the Gamblin' Phase, if you draw an illegal hand, you check if the Automaton can play a Resolution -- even if you can plainly see he has no cards or abilities he can play. Fortunately, the online Eddie's Voice Automaton handles all the complicated stuff.

Cheating: Most AI's aren't as intelligent as humans, so AI rules often have some "brute strength" advantages. For example, whenever the Automaton makes a pull, it adds the card to its play hand! The Automaton can take up to two turns in a row! And, if it can't do anything, it gains a Ghost Rock! At least it has to discard when it has too many cards.

Randomization: While you'll make a play dependent on the cards in your play hand and the state of the board, the Automaton makes its plays dependent on the suit it pulled. This randomization obviously doesn't simulate a human opponent, but you'll be too busy with it causing trouble for you to care. I think a set of rules that more accurately simulates a Doomtown decision tree would be pages and pages of complexity.

Tweaks: Feel free to put some common sense into that Automaton! Here're a few things to try after a few games with the Automaton.

Setup: In addition to Starting Dudes, the Automaton plays attachments and pays for them.
Shootouts: After the first round, if the Automaton has lost at least two of his posse, he leaves the Shootout.
Law Dogs: If no opponent's Dudes are Wanted and the Law Dogs have a card or ability dependent on a Wanted Dude, the Automaton makes an opposing Dude Wanted with the Outfit ability.
Fearmonger: Abomination deck: The Abomination will keep a Draw Dude Home for the Soul Cage. The Automaton plays any additional Soul Cages on Studs.
Gadgets and spells: The Automaton will keep Draw Mad Scientists and spellcasters at Home if they don't have a Gadget or spell.
Other attachments: Don't send the last Dude out from Home if the Automaton has an attachment in its play hand.

Doomtown Online: Still need a human? Try out Doomtown Online! : https://www.doomtown.online/how-to-play

Finally, here are some Automaton decks (Solo Decklists) to start with. : https://pineboxentertainment.com/wwe-resources/

Town Square Scenarios Variant

Weird West introduces four optional variants for beginners and advanced players alike. The variants are printed on tarot-sized cards.

Shooting Range: Allows a mulligan. New players optionally play to six control points.
Gomorra: Domain of Famine: After six turns (total, not consecutive) of nobody playing a permanent control point (eg. a Deed), the game ends. Highest control point total wins.
Deadwood: Domain of War: The winner of a shootout at a deed either adds a permanent control point to their dude in the shootout, or the deed itself.
Tombstone: Domain of Death: In Town Square, losers in a shootout suffer an additional casualty. Winners cannot flee after the first round.
Plus, each faction gets a double-sided tarot-sized outfit card. Fancier than a new hat!

Note: The above art is an earlier version. The final card is a mite fancier!

Conclusion

For the newbies: As much as I recommend the Doomtown card game, I don't think it's realistic to ask someone completely green to the game to buy a $55+ base set without knowing if they like it or not. Your best bet is to try out the free Print and Play demo on DriveThruRPG. Then, pick up the base game.

Quick Buying Guide: For further trouble, next come the "brown boxes", Debt of Blood (2023) and Whispers of War (2024). Whispers of War has an additional solo scenario, and an updated Fort 51, for you gadgeteering Law Dogs. Each has 4x of each card. Weird West has 2x of each card, but I'd say it's up to you if you want more cards, either for even more decks, or for tournament play. The "red boxes", Too Tough to Die, Out for Blood, Welcome to Deadwood, and Hell's Coming With Me, as well as There Comes a Reckoning, were published before the Weird West Edition, after the previous base game, Doomtown Reloaded. While obviously not the most recent stuff, you can also check out the Pine Box Entertainment site for the discounted Doomtown: Reloaded (2x of each card), and the Old Timer Bundles, which are cards before There Comes a Reckoning.

Doomtown: Weird West