Hard West (Our Review) is a tactical RPG developed by Polish studio CreativeForge Games, released in 2015. As we reported in March, CreativeForge has plans to publish a sequel soon. Until then, you might be interested in Hard West: The Board Game, which just reached about 30% of funding on Kickstarter and still has 29 days to go. According to the Kickstarter announcement, this is a board game that supports between 4 and 6 players, with a very social gameplay that is easy to learn and hard to master.
Like the original video game, Hard West is set in a supernatural vision of the Old Wild West, a world that is hostile and lawless, where making allies isn't easy. You and your wild bunch of gunslingers will struggle in intense gunfights, facing bandits, demons, and other supernatural beings. You don't need to have played the video game to learn how to play the board game, but if you have you'll definitely enjoy it as a companion experience that features a lot of the same ideas and themes.
Characters are divided between "Almost Good Guys" and "Totally Bad guys," and both are equally viable and fun to play. Each character has its own class that corresponds to a weapon, as well as a different skill set and personality to match. You will attach weapons to your characters by sliding them down to the left side of the character's card, almost like a belt with a holster so you can draw it during gunfights. Gunmen will carry any pistol and short-range shotguns, whereas riflemen will carry only mid-range rifles and shotguns, and sharpshooters are a special class that can carry only sniper and long-range rifles.
You can find more details about Hard West: The Board Game on its Kickstarter page, and also on the official website of Silver Lynx, the developer.
What are your thoughts on Hard West: The Board Game? Is it a good adaptation of the video game? Let us know in the comments below!
