Pyramid Pick: Dry Gulch

Pyramid Pick

Dry Gulch

Published by Hangman Games

Designed by Alan D. Ernstein

$35.00

Dry Gulch: A Game of Power Politics in the Old West is the first board game from Hangman Games. Players compete to be elected mayor of the town of Dry Gulch (est. 1898). The first player to place all of his "Family Member Counters" on the board has enough power to win the election, and so wins the game.

Counters get placed on the board primarily by constructing buildings at the various sites on the board, and construction is driven by meeting the requirements for a given building with the resources you've managed to accumulate from turn to turn. So far, this seems very similar to The Settlers of Catan Card Game from Kosmos and Mayfair. There are several significant differences, though, which help this game distinguish itself from the other city-building games out there.

Unlike the Settlers card game, Dry Gulch is firmly multiplayer (it is designed for 3-6 players). There is quite a bit more luck, in both the buildings that each player has the option of constructing and the resources that they will have available to do so. Almost every bit of luck is tempered with some strategy as well -- each turn starts with two random events, but those events are chosen from among three drawn. But mostly the game stands out by emphasizing the flavor of the Old West, especially in the Event Cards like "Main Street Shootout," "Stagecoach Arrives," and "High Stakes Poker Game."

Gameplay is straightforward. . . .

This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.



Article publication date: August 13, 1999

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