| Gunslinger's
Journal:
DEAD MAN'S HAND
James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok, lawman, Civil War
spy, scout for General Custer, and performer with Buffalo
Bill, died on August 2nd, 1876...while playing cards.
It was a low-stakes poker game at the Silver
Dollar Saloon in the Dakota Territory. Most everyone was watching
the player across from Wild Bill place his bet when Jack McCall,
standing behind Bill, pulled a revolver from his coat and
squeezed off a shot. The bullet struck Bill in the back of
the head, instantly killing him.
Jack McCall's motive? He wanted revenge for
the death Lew McCall, his criminal brother. (Nobody knows
for sure if Wild Bill really caused ther death of Lew McCall
in the first place.) Jack McCall's trial for Wild Bill's murder
was cut short when someone started a rumor that the town was
about to be attacked by bloodthirsty Native Americans. In
a second trial years later, Jack McCall was found guilty and
hanged.
Wild Bill's last poker hand was a pair of
aces and a pair of eights (stories vary on what Bill's fifth
card was; several museums and casinos have displayed what
they claim is the last card, and no two sources agree). Today,
two pair, aces and eights (usually just black aces and black
eights) is called a Dead Man's Hand.
We at LA People Connection take this time
to warn you: watch your back when playing games!
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December 2002:
The Old West
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Far from the industrial progress of the North and the genteel
refinery of the South lies a vast dry territory simply called "out
west." It is a land of lawlessness, where you've got to be
quick on the draw, sharp with the cards, and know fool's gold when
you see it.
Think you can handle it, city slickers? Will you ride off triumphantly
into the sunset, or should the undertaker measure you for a pine
box? This game night, we robbed the stagecoach, fell off the balcony,
and headed 'em off at the pass.
Saddle up pardners, as we reminisce Game Night: The Old West!
(for more info on a game, click
on the picture)
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It's a shootout! Players are either outlaws, deputies, the
sheriff, or a lone renegade. The outlaws want the sheriff
dead. The deputies are after the outlaws. And the renegade
just wants to be the last one alive. Everyone knows who the
sheriff is...but every other identity is kept secret! (If
you've played assassins/mafia/werewolf, you'll catch on quickly).
Can an outlaw hoodwink the sheriff into thinking he's a deputy?
4-7 players.
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Six mines hold potential wealth for shrewd prospectors. Stake
your claim too quickly and your opponents might fill it with
fool's gold. Wait too long and some varmint might grab the
best mine first. Or you can try sharing mines, splitting the
profits with your partners...nah!
2-5 players.
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This abstract game has more in common with Tetris than the
Zuni and Hopi tribes. The players unite to build a three-dimensional
structure out of identically-shaped blocks. Each player has
a color, and must work to hide their own pieces deep within
the emerging puzzle. The chief architect strides around the
building, scrutinizing your progress. When he stops, he better
not see any pieces of your color, or you lose points!
2-4 players.
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Billy the Kid. Butch Cassidy. Jesse James. The most notorious
criminals in the West are on the loose...and you're the bounty
hunter. Play capture cards on the criminals to earn reward
money. When the criminals rob a bank or hold up a stagecoach,
their reward goes up.
2-4 players.
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"Gnadenlos!" means "Without Mercy!" and
boy does the title fit. Players are business-types, looking
to increase their wealth by employing the services of gamblers,
gunslingers, and prospectors. You're a bit short on capital
at the moment, so you hire these distinguished folk with promisory
notes. Just hope you've got the cash when the I.O.U.s come
due!
3-4 players.
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You're an actor. A pretty bad one. The only parts you can
get are all two-bit extra jobs on the westerns shooting
around the backlot. Wander from set to set, hoping to get
hired. Maybe you'll be lucky and land a leading role. But
the major parts only get paid when a movie wraps, while
extras get scale every day. Whoever has the most money after
the fourth day of shooting wins.
3-8 players.
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Nights
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