Saddle up pardner! We’re takin’ a gander at Western Legends from Kolossal Games, the sandbox adventure game set in the Old West!

2-6 Players 60-90 Minutes Ages 14+

Designer: Hervé Lemaître

Artist: Roland MacDonald

Publisher: Kolossal Games

Saddle Up

From print and screen to all manner of creative media including video and board games, the Wild West is a theme that’s been depicted in one form or another since the days of the Old West itself. When it comes to the latter, Western Legends by Kolossal Games has itself, become the stuff of legend. I had the pleasure of finally getting my copy to the table recently and it proved to be a popular hit with our group. What was it about this tried and true cowboy simulator that captured everyone’s attention? Meet me at high noon to find out, or, you know, just keep reading I suppose.

Skin That Smoke Wagon And See What Happens

Western Legends is an open world adventure game where players take on various legendary personas from the Old West based on their real-world counterparts. Well known names such as Jesse James, Wyatt Earp, and Doc Holiday are just some of the personalities you may be familiar with and each comes with a unique ability that becomes available once that player reaches 5 Legendary Points (LP). Players can stick to their character’s theme, playing them as the famous or infamous figure they where renowned to be, or they can forge a new legend of their own. Perhaps Wild Bill Hickock will become a notorious outlaw this time around? Or Calamity Jane will try her luck as a high-stakes gambler? These choices are left up to the players, and although each character’s ability and objective cards tend to favour their well known traits, you won’t be penalised much, if at all if you stray from their course.

The open world in Western Legends consists of a playable map area divided into regions which in turn are either in-town or outside-of-town; places such as the bank, the saloon and the cabaret are in-town locations while the bandit camps, gold mines and railroad station are outside. This matters mainly for the purposes of individual character or story objectives, some objectives may trigger if you complete your turn outside of town for example. A character can move up to two spaces as a single action meaning they could move four or even six spaces depending on how many of their actions they choose to use on movement in a given round. Location actions, such as robbing a bank or depositing gold may only be used by each character once per turn. If there’s nothing in particular you want to do but you’re running short on cash, you can always ‘work’ at a location to earn a cool 10 dollar-bucks!

You’re Bluffin’

Poker cards form the basis of character actions and each player gets 3 actions per turn so they can usually move and interact with at least a couple of points on the map, less if you need to move further, but that’s what the mounts are for. Almost everything can be distilled down to a series of locations where players can interact, each of which makes perfect sense in its given context. You want to gamble at a hand of poker? Head to the saloon. Fancy rustling some cattle? The ranches are where you want to be. Looking to strike it rich? Rumour has it the gold mines are rich with those shiny nuggets. So it goes for almost every action in the game. Move to the location to you want to interact with and do so to score LP or to move up the Wanted or Marshal tracks. Clean and simple.

There are also story elements to enjoy in the form of the story objective cards. Two decks of story cards provide a little extra incentive by offering up rewards to any player who contributes to its activation. For instance a story card may declare that any player who gains a wanted or marshal point may add to this objective. Depending on the number of players, two or three tokens may be required to flip the card at the end of the round. The player who activated the card reads the flavour text and the rewards on the back of the cards, then any listed bandit locations are repopulated and the card is set aside, revealing the next objective on the deck. In this way there are always two objectives on the go at any given time and players tend to complete at least 2-3 or more in a single game.

I Have Two Guns, One for Each of Ya

Western Legends first came to my attention when I was looking for a game that could handle six players of varying tastes, was easy to teach and held peoples interest for the duration. It also had to be playable in around two hours or so. Thankfully, Western Legends not only ticked all these boxes but went on to provide a much deeper gameplay experience than I anticipated. The rules are simple to learn and the game is subsequently an easy teach, particularly for players who are new to board games or prefer something on the lighter side in terms of complexity.

The game features a good deal of player interaction, as players can duel one another, rob each other, play others at a hand of poker and so on. In fact I would go so far as to say it was precisely this interaction that resulted in Western Legends being so well received amongst my gaming group. The hilarious tension of one player robbing another of their money and gold only to later have their victim turn up at the bank at the moment they were trying to deposit those same nuggets was just one of many situations that had our group in stitches. Vendettas are common and revenge is a dish best served at the end of a revolver. Western Legends strikes the perfect balance between serious gameplay and light-hearted moments.

Players are able to express their inner cowboy/girl in a variety of ways, but front and centre are the Marshal and Wanted tracks where players can keep account of their fame or infamy respectively. Allowing these choices adds flavour and encourages players to aid, interact or fight one another in a way that stays true to the theme. Perhaps a particular player hornswoggled another? That gives a gentle nudge to the lawmen in the group to saddle up and bring them in to face justice. Likewise, if a law abiding citizen finds their benign decision-making isn’t proving all that profitable, then they can turn to a life of crime to try and create a legend for themselves.

All of these interweaving elements serve the emergent narrative which lays at the heart of Western Legends and makes for some memorable moments. Then, once you feel you’ve seen all there is to see, Western Legends has a wide range of expansions available to add more flavour to your Wild West adventures.

Hell’s Comin’ With Me

This board ‘ain’t big enough for the six of us!

Players are given so many options to explore, it can sometimes result in characters bumbling around from place to place trying their hand at whatever takes their fancy from moment to moment, but don’t be fooled. Despite its open world and wealth of opportunities, this is a game that rewards focus and dedication to a cause. Spend too much time trying to be a Jack of all trades and you’ll just as soon find yourself a master of none, struggling to move your way up the Legendary track and consequently, falling into obscurity.

One drawback at higher player counts can be the long wait between turns, but I feel this is mitigated appropriately by the heavy amount of player interaction, its entirely possible you could find yourself involved in a duel, resisting arrest by the Sheriff and playing a hand of poker all before you’ve had your turn. Likewise, you could just as easily find yourself polishing your gun for several minutes until your turn rolls around if there’s not much happening in your vicinity.

The only way I could think of improving my experience of Western Legends is with a fully fleshed out solo experience. While the game doesn’t support solo play natively, there have been a number of excellent fan-made solo variants that I’m eager to try. Sure, it won’t have the same chaotic storytelling that you get when playing with others, but whatever gets the game to the table more often gets my vote!

Would You Say I Have a Plethora of Pinatas

As for the art and components, the game board is beautifully illustrated and filled with the browns and yellows you’d tend to associate with a Western theme, dusty pastures and rocky canyons interspersed with rivers and trees make up this little slice of the Old West. The cards and character art have an old-timey watercolour aesthetic which fits the theme nicely and the muted colours remain visually appealing without jarring players out of the experience. Playing with poker cards feels cool too, like you’re involved in a high stakes game with your opponents around the table, even if you’re not actually playing poker in the game itself. The minis are nicely detailed and, while most can be attributed to specific characters, the game states these are simply representations and can be used interchangeably as desired. The plastic gold nuggets are a nice touch and the prospecting dice are large, chunky and rewarding to roll. As for the remaining components, they’re serviceable, but nothing terribly flash. Overall, compared to other more overproduced games on the market today its actually refreshing to play a game that gives you only what you need to immerse yourself in the experience, nothing more, nothing less.

I’m Your Huckleberry

There was much whooping’, a little hollerin’.

Western Legends is an excellent multiplayer experience that encourages player interaction and results in some great stories to share after the game. Memorable and inviting to both new and veteran players alike, this is an amazing adventure game that will keep players coming back for more. If the theme appeals to you at all then I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this one for a second. My only regret is that I didn’t get it to the table sooner, just think how many more cows I could have rustled!

UPGRADE CORNER: How Have I Improved Western Legends?

The standard currency of the Western Legends

One flourish I did allow myself was to upgrade Western Legends’ cardboard money with Iron Clays. These chunky, high quality chips can be used for most games that have a currency of some kind, but they feel right at home here alongside the poker cards and are immensely satisfying to chink, stack and slide around the board as you play. I love upgrading my games, but I think this is the only real addition I’ll bring into Western Legends as I enjoy the rest of what the game has to offer as-is.

Thanks for stopping by! Are you a fan of Western Legends? What other Western themed games do you think deserve attention? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below of feel free to join our Above Board Facebook group where you can join in discussions about your favourite games and be kept up to date about future content! Thank you!

Western Legends Review