Believe it or not, I don't spend every second of every day watching movies or television shows. I love to blame games with my family. Although we are willing to play long and complicated games, at this point we prefer to play several quick fun ones as opposed to one long game. Finger Guns at Noon definitely fits the bill as a quick fun one.
In fact, Finger Guns at High Noon is one of the simplest games in our collection. It consists of 8 "game mats" (they are really just 5" x 3" cardboard cards) that show you the choices you can make each turn and the results of those choices, as well as numbers you can mark as your health points remaining. The only other thing in the box are the 1 page of instructions and 19 "Ally Cards" which are cards that can help you during each round if you have them in front of you. Oh wait. There is one more thing you need. .. your fingers.
The object of the game is to be the last gunfighter standing. Play consists of three phases each round. #1 you "discuss and draw". This means you negotiate with your fellow players and try to convince them to join forces with you or to not do the same thing you are planning to do. But you don't have to tell the truth here. You could just be tricking everyone to get an advantage. this is the WILD west after all. After you discuss your plans... or discuss nothing, someone yells "Draw!" and everyone needs to pick one of six actions they can take with your fingers. Each of the six either damages opponents, heals yourself, or attempts to lasso the current ally card so it can help you throughout the fight. The way you signify your chosen action is by using you hand and finger. It is like a much more complicated game of "rock, paper, scissors"... but considering that may be the simplest game ever, even a complicated version is very easy.
The hand gestures alone can lead to some laughs. Some are numbers, finger guns (of course) a full five-finger shotgun, throwing "metal" (to signify dynamite), and a lasso gesture that makes you look like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. You either gain or lose health based on what you and your opponents choose to gesture. Sometimes you gang up on people, sometimes you align with them. And this can change from round to round. When all of your 20 health points are gone, you are dead... but in a unique spin, you are not out of the game. For the remainder of the game, you become a ghost who can influence each round. The ghosts can even win if they get the last remaining players to kill each other in the final round.
Although this game is super quick and simple, it is also incredibly fun. There is so much scheming going on that you can't help but laugh. This game is especially fun for me as my wife and kids always gang up on me. but even after they scheme to kill me, I still get to play and can really mess up their plans. We have never had a bad time playing this game. Although it always leads to shouting (especially by me as the posse comes for me) it is always lighthearted and fun. The fact that anyone can call "draw" at any time also adds to the excitement. You might think you were just about to make a plan with a fellow player but a gun battle breaks out immediately and ruins it. If that isn't some Deadwood stuff right there, I don't know what is.
As with most of these types of games, the designers actually put effort into the art on the cards as well as the names of your potential allies. I think my favorite are Cassie "Sure Shot" Castro who is a native American guy who can keep your power shot from being cancelled and Frida "Fuse Snuffer" Florez who seems to be modeled after a woman who would fit right into Banshee Pennsylvania. If you are looking for a very quick and fun game, give Finger Guns at High Noon a try.
Has anyone played this?