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On today’s Short Bite we’re talking about the terrific roll and write, print and play, game Wild, Wild West created by Benny Sperling and Derik Duley. This game has quickly become a favorite for us. As a bonus to today’s episode, we got to interview Benny Sperling about the process of creating the game and the potential that print and play games have to push the boundaries of tabletop games!
🎂 Age 8+
👨👩👦 2+ Players
⌛ 20-30 min
📐 Skills: forethought, strategy, mental addition and subtraction
In Wild, Wild West players are managing their own town in the Old West. Players roll dice to complete areas of town to earn points while managing calamities that can harm their total score. Player boards feature six different areas of town (Saloon, Sheriff, Train, etc.) each corresponding to a die value. Each area has a different way to use dice and earn points. On each turn, a player will roll 4 dice. 1 die will determine which area of town they’ll be playing into that turn and is useable only by the player whose turn it is. The 3 remaining dice will be used by all players. For the player whose turn it is, 1 die will work positively for them and 1 die will cause a calamity to work against them. The other players must use all 3 dice (area of town, positive event, calamity) to the best of their ability.
The mechanics of this game are simple. Roll the dice and fill in your player board. However, the strategy required to carefully manage your board is much more complex. Every turn a calamity will occur. Earning too many calamities in one area of town will cause you to lose points so you’re trying to spread these out around the board. Meanwhile, you need to use dice effectively to earn the most points. At the Saloon, you need to buy whiskey cheap and sell high (using low and high die values respectively). Between the Judge and the Sheriff areas, you need to play certain value dice to put out a warrant for criminals, find them, capture them, and ultimately jail them. We love how each area of town uses dice differently and players can pursue different strategies to earn the most points.
Thematically, this game is right on target. We think it’s a great addition to homeschool studies about the Old West. There’s also a lot of mental math, forethought, and strategy especially in which die to take out of play when it’s your turn. Adding in that this is a print and play, meaning the cost is low, and you can play with as many players as you want, makes this a terrific gameschooling game! Overall, we’re big fans of Wild, Wild West and have enjoyed introducing it to family and friends.
You can purchase Wild, Wild West here: https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/wild-wild-west-pnp
Touring The World Resource Guides
Check out our country resource guides to help you with your around the world journey: https://gumroad.com/homeschooltogether
Show Notes
Wild Wild West – https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/wild-wild-west-pnp
Scotch Laminator – https://amzn.to/3xGmCcU
Trekking the World – https://amzn.to/3CAIcmw
Parks – https://amzn.to/3yBHhju
Trecking the National Parks – https://amzn.to/3s3eHFh
Twilight Imperium – https://amzn.to/3xEMy8p
Board Game Geek Print and Play – https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamecategory/1120/print-play
Jurassico – https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/103359/print-and-play-jurassico
Benny Sperling – https://www.bennysperling.com/
Yakitori – https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/188526/yakitori
Wurfel Pie – https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/wurfel-pie-sheets
Torpedo Dice – https://www.stratusgames.com/torpedo-dice-pnp
Rolling with Benny – https://www.inquisitivemeeple.com/category/reviews/rolling-with-benny/
Standing Stones – https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/standing-stones-pnp
Dice Trucking – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lagniappe-games/dice-trucking-a-roll-and-write-revolution-game
Ancient Artifacts – https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/227468/ancient-artifacts
Illusions of Prestige – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lagniappe-games/ilusions-of-prestige-a-roll-and-write-revolution-game
GTFO the Planet – https://internetsmagic.itch.io/gtfo
Train in Vain – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lagniappe-games/train-in-vain-roll-and-write-revolution
The Game Crafter – https://www.thegamecrafter.com/
Touring The World Resource Guides
Check out our country resource guides to help you with your around the world journey: https://gumroad.com/homeschooltogether
