An alternate history (President Lewis Cass elected in 1848!) Old West game. Very detailed mechanics, which slowed any combat to a crawl. But then, players were expected to be pioneers, farmers, lawyers, doctors, etc.; not gunslingers. Which is realistic, but boring to play for most. ( )

This review is from reading the game; I haven't played it yet. First I am impressed with any game (and there are only a few) that includes rules for mundane but still adventurous parts of life in the given environment. Aces & Eights includes details on how to handle prospecting for gold, herding cattle to market, standing trial, and buying land. Unlike many other RPGs, it isn't simply about killing things and taking their stuff (though you can do that here too). For this, I give the game a great rating.

On the downside, though, are a number of rules mechanics that aren't consistent with each other (sometimes its good to roll high and sometimes its good to roll low). Also there some rules that could have benefited from better proof reading (you only get a 1:1 payoff for hitting a single number on a roulette wheel as opposed to a 17:1 payoff for splitting your bet on two numbers). ( )