Back in 2020, as everyone was hunkering down at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, I learned about an upcoming tabletop game with a Western theme called High Noon. I reached out to the creator to learn more about it, and he sent me a prototype to play. He even explained the game and answered my questions during phone calls. He also invited me to play with one of his friends over an online gaming service where I learned even more about the game. Not only did I enjoy playing High Noon, but I even taught it to some of the students in my game design class for their game analysis project. Now High Noon is returned to crowdfunding to introduce new players to the game and give current players a chance to get their hands on the many expansions and exclusive content.
What Is High Noon?
High Noon is a miniature tactical combat board game set in a fictional Wild West world for 2-4 players (expansions can add additional players), ages 9 and up, and lasts for 60-120 minutes. Players take control of individual posses of two to five characters as they attempt to defeat the posses of the other players. High Noon is currently seeking funding on Backerkit with a pledge of $57 for the starter set and a variety of other pledge levels including the Maverick all-in pledge which gets you everything.
High Noon was designed by Dwight Cenac II and published by High Noon Game, Inc.
New to crowdfunding? Check out our crowdfunding primer.
What Is Available in the Campaign?
This new campaign offers a lot of options. There are eight different pledge levels from $5 to gain access to the add-ons to the Maverick all-in level for $445.75. As mentioned earlier, there is a pledge level for the starter set, pledges for updates for current owners, and so forth. All of the expansions are also available individually at a 25% discount. In addition, if you pledge for either the Maverick level or the Legend level (the Maverick without the starter set—for current owners) at $389.50, you get a $100 credit either towards the pledge or additional add-ons. If you choose to add it to your pledge, you will get the refund after the end of the campaign if you choose. Since the Maverick level offers everything available, let’s take a look at what it includes:
- Starter Set
- Upgrade Tiles
- Card Boxes
- Chips and Gold Pack
- Expansion Loot
- Monco and McAtte posse
- Abernathy Gang posse
- Jenkin Brothers posse
- Grizzly Greenwood posse
- Bandero Blondes posse
- Father Franklin posse
- Bushwhackers posse
- Los Hermanos posse
- Marketplace
- Minis Crate
- 3-D Jail and Bank
- Clock Tower
- Poker Cards
- Gunsmoke Trail (signed copy of High Noon novel by Dwight Cenac)
- Purgatory Tiles (related to the story in Gunsmoke Trail)
- All Stretch Goal Rewards and Unlocks
The starter set has everything you need to play and comes with four posses as well as tiles to create a small town. Each of the add-ons posses includes two to five detailed miniatures, a posse deck, character cards, and a new tile to add to the game system related to that posse. Each posse has a unique feel of play. The minis’ crates and card boxes keep your posses organized while the Marketplace adds an economy feature to the game. The novel, Gunsmoke Trail, is an original story written by the creator of High Noon, Dwight Cenac, and tells a story based on the game and the characters from the several posses.
Why You Should Play High Noon
I reviewed High Noon when it was first released in 2021. Here is my review which also describes how to play the game. At that time, the starter set earned the GeekDad Approved Award (and still deserves it). High Noon is a game that is fairly quick to learn. Here is the rulebook. Setting up the game consists of players each choosing a posse and getting the corresponding miniatures, character sheets, and posse deck. The players then take turns placing tiles to create the map for the game. Loot crates are placed on the map and then the miniatures are placed in their starting locations printed on that posse’s own tile. The game is played over the course of 12 rounds which are divided into turns. During a player’s turn, they follow three steps in order. First, they can move each character a number of spaces equal to their speed as listed on their character card. Second, they can take one action per character and as many free actions as they wish. Actions include playing a card, looting crates, equipping an item, passing an item to another character, and so forth. Playing cards is how you can attack and play special actions. Some cards are used to defend against attacks. Each character has some specialty cards unique to them while other cards in the posse deck can be used by anyone in the posse. Finally, a player draws three cards at the end of their turn. At the end of 12 rounds, the player with the most gold wins. Gold can be earned by dealing damage and killing opposing characters.
The gameplay in High Noon has a feel of chess in that characters can attack in a line of sight that is either diagonal or orthogonal. This is different from some miniatures games and really adds a strategic element to a tactical game. In addition, objects and buildings can provide cover which affects attacks. The building tiles have multiple rooms as well as doors and windows. A character can shoot out through a window without any restriction, but someone shooting at them suffers a cover penalty. Loot boxes can contain weapons, gear, consumables, and even specialized ammo that can give your weapons an extra punch. The exclusive 3D clock tower adds an elevated position from which characters can shoot down at enemies.
High Noon not only looks great with detailed tiles and character miniatures but is also a lot of fun to play. The use of cards to attack, defend, and perform special actions adds an element of chance to the game. The cards in your hand have a major role in that you don’t want to move into a good attack position until you have the right cards to carry out the attack. I really like the special ability cards since they add some interesting aspects to the game. For example, one defense card also lets the defender shoot back when they are attacked. High Noon is a great game and I have enjoyed playing it for several years. The creator and designer is a fount of creativity and has expanded the starter set to a complete gaming system. I highly recommend High Noon for anyone who enjoys skirmish-type games with strategy and tactics as well as a fun Western theme and lots of replayability.
For more information or to make a pledge, visit the High Noon crowdfunding page!
Here is a video explaining more about High Noon.
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Disclosure: GeekDad received a copy of this game for review purposes.
