Where the 'HELL' did the checker go ?

I hope you are able to put this new tech in something besides a checkerboard...

Wow. That's really awesome.
Thanks Tim and Roth. Brilliant - once again.
Going to put this on the must have list...

Mine arrived yesterday. Haven't had time to anything but take it out of the box so all I can say is it LOOKS amazing! If I didn't know any better I'd say it was from the early 1900's. It will fit my plans perfectly.

A full review will follow after I spend some quality time with it, but there is no doubt Outlaw blew it out of the park again!

Opened my mysterious parcel today. Unpacked the contents. Played the game.

Learned quickly that those who played on this board before, never finished their game. They tried to play crooked. But they couldn't cheat death.

Here's what I found...
A simple, old...but not ancient...checker board, that also serves as a box to hold the game pieces and whatever else one may choose to put inside. The design and craftsmanship of the box are perfectly executed for how they were intended to be used. The game board graphics are good, but not well-defined. They could have easily been painted by hand. The same commentary applies toward the woodwork and hardware...done capably, but not expertly. This kit could have easily been purchased from an old general store, or made in a home workshop. As I said...Perfect.

Inside the box was a bag of old checkers. Again, not too weathered or battered. Just worn, as if played with a lot. I also found a yellowed bottle and cork, a bullet that look like it struck a target, and an old photograph of a pretty young woman. The age of the photograph is difficult to guess, but based upon the lady's outfit, I'm guessing mid to late nineteenth century.

I placed the checkers on the board, and tried to imagine who had played this game before. As my mind wandered, I must have drifted off for I could have sworn one of the black checkers moved, and jumped off the side of the box. When I looked down, the checkers were scattered all about...did it really happen? I set up the checkers again...and watched. Imagining. Wondering. Was this more than a game to someone? Was this a pact being made? A transaction? Just then one of the black checkers literally flew up in the air before landing violently on the floor below. What kind of evil toy had I brought into my house?

I cursed myself but continued, and laid out the checkers once more...now I stopped thinking entirely, and simply stared in fear. Like looking for Bloody Mary in a mirror, I waited for something more to happen. Waited. Waited. And then like a bolt of lightening, a black checker shot across to the other side of the board as if being moved by an invisible hand. I threw the checkers to the floor. Enough. Enough. Enough.

The cursed board set in front of me. I had enough, but I wanted to know more. What was it about this simple prop that made hunger to know more about its history? What was the bullet? Who was in the picture? I picked the bullet up and put it inside the old bottle. It seemed like it belonged in there some how. I placed them both on the board, where the black checkers were. Was the bullet fired by the player with the black checkers? Or by the one who played with red? Red? Red like blood? RED LIKE BLOOD? Just then the bullet jiggled a bit in the bottle and the hair on my arms stood straight. I froze. The room around me was tomb silent and I swore that if I made it through this moment I would never own anything old again...and then the bullet jumped in the bottle almost pushing the cork out. No! no! no

What had I done? What had I opened when I opened this box, and set up these pieces? There was just one last item to inspect. The portrait. I picked up the dusty photo. It had weight and substance, like it was special, meant to be cherished and kept. The woman pictured was so young and innocent, dressed in white, unspoiled. Not thinking about it, I placed the photo on the right side of the board where the red checkers were. I stared at the young lady in the photo. At her eyes. Where was she now? What did she see in her lifetime? What did she see before she died? Did she see me looking at her now? With that, the photo jumped up and flew off the edge of the box and fell on the floor.

I packed up the checkers, the bullet, the bottle, the cursed photo and threw them all violently into the box. Locked the hasp and prayed I would never be tempted to open the evil thing again.

Game over.



So, that's what I found inside by box from Outlaw. Deadwood is hardly dead. It's one of the liveliest pieces OE has ever designed and built. I had the checker, bullet, and photo dancing all over the place. Literally, you could shoot the "hot" checker from one edge of the board to the other. Or, if you prefer, have it shoot into the air and land on the other checkers...spilling them about.

The photo and bullet are equally as playful...I had the photo moving only a fraction of an inch...barely perceptible, and then by positioning it at a slightly different angle it shot off the board onto the floor. I even tried my other OE accessories on the board, like the urn, wooden cross, Hobb's hand...they all reacted as expected. And, the waiting time between the necessary action is seconds.

A secondary, but very nice mechanical aspect of this prop is, the ease of accessing the inner workings. Very well-thought out. But one of my favorite benefits of this prop is, the size of the game board box. Because this game board folds into a box, it allows for a lot of space for storing more than the checkers, bottle, and photo. One could easily fit an entire act into this container...cards, a book, small slates...this is quite a versatile piece of hardware.

My one minor complaint, is that the checkers were sent in a Ziploc bag. I wouldn't recommend putting them back into the game board loose, as they will rattle about. But the plastic bag ruins the mood. An old burlap or weathered cloth bag would have been more appropriate. But, I think I can easily find that on my own.

Long story short, fine work Outlaw Effects. For a wicked game, this was very well-played.

Oz, I made my own drawstring checker's bag and aged it with tea. Loved your story, your experience with Deadwood! Loving my checkerboard and scaring my audience to death. Sometimes a tear slowly falls down my face when I perform, because I can psych myself up so much that even I am truly FEELING the fear.

Thank you Autumn Morning Star.

I guess the lesson here is...respect the game.

So are you guys and gal still using your Deadwood? I have never seen one for sale so it must be really great.



Ray

It's fun to play with and I have a routine I like but it still needs work and I haven't spent the time I should. I still really like it.