
- BGG rating
- 6.6
Deadlands: The Great Rail Wars – A Fist Full o' Ghost Rock
- 2–6 players
- 120 min
- 1998

1997
Rules assistance for Deadlands: The Great Rail Wars
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 2 players

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Deadlands: The Great Rail Wars is a board game released in 1997 for 2–6 players, 120 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Shane Lacy Hensley and its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Paper-and-Pencil, and Simulation.
From the box: In Deadlands: the Great Rail Wars, players pit heroes and posses of metal miniatures against each other in battles to determine the fate of the Weird West and possibly the entire world. It's a fast-playing and easy-to-learn skirmish-level game set in in the richly detailed and exciting background of the hit Deadlands roleplaying game.
Deadlands: The Great Rail Wars supports 2–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Deadlands: The Great Rail Wars is 120 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Deadlands: The Great Rail Wars for ages 10 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Deadlands: The Great Rail Wars has a complexity rating of 3.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Deadlands: The Great Rail Wars belongs to these categories: Fantasy, Fighting, and Horror. Its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Paper-and-Pencil, and Simulation. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Deadlands: The Great Rail Wars are: Shane Lacy Hensley. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Deadlands: The Great Rail Wars as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.