This game is has so many side missions and mini games to keep you busy for a long time.
One of the first side missions I came across was Nightwatch at MacFarlane’s Ranch. You are instructed to follow a dog because he’ll sniff out trouble. Ha, ha.
He finds things like a thief trying to steal a horse, coyotes stealing chickens, two guys fighting, a gang harassing a woman, a robbery in progress and someone breaking into a window. Your job is to stop the bad guys. I wait until I have a lasso so I can hogtie them. You get more money leaving them alive rather than killing them. The only one situation I kill is the gang harassing the woman. Too many of them to hogtie. Take too long and John gets killed. Nightwatch mission over.
One of my favorite side missions is bounty hunting. Bounty posters can be found in major towns and are hung up periodically. Each one give you information needed to find the outlaw. Again, I wait until I have the lasso before starting the bounty hunting missions. Once you accept the bounty, the map will show you where they are located. Ride there and kill everyone but the target. More money is awarded for bringing them in alive.
Just lasso the target, hogtie him, put him on your horse and head to town. On the way, his gang will be after you. Just shoot them and keep going. It’s always good to have a fast horse.
Those are just examples of some of the side missions in the game.
There are 6 mini games to play; poker, liar’s dice, five-finger fillet, arm wrestling, blackjack and horse shoes. Certain towns will have one or several of the games. For instance, Armadillo only has five-finger fillet and poker.
I like blackjack and liar’s dice. I never heard of liar’s dice until I played it in the game. I had no clue as to what I was doing, but after playing a few times, I got the gist of it.
I don’t know how to play poker, so when I win, it’s by sheer luck. If you have the Gentleman’s Attire outfit, you can cheat at poker. Don’t get caught though or you’ll be forced to duel with the guy that caught you cheating. However, this is one way to whittle away the players so you have a better chance at winning and getting a trophy.
Five finger fillet is hard after you’ve beaten a couple of people. I can do the first round because there are only two buttons to push and the rhythm is easy to follow. After that, forget it. I guess I’m just not coordinated enough.
Liar's Dice
Five Finger Fillet
Now I haven’t played horseshoes since I was little and that doesn’t count because all I did was toss the thing. Since I’ve played it in the game, I’ve learned the rules of the game. I’m tempted to go out and buy a horseshoe game so we can play it at the next Derby party! Forget corn hole.
Arm wrestling isn’t very hard once you get the hang of it. The trick is to make sure the strength bar is full and use the special move when you can. The more you bet, the harder it is. Same goes with horseshoes and five-finger fillet.
So those are just a few of the fun things to do when you’re not playing the primary missions. Can you tell I love this game?
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Arm wrestling
Horseshoes
Poker Texas Hold'em