2023Steven Aramini
- Videos
- 58
- Creators
- 44
1 - 4 players30 - 45 minMedium weight

2025Steven Aramini, Danny Devine, Paul Kluka
Mostly reviews and how-to-play. Circle the Wagons: Second Shot is covered on BoardGameVideo.com by 3 reviews, 2 how-to-play guides, and 2 recorded sessions.
From BoardGameGeek
Think you've seen it all out here on the prairie? Think again, partner! There's always a new adventure just over that next hill. Best keep your wits about you-anything can happen out here! Circle the Wagons: Second Shot is a brand new set of 18 cards that can either be played standalone or combined with the base Circle the Wagons game. In this 2-player drafting game, players take turns picking cards from the circle and adding them to their scoring tableau. The twist? Any card in the circle you skip over goes directly to your opponent. Arrange your cards to create scoring blocks and fulfill the three shared scoring goals if you wanna be the best in the West! Second Shot also introduces Newfangled Mode. In this variant, all 36 cards are shuffled together and then split back into two unique 18-card sets. Players play through the first set, scoring only the shared goals, then continue their game using the second set and the regular block-scoring rules. It's winner-take-all in this ultimate showdown! Second Shot can be played as a standalone game or combined with the base Circle the Wagons game to create an all-new set of 18 cards. As in the original game, 3 cards are dealt to the center with their scoring conditions showing. The remaining cards are placed in a circle around them with their grid of 4 territories showing. A starting card is chosen from the territories, determining where players begin their draft. On a player's turn, they draft one territory card. The opposing player then takes every territory card between the starting card and the chosen card. Both players add their cards to their tableau. Players must keep the cards in the same vertical orientation (though they can rotate them to have the opposite short edge up). Cards must be placed so that they align with a previously-placed card (if any) along at least one edge. Cards may partially or completely overlap each other, though a newly-gained card cannot be placed underneath another card. Players alternate turns, using the most-recently taken card's spot in the circle as the new starting point, until all territory cards have been taken and placed. Both players then tally their score. Points are gained for having large connected blocks of each territory type, as well as for meeting each of the shared scoring conditions. The player with the highest score wins. In Second Shot's Newfangled Mode, players instead use the full 36 cards from Second Shot as well as the base game, shuffling them together and splitting them into 2 18-card decks. Setup and gameplay follows as normal using one deck, then the other. After the first deck is exhausted, players calculate only their score from the scoring conditions. Those cards are cleared away and the second deck is played as normal. At the end of the second deck, the players score both the second set of scoring conditions and their largest blocks. Adding all of their scores together, the players determine the grand winner!
Circle the Wagons: Second Shot has 7 videos from 7 creators: 3 reviews, 2 how-to-play guides and 2 playthroughs. They date from September to October 2024.
To learn the rules, start with "Circle the Wagons: Second Shot | Solo Board Game Tutorial and Playthrough (Review Copy Provided)" by Totally Tabled, which runs 15 min. For a quicker teach, "How to play Circle the Wagons: Second Shot solo" by The Grouchy Nerd runs 6 min.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "Circle the Wagons: Second Shot | Solo Board Game PaRTy!!!" by Tabletop Tokki. 3 creators have reviewed it. To see it played, watch "Let's Play Circle the Wagons: Second Shot Solo" by JenCamPlays, one of 2 playthroughs.
If you like it, try Fliptown, Sprawlopolis and Casinopolis, also by Steven Aramini, or Kōhaku, also by Danny Devine.
2023Steven Aramini
1 - 4 players30 - 45 minMedium weight
2018Steven Aramini, Danny Devine, Paul Kluka
1 - 4 players15 - 20 minLight weight
2020Danny Devine
1 - 4 players30 - 45 minLight weight
2025Steven Aramini, Danny Devine, Paul Kluka
1 - 4 players15 minLight weight
From BoardGameGeek:
Think you've seen it all out here on the prairie? Think again, partner! There's always a new adventure just over that next hill. Best keep your wits about you-anything can happen out here! Circle the Wagons: Second Shot is a brand new set of 18 cards that can either be played standalone or combined with the base Circle the Wagons game. In this 2-player drafting game, players take turns picking cards from the circle and adding them to their scoring tableau. The twist? Any card in the circle you skip over goes directly to your opponent. Arrange your cards to create scoring blocks and fulfill the three shared scoring goals if you wanna be the best in the West! Second Shot also introduces Newfangled Mode. In this variant, all 36 cards are shuffled together and then split back into two unique 18-card sets. Players play through the first set, scoring only the shared goals, then continue their game using the second set and the regular block-scoring rules. It's winner-take-all in this ultimate showdown! Second Shot can be played as a standalone game or combined with the base Circle the Wagons game to create an all-new set of 18 cards. As in the original game, 3 cards are dealt to the center with their scoring conditions showing. The remaining cards are placed in a circle around them with their grid of 4 territories showing. A starting card is chosen from the territories, determining where players begin their draft. On a player's turn, they draft one territory card. The opposing player then takes every territory card between the starting card and the chosen card. Both players add their cards to their tableau. Players must keep the cards in the same vertical orientation (though they can rotate them to have the opposite short edge up). Cards must be placed so that they align with a previously-placed card (if any) along at least one edge. Cards may partially or completely overlap each other, though a newly-gained card cannot be placed underneath another card. Players alternate turns, using the most-recently taken card's spot in the circle as the new starting point, until all territory cards have been taken and placed. Both players then tally their score. Points are gained for having large connected blocks of each territory type, as well as for meeting each of the shared scoring conditions. The player with the highest score wins. In Second Shot's Newfangled Mode, players instead use the full 36 cards from Second Shot as well as the base game, shuffling them together and splitting them into 2 18-card decks. Setup and gameplay follows as normal using one deck, then the other. After the first deck is exhausted, players calculate only their score from the scoring conditions. Those cards are cleared away and the second deck is played as normal. At the end of the second deck, the players score both the second set of scoring conditions and their largest blocks. Adding all of their scores together, the players determine the grand winner!
Designers
Steven Aramini, Danny Devine, Paul Kluka
Artist
Beth Sobel
Publisher
Button Shy
Categories
Mechanics