Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption 2 is considered by many avid video gamers to be one of the finest video game releases of all time. Achieving a 97/100 rating with Metacritic, a 10/10 rating with IGN and a 5/5 rating with GamesRadar+, it’s no surprise that this title was described as a “landmark game” by Guardian journalist, Keza MacDonald.

Many have likened Red Dead Redemption 2 to a work of art, both in the complexity of its open world environment and the variety of its gameplay, building on the original release that could be ported onto PC in the coming months.

Although the main storyline is guaranteed to hook gamers in from the word go, Rockstar Games has also incorporated a string of mini-games into the open world, providing a refreshing break from the main narrative. These diverse challenges give you the chance to earn in-game money and test your skills.

Below, we’ll explore five of the best mini-games to discover in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Dominoes

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One of the most accessible mini-games in this release is the game of dominoes. It’s available to play in multiple locations within the map, namely the Emerald Ranch and against some of your gang members when relaxing by the campfire.

The ultimate goal of dominoes is to match tiles with identical numbers until one player gets rid of all their tiles. There’s an element of strategy and foresight involved to try and thwart your opponents while maintaining your own chances of victory.

Five Finger Fillet

If you fancy taking things up a notch, why not indulge in a spot of Five Finger Fillet? This test of your hand reflexes requires you to stab a knife in between your splayed fingers, without making a mistake and catching your skin. This mini-game focuses mainly on speed and precision, with the difficulty levels rising as you progress.

The game’s open-world map displays where you can consider playing Five Finger Fillet, including some of the most popular saloons, like Valentine and Strawberry. It’s a game which can quickly increase your player’s in-game balance, but one rare error can have painful consequences!

Poker

Is there anything that screams Wild West more than the card game of Texas Hold’em poker? In Red Dead Redemption 2, you can play Texas Hold’em in all manner of locations across the open-world map, including the vibrant city of Saint Denis or the quaint town of Valentine. You can play for all kinds of stakes to try and boost your in-game coffers.

At the highest stakes, the non-playing characters are a serious challenge to beat, so it’s important to master the general rules and dynamics of Texas Hold’em before you work your way up. For those starting from the ground up in the game of poker, PokerStars’ visual hand rankings make it easy to distinguish strong hands from weak hands; it also discusses the dynamics of each action a player can take during each round of betting.

Fishing

If you fancy winding down from the intensity of the main narrative, Red Dead Redemption 2 allows you to bait up and cast out in search of anything from modest perch to some of the most iconic fish. There’s a wealth of scenic angling opportunities, with everything from quiet rivers and lakes to swampland.

If you want to catch certain species of fish, you’ll need to take the time to understand which conditions and environments are best for each species. This includes everything from the type of bait to the type of day you fish. You can also earn in-game money by selling-off your daily catch. Alternatively, you can choose to eat it yourself for free sustenance.

Horseshoes

There are few more traditional throwing games in western history than horseshoes. The aim of the game is to launch horseshoes in the air towards a stake in the ground. The horseshoe which lands closest to the stake wins a point. Although the gameplay itself seems simple, it’s by no means easy to win given the need for rock-solid hand-to-eye coordination.

Like the fishing, horseshoes is another nice change of pace from the intensity of the other mini-games, as well as the game’s main narrative.

After you’ve experienced this quintet of mini-games you’ll soon realise that they offer much more than a mild distraction from the main storyline. These activities are well-engrained into this virtual world, allowing you to immerse yourself fully in the life of an outlaw.