PLAYTEST: “The Mole in the Gang”

[Whiterook]

There’s a dangerous outlaw gang in the area, and a town Sheriff and his deputies must hunt them down at all costs! The Sheriff captured one of the “Growling Bear” gang members and turns him to be his mole, to infiltrate the gang and spring into action when the law arrives. This is a Competitive Mode game, however I’ll be playing it solitaire for this round as I don’t have a face-to-face partner. The story outlined below is an extrapolation, made up based on the short scenario description provided for play. I’ll make up last names and the scene based on this.

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PLAYTEST 1

The Sheriff of Big Pines, Wyoming, Henry Barton, has turned a recently captured “Growling Bear” gang member, Clint McClintock into a mole, sending him back to his gang to lull them into a false sense of security, while he awaits the arrival of the law to spring a trap. Sheriff Barton has sent his two Deputies, Alex Cahill and Fred Sampson on ahead, with recently the deputized townsfolk, Susan Farnsworth and Belle Fontaine, heading south towards the Rambling Rocks River. Henry has telegraphed the sheriff in the next town north, who is sending two of his deputies to assist, Todd Franklin and Jack Spade, riding like the Devils’ on their tail, for Big Pines for fresh horses and on towards the suspected lair of the Growling Bear Gang.

Meanwhile, Billy “Growling Bear” Bowls is at a temporary hideout with several members of his gang, Brad Clayton, Will Peterson, Sugar Sweeney, and Cathy Weathers. Two other members of the gang, Ron Hays and Miguel Sanchez are in the small town of Longo, south east of range shack the rest of the gang are hold up, scoping out any dynamite they can pilfer to blow Clint out of jail in Big Pines. Clint on the other hand, had a dilemma… he knew he couldn’t ride straight into the hideout, as Billy would surely have his hide for possibly blowing their hideout location, so he swung wide of the area and headed around for a back door entry to the hideout; he may be a mole, but he’s not stupid!

The setup:



…the lawmen (with the small gray blocks) are setup at the north and east edges if the game map; the outlaws (with the brown blocks) in the range shack and surrounding area on map. I am not real familiar with the character images yet, so the blocks help me with quick visual identification. The following image shows the lawmen, with their assigned equipment… primary weapon in hand(s) at top and secondary weapon carried (below other weapon), These Character Sheets track ammo, health, action points, and strength.



The following are the outlaws…



The characters tiles on the sheets are the delayed lawmen and outlasts that will come aboard later in the play.

VICTORY CONDITIONS:

Lawmen: Kill the Outlaw Boss Billy
Outlaws: Boss Billy must make it safely off the top of the maps’ edge, or kill Sheriff Henry

[Whiterook]

And so the scenario begins!

PLAY - TURN 1

The Law has the advantage in turn where they not only activate first (Fred is character #1), but also in that the outlaw Ron is delayed and not able to activate this turn, so this deems a time to perhaps be bold and get two lawmen characters in prime positions; which also comes with the risk that they are alone and with no immediate backup. Deputy Fred activates and rides his horse across the Rambling Rocks River and ducks between two boulder formations, out of LOS. It’s a bit of a risky move, riding right up toward the hideout, and of course, he doesn’t know who’s around the corner; he dismounts and sends the horse away, ensuring that if he has to fire, he won’t be disadvantage in a reduced shot (penalty for firing on a horse). 

Deputy Alex is up next and rides like the wind across the river and pulls up beside the outhouse where outlaw Cathy is, dismounting and send the horse along.

The outlaws get to activate next, with the Boss, Billy, and boy o’ boy is he in a bad situation! He’s basically surrounded now and no way to retreat. His cronies are out of range of a shot and Cathy is in the outhouse with her knickers down and no LOS! He does the only thing he can do, which is to lie in Ambush (so marked and will have an automatic first shot of a lawman picked their head in LOS).

Deputy Susan is up next and she flies across the river and takes up position on the other side of the outhouse from Alex; Cathy is literally shitting her pants now and the Boss is watching a bad situation get worse!

Outlaw Cathy activates and is stuck in the outhouse, now listening to rustling on either side of her and not seeing any of her allies to give her a clue to what’s happening, Same as the Boss, she goes in Ambush mode.

Deputy Belle moves across the river and holes up at a group of large rocks, staying mounted on her horse just in case (she had only 2 action points so she was limited, though the horse allowed her two squares movement per point).

Outlaw Sugar knows hell is about to be unleashed on the Boss, but she is only armed with a shotgun (range 2) and a revolver (range 4); plus, her only way towards the Boss quickly is out in range of two lawmen (whom she doesn’t know have shotguns in range). She has four action points rolled so she can dodge stealthily out the door of the range shack and climb back in through the window to the adjoining room that was walled off to her… she can now move into position of the door or window for shots outside as possibilities, so much better odds, though she will need to switch her sawed-off shotgun for her revolver in her holster next turn in order to have more range, and the added bonus of two bullets to fire if need be.

Outlaw Will is up next but he’s only rolled two action points, not that he had a lot of other options had he more, as his LOSs from either the window he’s at or the door in front of him have no line of fire; so he uses his points to go in Ambush, in case someone is dumb enough to move down into his sights!

Outlaw Brad is up next and he immediately switches out his revolver to his holster and takes the Winchester Rifle off his back and into his hands! Better ranged weapon puts Deputy Alex in his LOS, so he takes a shot, taking time to carefully aim (cost 1 AP for -2 Sweat): 3 Sweat + 5 Distance +1 Alex in Cover -2 for Aim = Calculated Hit # of 7; 2d6 = 9 - HIT! Alex takes his first of three wounds allowed… great shot!

RESULT

Game Turn 1 over. Deputy Alex is wounded, but the rest of the advanced posse is in aggressive positioning. The outlaw Boss is surrounded, Cathy is stuck in the outhouse and only Brad has a decent LOS to anyone. Alex doesn’t have a long range weapon, so he will surely have to move next turn or take his chances that he’s not shot again. Ambush and Aim markers will come off. Two new characters, one for each side, will come onboard next turn.

Pretty exciting stuff!!!

End of turn SITREP:



So you can see some of the marking conventions, a Wound marker is placed on Alex…



…and a bullet is marked off with a bead…

[Whiterook]

PLAY - TURN 2

In the game, you choose one of the delayed lawmen or outlaws randomly to enter the game, rolling for entry side/quadrant(s); however, since there are three characters per side, I used two different colored dice, blue for lawman and white for outlaws (11-2, 3-4, 5-6, being 1st, 2nd, or 3rd character in order on the Character Sheets) (I have two white dice, and a blue and a yellow die each). Sheriff Henry Barton was the result for the lawmen and rolled an entry point of top of the right map (Map 18); and Outlaw Miguel Sanchez was the result for the outlaws and will enter anywhere from the river to the lower left map edge (Map 9).





Both are armed with sawed-off shotguns, range of 2, so they will have to hustle for advantageous postions. The Sheriff is on a horse.

Deputy Fred activates, and runs straight ahead for a point blank shot at whoever is behind that big boulder, surprised to see it’s “Growling Bear” him self! …also realizing in that split second that he himself is exposed himself, but luckily to only the gang Boss himself… this is gonna be tricky for him, though. He unleashes his shotgun rifle, taking time to carefully aim (cost 1 AP for -2 Sweat): 5 Sweat + 1 Distance, no Cover, -2 for Aiming = Calculated Hit # of 4; 2d6 = 6 = HIT! The Boss takes two of four wounds allowed… great shot!

Deputy Alex is activated and moves to the range shack, to the side of the window in a blind spot from Will and Cathy’s line of fire, as well as out of LOS of Brad, too, and lies in Ambush.

Boss Billy activates and fires 2 Bullets with his Revolver at Deputy Fred: 4 Sweat + 1 Distance + 2 for the Boss’s Wounds -2 for Aiming with Calculated Hit # of 5; 2d6 = 8 and another roll of 9 = 2 HITS! That hurt.

Deputy Susan activates and moves down one space into cover, across from the Boss and fires, taking time to carefully aim (cost 1 AP for -2 Sweat): 4 Sweat + 1 Distance, no Cover, -2 for Aiming = Calculated Hit # of 3; 2d6 = 12 for a Luck Shot 12 and the Shotgun Rifles’ 2 HITS = 3 HITs! The Boss is dead.

RESULT

Endgame, as the Boss was killed.







That was a rather abrupt end, but considering random equipping rolls have a Lot of players shotguns and sawed-off shotguns, double hits were just too much for the Boss to overcome. He was in a rather bad location, too… not unreasonable bad luck there. I really had a blast with this game, even though it was short, and I can tell I want to play it a lot more!

[Whiterook]

PLAYTEST 2

There’s a dangerous outlaw gang in the area, and a town Sheriff and his deputies must hunt them down at all costs! The Sheriff captured one of the “Growling Bear” gang members and turns him to be his mole, to infiltrate the gang and spring into action when the law arrives. This is a Competitive Mode game, however I’ll be playing it solitaire for this round as I don’t have a face-to-face partner. The story outlined below is an extrapolation, made up based on the short scenario description provided for play. I’ll make up last names and the scene based on this.

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The Sheriff of Big Pines, Wyoming, Fred Sampson, has turned a recently captured “Growling Bear” gang member, Miguel Sanchez into a mole, sending him back to his gang to lull them into a false sense of security, while he awaits the arrival of the law to spring a trap. Sheriff Sampson has sent his Deputies, Susan Farnsworth, Jack Spade, Carmen Medina, and Henry Barton on ahead, heading south on horseback towards the Rambling Rocks River. Sheriff Sampson has telegraphed the sheriff in the next town north, who is sending two of his deputies, Alex Cahill and Todd Franklin to assist, both riding like the Devils’ on their tail, for Big Pines for fresh horses and on towards the suspected lair of the Growling Bear Gang.

Meanwhile, the Boss, Sugar “Growling Bear” Sweeney, is at a temporary hideout with several members of her gang, Cathy Weathers, Clint McClintock, Brad Clayton, and of course, Miguel the unknown to them mole. Three other members of the gang, Ron Hays, Billy Bowls, and Will Peterson are in the small town of Longo, south east of range shack the rest of the gang are hold up, scoping out the town Bank for the gangs next robbery.

The setup:



[…different Map 18 on the left from last game, turned upside down. Belle is not participating in this game.]

Play is the same, starting with Character Sheet 1 and moving through 16; delayed characters (on the sheets) enter on turns 2, 3, and 4, drawn randomly with a die roll (1-2, 3-4, 5-6 for the sheet numbered characters).

VICTORY CONDITIONS:

• Lawmen: Kill the Outlaw Boss
• Outlaws: Boss Sugar must make it safely off the top of the maps’ edge, or kill Sheriff Sugar

[Whiterook]

PLAY - TURN 1

Deputy Susan is first to make it on the scene, moving to a position between rock formations and wasting no time, takes a bead on Outlaw Brad in the open by the outhouse, taking a shot: 4 Sweat + 4 Distance = Calculated Hit # of 8; 2d6 = 7 MISS. Her horse bolted away, spooked by her shotgun blast.

Outlaw Miguel takes off like the wind, running left, around the boulder just across from Brad

Outlaw Cathy was in a back room of the range shack when she heard the blast of a shotgun. Running out the door, she hooks over to the back corner of the shack to see if she can make heads or tails out of what’s happening.

Deputy Jack rides across the Rambling Rocks River and heads towards the far corner of the range shack, hiding in cover on his horse.

Deputy Carmen rides down through the river and pulls up behind the cover of bushes near a big boulder, dismounting and shooing her horse away to safety. She switches weapons, holstering her revolver and taking up her trusty Winchester in both hands. She has a bead on the front of the range shack.

Outlaw Clint hooks around the boulder, into the open, and fires at Susan with his shotgun: 4 Sweat + 4 Distance +1 Susan in Cover = Calculated Hit # of 9; 2d6 = 5 MISS.

Deputy Henry rides in from the right flank and across the river, taking up a covered position across the river on the far bottom right side of the boulders from Clint, dismounting and shooing his horse off; he takes a long range shot with his Winchester him: 5 Sweat + 5 Distance = Calculated Hit # of 10; 2d6 = 7 MISS.

Outlaw Brad takes a shot at Susan: 3 Sweat + 4 Distance +1 Susan in Cover= Calculated Hit # of 8; 2d6 = 4. MISS. Phew!!! He could have fired two bullets with his revolver, but he got rattled in the moment (…well, I forgot, really!  …so he’s conserving bullets for now.

RESULT

Game Turn 1 over. Lead was flying, but no one was wounded. The law has the outlaws somewhat surrounded and looks like it will be turning into a battle of maneuver and the need for closer in range weapons fire. Two new characters, one for each side, will come onboard next turn.

Pretty exciting stuff!!!

End of turn SITREP:

[Whiterook]

PLAY - TURN 2



Sheriff Fred and Outlaw Ron come onboard, determined randomly.





Sheriff Fred enters play and moves to his left (right side of maps), down river and slides in front of Carmen, nearer the boulder. He stays mounted.

Outlaw Ron is next and he enters the board, takes aim with his Winchester with an Aim and fires at Deputy Henry: 3 Sweat + 4 Distance +3 on Cover, with -2 Aim = Calculated Hit # of 8; 2d6 = 8 = HIT! Henry takes his first of three wounds allowed… great shot!

Deputy Susan moves up past the bolder and into the river, where she must stop (cause she’s on foot) and fires her shotgun at Clint: 4 Sweat + 3 Distance = Calculated Hit # of 7; 2d6 = 9 = HIT! Clint takes his two of three wounds allowed… great shot! That was a big blast! …but, she’s out of shells, so she’ll either have to reload next turn or switch weapons.

Outlaw Miguel is up next, but a roll of 1 only nets him 1 Action Point, so he uses it to duck into cover next to him. It looks a reasonable to him, but it also gets him a little closer to the Range Shack. He’s considering a jump through the window in a couple turns, but it also covers fire towards the front door if Sugar should emerge. Either way, keeping his identity secret may give him a shot at the Boss, but he’s weighing how tricky that would be, as the best he’d accomplish is perhaps wondering her and then it would be a blast-fest. On the other hand, should he spring into action against Cathy, Brad, Clint, or Ron, all presently in his field of attack. Again, he’s weighing his options and the latter plan would mean a lot more guns bearing down on him. It’s tough being a Mole!!!

Outlaw Cathy is next to activate and she’s conflicted… she’s heard a horse gallop on the other side of the shack (Deputy Jack), so should she backtrack and race over left, back into the shack to look out, and possibly lay ambush by a window? …or continue on path around the shack to the right and head for the outhouse area with all that action…she could still cover that unknown rider as well, if he swings in front of the shack to jump through the door at the boss…this latter option seems more prudent, and Cathy is a prudent woman! She also has to be mindful that she just has her six shooter and a flask of whiskey, so she’s possibly outgunned here!

Deputy Jack is up next and he’s a sly one! He rides his horse up to the front window of the Range Shack and smacks the nag on her rump, sending her off for the Rambling Rocks River, and lays in Ambush! …he can shoot at anyone getting on the other side of that window; he can duck into stores room to his side; he can deal with Cathy should she poke her head around the corner; he’s got no one at that moment with LOS to him, and he’s in a Blind Spot location. It’s a bold move, but this little cauldron that’s developing calls for an Ace in the Hole… he may be that Ace. He figures, if Miguel plays his cards right joins the fray, if that Boss is in there, she’s got some hurting comin; her way, Pardner!  

Deputy Carmen activates and takes a gamble to slip by Fred and over to the right one, behind the outhouse; she takes Aim at Cathy and fires: 4 Sweat + 5 Distance +1 on Cover, with -2 Aim = Calculated Hit # of 8; 2d6 = 6 = MISS.

Outlaw Clint is in bad shape… two wounds and the next hit will surely kill him. He’s got limited options… pull back towards the Range Shack and hope Cathy can tend to one of the wounds (she has a Whiskey flask that gives a 1-time Health, 1 Wound Health restore); or rush Susan and unleash two shells at her. Man, it’s a tough toss up, where I see benefits either way, so I rolled for it, 1-3 Cathy, 4-6 Susan: 1d6 = 1, so he pulls back toward the Range Shack and waves to Cathy. He hopes that she’ll help.

Deputy Henry is next and he opts to get out of Ron’s Winchester fire and moves up into the river, where he has to stop, takes careful Aim and fires at Brad: 5 Sweat + 5 Distance +1 Wound, with -2 Aim = Calculated Hit # of 9; 2d6 = 6 = MISS.

Outlaw Brad activates and rushes Susan. He shifts one space over, draws (switches) his backup revolver to his left hand, takes careful aim and fires four bullets: 3 Sweat + 2 Distance +1 Switch +1 two revolvers, with -2 Aim = Calculated Hit # of 5; 2d6 = 9, 10, 5, 9 = 4 HITS. Susan is Killed on the spot!!!

RESULT

Game Turn 2 over. WOW, the law took a grave hit, literally, with the breath of Deputy Susan. Sheriff Fred can’t believe what just happened next to her as he heard the fusilade of bullets and her screams. This confrontation has turned extremely costly and it’s time to quickly evaluate his lawmen's situation and keep up the pressure. Will this give the “Growling Bear Gang” the edge, or will the Mole turn the tide? Turn 3 should be very interesting!

End of turn SITREP:

[Whiterook]

PLAY - TURN 3

Two more delayed characters, Alex for the lawmen and Billy for the outlaws make it to the general vicinity; Alex enters top of Map 9 (left map) and Billy via Map 9 below the river. I rolled for which characters come aboard, and again, it was the first of the two on each side… fickleness of the dice!

Sheriff Fred activates, and he’s furious! He’s taking the death of Susan badly, and doesn’t want to leave her side, but he has business to attend, and perhaps revenge! Surveying the situation at hand, he could break cover to the right of his position, past Carmen and take a shot at the wounded outlaw (Clint), to his left past Susan’s body and maneuver for position for a shot at Brad, the scourge that killed his Deputy. A tough decision that must be made on the spot, while keeping a clear head not influenced by his rage. He does still have his horse under him and can dash across the river (but can’t pick up any weapon while mounted) and get up into Brad’s grill on the other side of the tree, but risking a loss of the mission is risky. You can appreciate the difficulty of his decision (and my choice as player!). Fred opts to indeed dash across the river, around the big boulder, into the brush, dismounts and shoos his horse away, and take a shot at Brad: 5 Sweat + 3 Distance +1 on Cover behind tree = Calculated Hit # of 9; 2d6 = 9 = HIT.

Outlaw Ron activates and shifts one space to his right, in cover, and lies in Ambush.

Lawman Alex is next rides his mount at speed down into the Rambling Rocks River, and follows the riverbed all the way to just behind Susan. Shocked to see her lying dead on the banks, he see’s Brad in the near distance and his eyes see red! He stays on his horse for now, and waits to see developments.

Outlaw Billy rides on scene from the south (lower left side of Map 9), after having spotted  from a distance to the west, the law at the river. He doesn’t realize Jack is nestled in a nook (die roll determined), so edges around the back of the range shack to the corner to call out to Ron, who tells him to keep his fool head down and be ready to help cover Clint, who’s wounded bad.

Outlaw Miguel activates, but finds himself in a real mess! He can’t make it to the shack window and jump into the shack, but he can make it to it and have Cathy and Clint in his sights, and he heard Billy around the corner, and he see’s Ron would be able to fire at him…so, if he moves there, he’ll have to keep up the act as one of the bad guys. He see’s the law have Brad somewhat penned in and figures, let them fools shoot it out! He only has two revolvers, so he can’t fire fast, so snuggling himself up by Carmen and revealing he’s a Mole is out. So he heads for the shack window!

Cathy activates… will she be a pal and go to Brad, or will she let him fend for himself? Well, wouldn’t you like to know! …but I have to call this game for the night, but will pick it up tomorrow!

[saboteur]

Note: you may remain in the same space as a dead character. Otherwise, you are unable to pick up any weapon.

[Whiterook]

Jul 17, 2024 6:33:08 GMT -5 saboteur said:

Note: you may remain in the same space as a dead character. Otherwise, you are unable to pick up any weapon.

Yes, excellent point! …and there are a couple characters that are interested in snagging those two weapons there.

Using Scrabble tiles with the counter front and back glued to them offers a nice solution for me, where placing Susan’s tile upside down and with her name showing not only reminds me she is dead, but a nice visual reminder to look at her character sheet and see what she has for weapons and current ammo expenditure…

Cathy of course, would LOVE to get ahold of the shotgun for instance, as she only has one revolver for a weapon, but she’s soooo far away and would have to run into the thick of a brewing hornets nest to get it; it’s not too bad in that area just yet, so it’s not out of the question, but she’s torn between helping the severely wounded Clint, or saving her own hide while providing added firepower to the fray.

….As an aside with Cathy, I was really torn last night with what to do with her. She rolled for Action Points and scored a 3; in order to help Clint, she needs to spend 1 AP to grab the Whiskey out of her back pocket (a Switch action), she’d have to drop it (a free action) in the most advantageous spot for Clint to get to in order to pick it up, and she’d have to move out of the way…so those remaining 2 APs are critical…all while making sure she’s not too exposed to incoming danger. She’s weighing her options to either:

1. Move closer to Brad to do this;
2. Move and jump through the window into the range shack, hanging on to the Whiskey in her back pocket and wait to see if Clint can make it there, too, where she can then get it to him;
3. Something else, like head for that shotgun of Susan’s!

As you can tell, this game is Highly thematic, action packed, and fun as a 3 Dollar Saloon Gal! I knew when I saw this game, it had the potential to offer what I’d been searching for in a Western-themed wargame, and boy oh boy I was not disappointed!!! This game FAR surpassed my expectations and I can already tell that it will get a ton of playing enjoyment from me and my friends. Frankly, at the low price of the game, not to mention the apparant commitment  of the designer to keep the love coming worth new expansions down the road, you’d be a crazy not to pick up this gem! [OK, getting off my Soapbox  ]

The other character that would love that shotgun of Susan’s, is Brad himself, only having two revolvers and no heavy firepower… the double wound capacity of the shotgun, as well as an extra space gained in range is an attractive sight!

[Whiterook]

OK, back at it! We left off with Cathy and her tough decision… she opts to be a pal and offer Clint a possible helping hand, so she transfers the Whiskey from her back pocket into her left hand (Switch action), scoots left and drops it to the ground (Free action), and uses her last action point to move between Clint and Miguel; it’s up to Clint now to get to the elixir to perhaps stave off a wound. It also places her in position to head for that shotgun or revolver, if either are left, of Susan’s! 

Boss Sugar activates next, and she’s pretty sure she hears something outside to her left, yet she also has a good bead out the door to shoot anyone coming in LOS, and lastly, she could make for the window and the rest of the gang and try to get them in some kind of order (…yet another dilemma in the game!). She opts for making it for the window.

[NOTE on the decision: Sugar rolled 4 APs so she has enough to make it out of the range shack. Common sense says that since she heard someone, if that “someone” is actually there, they would likely get the first shot off; plus, that “someone” is up for activation next, so as a player, I can see Jack is going to get two shots off on his next activation coming up, and though the Ambush is one bullet only, the next shot is with 2 bullets! Granted, Sugar would also get a shot out the window, but she would likely fare worse in the exchange. I thought of rolling a die for it, but I’ll go with what a live opponent would see, as Sugar, and skedaddle.]

Lawman Jack is up next and now on his turn after he was placed in Ambush, the marker comes off and out of the mix. He climbs through the window and stays there, grabbing his other revolver into his left hand (Switch; also, he didn’t have enough APs rolled, to get to the Window by Miguel for further fire on the other outlaws… he knows Miguel is a Mole.).

Lawman Carmen is next and well, she rolled badly and only gets 1 AP, so even if she moved for a shot at the wounded Clint, she cannot fire… good luck for Clint! …so she stays put.

[NOTE to viewers: The order of activation skips characters that are not activated into the game scenario yet, hence Will not activating next on this turn where Carmen was activated] 

My Boy {{{imagine modern day Rapper arms crossw!}}}, Clint activates and gets a full ride (4 APs, boy was that needed!) and he runs for the Whiskey, pours it on his worse wound, his leg; wincing from the burn, he quickly wraps his handkerchief around the wound and finds his mobility better improved (1 Wound Marker removed, as well as the Whiskey). He bobs his head at Cathy in thanks and heads for cover… the outhouse! He knows someone is behind it, and he knows someone is in the range shack, so he opts for the best option in that split second decision.

Lawman Henry is up next and he splashed to his left (one space, in water still so he has to stop… which I would have anyway, though  ), takes careful Aim at Brad, heading for Sugar’s guns, and fires: 5 Sweat + 3 Distance +1 Wound, -2 Aim= Calculated Hit # of 7; 2d6 = 9. HIT. Brad now has two Wounds!

Outlaw Brad activates but rolls crappy… 2 APs! OMG, bad luck. Luckily, he has two revolvers in his hands and can unload four bullets on Henry; the Sheriff is in cover, same distance, but elimination of the Sheriff is a prime target; or he can pull back to support his allies. The last option isn’t going to benefit him much, as the Sheriff has a long gun, and Henry can sneak around the corner and blast him. He’s gonna fight with all guns a-blazing or go down in a blaze of glory… he’s going to shoot at the Sheriff! He dives through the trees above him, into the river and ducks behind Susan’s dead body, which is great cover between the big boulders, too [NOTE: Alex won’t be able to shoot at him later as there is no clear LOS], and unleashes all four bullets into Sheriff Fred: 3 Sweat + 2 Distance +1 Sheriff in Cover +1 Two Revolvers +2 Wounds = Calculated Hit # of 9; 2d6 = 7, 9, 8, 7. 3 MISS, 1 HIT. One bullet (the 8 result) was a Close Call, being ine number less than the calculated Hit #; that -1 will be deducted from the Action Points roll next turn). Damn, that was exciting!!!!!

RESULT

Brad is running real low on bullets loaded in his guns and has to try and reload, unless he can get the shotgun of the dead deputy that’s now within short reach, but he’s also severely wounded. He did some damage however, giving the sheriff two wounds (out of four allowed, for a Sheriff or Boss). There’s a good amount of bloodshed all around. The Growling Bear Gang are pretty bunched up now at the range shack, and poor Miguel the Mole has some tough decisions coming up… he doesn’t want to sacrifice himself needlessly in his view, but time has run on long and most likely the lawmen are getting angry…ah, the life of a Mole! …yet Jack could be an Ace up the sleeve, where he’s sittin’. Lawman Carmen is in a position to strike soon, given the right circumstances. Is Clint heading into the outhouse, or start a blastin’? All rather tenuous!!! This is turning into a barn-burner!

End of turn SITREP:

[Whiterook]

PLAY - TURN 4

The last two delayed characters arrive on scene, lawman Brad at the top of Map 18, and Outlaw Will to the left of map 9 below the river.

Sheriff Fred activates and fortunately, rolls 4 AP allotment… he needed that, because of the Close Call the previous turn, which reduced him by -1 AP this turn! He uses those three APs to sling his Winchester onto his back and draws his revolver (Switch action, cost 1 AP), moves into the river opposite Brad (1 AP), and immediately fires 2 bullets with his revolver (1 AP) at Brad: 5 Sweat + 1 Distance +1 Wound = Calculated Hit # of 7; 2d6 = 7, 8 = 2 HITS. Brad is dead. The Sheriff feels enormous satisfaction in killing his deputy’s killer!

Outlaw Ron is next and his Ambush marker comes off… Henry suspected someone was there, but he had more pressing targets to tangle with, and that’s a good thing as he had no idea an ambush was waiting for him! Anyway, Ron (with 2 APs rolled) can see Clint heading for the outhouse, presumably, and he can’t get top and shoot at the lawman around he boulder, so he (spending those 2 APs) goes back in Ambush mode.

Lawman Alex is up next. He considers using his horse to good use and making his way to the range shack, or getting Susan’s Shotgun (since he only has a revolver and a knife). It’s rather tenuous at the shack, but though reenforcing it would be wise, Clint and Ron are still an issue nearby. Luckily, he rolled the max 4 APs, so he takes advantage of that and opts for the shotgun, dismounting and shooing the horse away, moving into Susan’s area and switching his revolver to his holster (1 AP), picking up the shotgun (1 AP), and moving into the brush by Carmen… I think the square to his left on the other side of Susan is a boulder square (usually, prevailing terrain covers the center dot, but I think the majority of the artwork is in that square). The shotgun is empty (I move her weapon to Alex’s equipment boxes, as well as the markers showing the empty gun), but he grabbed her bullets.

[NOTE, July 20th: I made an illegal move and an illegal action here! The illegal move was, a character must stop when entering a water space, so Alex could not have moved from Susan’s water space and then into the brush space by Carmen. The illegal action was, he could have only picked up the shotgun if she was on dry land and he moved through her space (picking up the weapon along the way) and then into a blank space opposite/adjacent or more. Rather than reset the action, let’s leave him where he is, take the shotgun away and leave him mounted on his horse… no real harm nor foul at this point, since he never used it. It’s too difficult to move him anywhere else, as it might affect what action came after for the other characters. Note also, I won’t change any of the verbiage earlier of characters thinking about getti g Susans’ guns. I removed all the guns and spent ammo markers fro Susan and Brads’ character sheets. I wanted to point this out so that it is understood that the move and weapon pick up can’t happen in normal play.]

Outlaw Billy activates and moves around the range shack, up to the bushes opposite the front entrance, and shoots at Carmen in back of the outhouse: 4 Sweat + 5 Distance +1 through Cover = Calculated Hit # of 10; 2d6 = 8 MISS.

Miguel is next and oh brother, he’s sweatin’ bullets stuck between everyone, so he decides to unleash bullets!!! He draws his other revolver from his holster (Switch action), fires at the Growling Bear Gang Boss, Sugar, and then jumps through the window! 4 Sweat + 1 Distance +1 Two Revolvers = Calculated Hit # of 6; 2d6 = 10, 5, 8, 7 = 3 HITS! The gigs up!!! The Mole made a BIG move and it paid off big… the Boss is severely wounded and can only take one more wound. 

Lawman Todd comes onboard, riding across the river, down by Carmen. He thought about going towers the Sheriff and Henry, but he spots the outlaw, Will, riding in from the west, so he opts to reinforce pressure on the range shack.

Supper time, so off to the Chuck Wagon for me! …and massive thunderstorms just rolled in so this will probably be a rain delay ‘til tomorrow.

[mikeh]

A lot of lead flying around! Sounds like you are having a good time with this game. Maybe I will mosey on over to Amazon and have a little look see.

[Whiterook]

Jul 18, 2024 10:00:12 GMT -5 mikeh said:

A lot of lead flying around! Sounds like you are having a good time with this game. Maybe I will mosey on over to Amazon and have a little look see.

I am! It’s a great game.

The book game is only around $25, which has 9 scenarios and maps, along with plating piece counters you can all cut and play. There’s a Volume 2 expansion that has more maps and scenarios for about $20. I bought both, built then ended up buying the PDFs for both on WargamerVauilt as backups…I actually made the playing pieces and maps from the PDFs, with the intent of saving the books, but ended up chopping Volume 2 apart and plan to do the same for Volume 1. The PDFs that have just the maps and counters are much cheaper, but don;t come with the scenarios (I think I picked them up for about five bucks or so)…but they also sell the whole game in PDF for about five bucks or so cheaper than the printed book.

[Whiterook]

OK, a restart from where I left off… last nights’ thunder and lightning storm was a doozy!!!

Cathy activates next and decided Miguel must pay for so gravely wounding the Boss! She moves one closer and fires her revolver two bullets at a time, totally unloading her gun: 5 Sweat + 1 Distance +1 in Cover of room = Calculated Hit # of 7; 2d6 = 10, 2, 7 = 2 HITS/1 MISS. Glass flew everywhere, and particularly into a stunned Miguel’s face. In truth, after he shot at the gang’s Boss, he knew he was in trouble as soon as he landed opposite that window. Critically wounded, his time may be coming to a close.

[NOTE:  I just learned through the designer, from a post to BGG’s forum for the game, that:

1. A character can fire as many times as s/he has Action Points for, hence Cathy unloading her revolver with three firings of lead, the revolver allowing two bullets per AP so 6 bullets in all. That’s a new and deadly mechanic to the game for me and being in the middle of Turn 4, I wonder at what the results would be so far had I fired more with characters able to do so!
2. You can fire a weapon anytime within a turn in which you have APs and ammo to do so! …for some reason, I had a misinterpretation, or perhaps assumption that you fired at the start or end of that characters turn.

…Great lessons learned!]

Boss Sugar activates and hurriedly limps back  towards the far corner door to the range shack… with no medicinal help available, she needs to hide from a third bullet fatal round [NOTE: Remember, her death is a game winner for the Lawmen!]

Deputy Jack is up next moves through the window and ducks into the storage room at the front left corner of the shack, which gives him a bead at anyone emerging from the other corner of the shack, or from the direction of the outhouse.

Outlaw Will is next (and has a terrible AP roll gaining only 2 APs, so), he moves to the cover of the front left corner of the range shack, opposite of Jack. At least in this position, he can guard against anyone coming for the Boss from that direction; he figures someone else will have to cover the other corner, if they value not angering Sugar!

Deputy Carmen activates and she actually has a LOS bead on outlaw Billy, so she stays put (especially since she had a crappy roll too, with only 2 APs) and fires two rounds with her Winchester at him: 4 Sweat + 5 Distance +2 in Cover from bushes = Calculated Hit # of 11; 2d6 = 5, 7 = MISS. (…getting a 12 was a pretty tall order!).

Outlaw Clint is next up and he’s going to reload the shotgun and move into cover next to Billy… he was heading for the outhouse, but he see’s things collapsing for the range shack position and decides he better help protect the Boss. He’ll let Cathy decide how fast she can reload her gun and deal with Miguel, or head for that revolver near the dead deputy.

Deputy Henry is up next and he decides (after a crappy roll for 2 APs… this is a bad string of die roils!) to move up one in the river and fire at Clint with his Winchester: 5 Sweat + 4 Distance +1 in Cover of bushes = Calculated Hit # of 10; 2d6 = 9 = MISS and Close Call.

RESULT

Outlaw Brad is dead and the gang Boss, “Growling Bear” Sugar is severely wounded, as is the Mole, Miguel, who is also severely wounded! …he and Jack hold up in the range shack and are surrounded by the Growling Bear Gang. The gang Boss is in flight-mode and the gang are rallying best they can to just keep her alive at this point, and hopefully get some good shots in on the law to perhaps turn the tide. The rest of the lawmen on the other hand, are all penned up at the outhouse, boulders and river area.

I’m not sure at this point who’s in the more tenuous predicament! It would appear the outlaws are in the poorer position in the game, but the lawmen are going to have to break cover, and when the latter happens, it’s all down to bullets! I wouldn’t want to bet my saloon poker money on this one at this point! Turn 5 is going to be interesting.

End of turn SITREP:







[Note that it took me about 35 minutes to play one full turn. I’ve been a bit lax in tracking this accurately, so I took to using a stopwatch for the actual play, including thinking time, but omitting (as in, stopping the stopwatch) during the time writing the full turn post. I would say this is probably close to what it takes to get through a full turn with 15 characters in Competitive Mode. The first game took me a couple hours to play, but that was just two turns long…unusual to end that quick I would say, actually…and I had to reference the rules A LOT; and I may have included posting tome to the forum here for some of that. I’ll be tracking the other turns so will have a better idea then; this is probably useful information for the readers following along, as it gives an idea of what at least one gamers’ experience time-wise is.]

[Whiterook]

PLAY - TURN 5

Returning to action, here… had a fun day trip to Vermont yesterday and home late, so no gaming. I have the DCI Southwestern Championships to watch today, which is a huge drum & bugle corps show in San Anotonio, Texas, which I’ll be watching on FloMarching (televised) from 2:30-11pm! …so, I can get at least a turn or so in here. We left off with things in hot action between the law and the Growling Bear Gang, and it’ll likely be a rip’roarin’ turn here!!!

The Sheriff activates, switches weapons, holstering his revolver and grabbing his Winchester, moves one space down the river and fires at Clint: 5 Sweat + 5 Distance + 1 Cover= Calculated Hit # of 11; 2d6 = 6 MISS. (…a 12 was a long shot!)

Outlaw Ron activates, Ambush marker comes off, moves three spaces to his right and fires his Winchester at Deputy Henry: 3 Sweat + 4 Distance = Calculated Hit # of 7; 2d6 = 9 HIT. Great shot and the deputy is severely wounded now, Ron is somewhat exposed and very much alone, but he gives the gang a much needed boost in the action.

Deputy Alex is up next, and as you can see, his situation is changed a tad because of errors in play in Susan’s area… he’s back to only having a revolver and knife, so he rides like the wind past Carmen and down to the range shack, where he jumps off his horse at the door, slaps his trusty mount on the ump sending her away, and dives head-first into the shack to a surprised, and somewhat relieved Miguel!

Outlaw Billy activates and immediately takes careful Aim (1AP) and fires at Carmen with two shots:  4 Sweat + 5 Distance + 1 firing through Cover -2 Aim = Calculated Hit # of 8; 2d6 = 7, 10 = 1 MISS Close Call/1 HIT. [NOTE: I am assuming I only needed to buy the Aim marker once, at an expenditure of only 1 AP for the two shots.]

Miguel is up next and he starts blasting at Cathy through the window at point blank range, taking careful Aim and firing twice with his right gun for 4 bullets, emptying that gun into her, but saving what was remaining in his other gun: 4 Sweat + 2 Wounds + 1 Distance -2 Aim = Calculated Hit # of 5; 2d6 = 7, 6, 7, 7 = 4 HITS. Cathy is dead. She hits the ground in a cloud of dust and gun powder smoke. Miguel is sweating bullets, literally!!!

Deputy Todd activates and rolls terribly for only 2 APs, and he’s penned up behind Carmen. With only a shotgun (5 Range), he can’t ride towards the range shack without flying into the oncoming lead from the outlaw gang members, so he can either hold position, or dash back through the river and around the boulders, heading for a position behind the bridge; he chooses the latter (hoping for a better AP roll next turn!) to set himself up for options to close on the shack afterwards.

The outlaw Boss, Sugar is next and she doesn’t have a lot of options, so she lays in Ambush mode.

Deputy Jack activates finds himself in a similar predicament (with a crappy AP roll), so he stays put in the storage room and lays in Ambush.

Outlaw Will is next up, (with only 2 Aps rolled for), moves down toward the rear corner of the range shack. With so many lawmen at the north of the shack, he figures it’s time to consolidate the gang around the boss…it may come down to a final, last ditch shootout!


Deputy Carmen activates and takes two careful Aim shots with her Winchester at Billy: 4 Sweat +1 Wound +5 Distance +2 firing through Cover -2 Aim = Calculated Hit # of 10; 2d6 = 12 Lucky Shot (2 Wounds!), 6 = 1 MISS/1 HIT for two wounds.

Outlaw Clint is next and with pressure from the Sherriff and what may be coming from the north, retreats through Cathy’s position, traps her empty 6-shooter and heads to the south corner of the shack, covering the Boss.

Deputy Henry activates and (with the -1 Close Call and a roll of 1 giving him 1 AP to spend) moves out of the river towards the range shack. He has few options and this at least gets him out of potential fire from the outlaw, Ron upcoming and allows him options to sneak around the bottom of the big boulders he’s at.

RESULT

It doesn’t look too good for the outlaw gang! It’s a good thing they have that range shack to consolidate back to, and it seems like it’s going to end up being a good old fashioned shoot out with wood splinters flying everywhere! I figure it’s going to take some cagey actions from the outlaws to turn this around.

End of Turn SITREP:







This turn tool just under 30 minutes of actual play to complete, not counting this posting commentary. That’s with much less referencing of the rules, which is a great indicator that this is a very approachable game to learn in a small amount of time and effort.