Beaverlick Falls got its debut game yesterday when a group of UK LAFers got together for some FFoL fun and games, as I'd not built as many buildings as planned, the town was bolstered by some of Ramirez Noname's excellent scratchbuilt buildings.
Rules were the excellent
Fistful of Lead and the scenario was a four player game with each player given their objective in secret.
The Ranch Hands - starting at the west end Main Street. It's been a long hard week so all you want to do is have a beer and let off some steam in the saloon at the east end of Main Street. Objective; each figure must spend a whole turn doing nothing in the saloon
The Cavalry Troopers - starting at the east end of Main Street. You've just returned from a long patrol fighting Indians and all you want is some female company. Objective: each figure must spend a whole turn 'doing nothing' in the brothel at the west end of town and live to return back to the fort.
The Claim Jumpers - starting on the NE corner of the table. You've gotten details of a sliver deposit found by some local miners and you plan to register a claim to the land before they can. Objective: one of you figures must spend a whole turn doing nothing in the Land Registry in the centre of town.
The Miners - starting on the SW corner of the table. You've found a sliver deposit in the local foothills and you need to register a claim to the land before any unscrupulous claim jumpers can beat you to it. Objective: one of you figures must spend a whole turn doing nothing in the Land Registry in the centre of town.
Turn one passed uneventfully as each player moved towards their destination.
Turn 2 and a vicious firefight erupted when the Miners opened fire on the Ranch Hands as they tried to settle a feud (The player with the Miners was out for revenge on the player with the Ranch Hands who had soundly beaten him in another game earlier in the day)
At this point I was concentrating on running the game, not taking photos, so here's a brief narrative of events.
The Miners and Ranch hands continued to ignore their objectives and duel it out at the western end of town, although one of the miners was making progress to the land registry.
Meanwhile the Cavalry and the Claim Jumpers made steady progress towards their intended locations.
As the lead flew thick and fast and Miners and Ranch Hands ducked for cover, one of the Miners arrived at the Land Registry only to find the door locked with a note saying "Gone to the store for ink, back shortly" so he withdrew to the rear of the buildings.
By now the Claim Jumpers had broken cover from the north side of town and were heading towards the Land Registry as the Cavalry made good progress toward the Brothel.
Seeing the carnage and lawlessness, the Cavalry sergeant felt obligated to intervene and cracked off a few shots from his carbine
As the firefight continued, with an increasing bodycount of Miners and Ranchers, the Claim Jumpers arrived at the closed Land Registry and decided to shoot the lock out and wait inside for the return of the clerk. The cavalry were now sampling the delights of Madame Bellendita's Beaverlick Brothel.
By the closing stages of the game the clerk had returned to his office (against his better judgement) and processed the Claim Jumpers claim, legitimising their ownership of the land with the silver deposit. (Objective completed). It was at this point the cavalry started to leave the brothel and the most dramatic shootout of the game too place.
The first two troopers out decided that they should open fire on one of the two remaining Ranchers, 'Slippery Steve', a decision that they would ultimately regret. During the following turn more troopers turned out of the brothel until Steve was facing 4, he held his nerve (holding onto a 2 card that would allow him 4 shots, providing he lived to use it). All the troopers fired and missed and so Steve calmly shot back . . .
He killed 3 and wounded the fourth, and then dodged a final bullet as the last remaining Miner tried to shoot him in the back.
At this point we stopped the game and as the Claim Jumpers player (LAF's very own Captain Blood) was the only one to have met his objective we deemed him to be the winner.
A very enjoyable game from my perspective, the Fistful of Lead rules proved themselves again and the cinematic shootout at the end caused much amusement for all involved.