What a Cowboy!

[Johnny Boy]

I've not long taken receipt of my copy and given it a brief read through and I'm impressed but unfortunately haven't much time at the moment so gaming's off the table just now. I was just wondering if anybody else has given it a go?

[Thargor]

I have it and am in the process of painting up a few figures.

Have you watched the TFL YouTube series on how to play?  If not I would recommend them...a good insight into the gameplay and a good laugh too.

[Ivan DBA]

The Facebook group is very active with people posting their first games, and there are several QRFs and rosters people have put together in the Files section.

[shandy]

I've had a first game on Saturday and throughly enjoyed it - excellent set of rules! I've just published a very short review on my blog: https://wargamingraft.wordpress.com/2023/05/02/first-game-of-what-a-cowboy/

It's a very cinematic game which in my opinion conveys the feel of Western movies very well.

[Harry Faversham]

After reading about these rules in two wargaming magazines, one question sprang to mind. How superior could the game/system be to 'Fistful of Lead', which comes in at a quarter of the price?

[shandy]

How superior could the game/system be to 'Fistful of Lead', which comes in at a quarter of the price?

Interesting that you mention FoL, because those were the rules I played before and I found them mind-numbingly boring. I don't want to write anything negative, so I'd rather say why I find WaC better: The uncertainty (activation order, actions available, movement), the much larger number of player options and decision points (there are potentially up to six actions per player), as well as the wound and shock system. It still plays fast, or even faster than FoL, which in my experience always tended to drag out.

[Harry Faversham]

Faster than FFofL, that's right interesting, KISS Principle perfected?

 

[shandy]

Well, I wouldn't say it's simpler than FFoL, it has more detail, but it feels more fluid to me. Matter of taste, I guess. To me, FFoL feels a bit bland, while WaC has just the right amount of detail to make a game feel like a Western movie and not just a generic shoot-em-up skirmish game.

The Force Morale mechanic in WaC helps to keep the game from dragging out. As far as I remember, FFoL has no morale mechanic... but it's been a while since I last played it.

The video on the TooFatLardies youtube channel gives a good impression of how the game plays:

Cheers,
Thomas

[Harry Faversham]

Shandy, sold to the fat man in the in the ten gallon 'at!
Now all I've got to do, is convince my kids to stump up on Farver's Day!
 

[snitcythedog]

After reading about these rules in two wargaming magazines, one question sprang to mind. How superior could the game/system be to 'Fistful of Lead', which comes in at a quarter of the price?

Our club have played both FFOL and What a Tanker regularly (Same basic machine as What a Cowboy).  I like both but the What a Tanker/What a Cowboy machine adds the confusion of battle into the mix in a way that you don't experience in FFOL.  You simply can't guarantee if you will be able to do what you want in a given situation.  It makes for a much more interesting and chaotic game.  Win or loose, I tend to enjoy the What a Tanker immensity and I suspect the same will be said about What a Cowboy. 

[Johnny Boy]

Many thanks for the feedback, I'll get on to YouTube and I'm looking forward to giving them a go!

[Mindenbrush]

I played my first game last week with someone who had been a playtester and had a good time (I won 😀).
If you have played Pulp Ally or any game that allows you to ‘interrupt’ your opponent then you will pick it up quickly.
I would only say that one has to make sure that the activation cards are well shuffled as a run on activations for one side can really change the game.

[snitcythedog]

Played two games at the club last week to test the rules out.  Wonderfully chaotic.  It certainly adds a random dynamic into play when you can't always do what you want and it was very cinimatic.  Play was simple quick and fun just like WaT  We are getting ready to test out a bigger multi player game in a fortnight so that should be a laugh.