Old West and ...

[Mike D. Mc Brice]

I have a set of rules called "Once upon a time in the West" and it's also extremely detailed. I'd guess you can spend a few hours working out a single move and shoot action including rolling a few dice to establish if the smoke of your cigarette reduces your shooting ability if the wind blows it in your eyes. It's pretty fascinating.
Oh, they have a selection 231 pistols and rifles in the rules so your cowboys have quite some choice.

LOTOW is a good set of rules but it's written with campaigns in mind. If you like ti or not is a matter of taste but they work fine.

[Mo!]

I think it is a very pretty book, lots of lovely background stuff (lots of real old west hero's and villains) The book used to be 20 pound new and then 10 at the last sale... The last few times I saw it sold on e-bay it went for around 10 + shipping. In my book it's worth that twice atleast...

[Treebeard]

Six Gun Sound from 2 Hours Wargame is a very good set of rules.

[Calvin Montana]

Stéphane,

My thinking was the same as yours, until I realized that in hand-to-hand and even weaponed combat the model is knocked OUT OF GAME, not necessarily killed. So, a lousy gunslinger with good fists can possibly walk around the tabletop punching out opponents to win a scenario without hitting a target with a single shot!

I felt better about the rules once I understood eliminating an opponent from the table top doesn't mean ya killed him or her. 

[greatescapegames]

I tried LotOW when it first came out and it put me off Old West gaming!  The new ranges of buildings have really caught my imagination again though.

[Varangian]

I tried LotOW when it first came out and it put me off Old West gaming!  The new ranges of buildings have really caught my imagination again though.

It's always been hit or miss for me. I LIKE westerns, including Hollywood, Spaghetti Western, or even Weird West, it's just....nothing ever felt right. Six Gun Sound (6GS) by Two Hour Wargames is pretty damned solid, especially for campaign play. I'm really excited about Blackwater Gulch as well. Between the two, I'm pretty confidant that I'll find SOMETHING in the genre to play.

[Galland]

Personally, I cant really say that I like Legends of the Old West due to various reasons.
The core rules are easy enough to use, the mechanics are simple, but they do suffer from the problem of hand to hand combat being superior to shooting, something I find a bit odd in a western game. However, the books are beutifully made, good looking and have lots of inspirational stuff in them. I also bought all the books to get the various scenarious, and they are good enough. All in all, if you get the core book and the additional suport books, you will have a adequate game with lots of scenarios and some nice reading.
I also have the Rules with no Name, but havent got in to it yet, maybe I never will. I also have Two Hour Wargames system, wich I like a lot. I have been considering getting Gutshot, since it seems to cater for the RP parts a lot, something I find very attractive in a game system. I have also purchased Blackwater Gulsh and are eagerly waiting for its arriwal.

[FifteensAway]

I'm with greatescape about LOTW, tried them and decidedly did not like them.  Too "simple" in important ways - and I greatly prefer simple rules.  And too few figures for the style of games I want to play.  But I'm out there on the farthest reaches of the "lots of figures" for old west gaming.  I'd make a comfortable bet that I have more figures for the period than anyone else.  (though mine are in 15 mm)

[leonmallett]

The problem for me with LotOW is its campaign system; a few lucky rolls and a single character can become uber-powerful; a few unlucky rolls and a gang can be crippled quite quickly. The character growth rules are the most flawed area of the rules to my mind.

[Skrapwelder]

Since no one else has mentioned it I would recommend Gunfight! from Flagship games. The combat rules are very enjoyable. Shooting is done on D10's with both the shooter and target trying to achieve a target number of 7 with varying degrees of success or failure based on if both sides make their number or just one, or none. The campaign rules are excellent and our group has used them for several other campaigns outside of a Wild West genre. They are a bit tongue in cheek and tend towards the humorous side especially when you get to reading the critical hit and fumble charts. As far as I know they are still available through Scale Creep Miniatures.

[thebinmann]

Savage Worlds Skirmish, it's free and can be used for anything including deadkands GRW which was the first source of the engine

Plus you get to use all your dice (except d20)

[thebinmann]

I have a set of rules called "Once upon a time in the West" and it's also extremely detailed. I'd guess you can spend a few hours working out a single move and shoot action including rolling a few dice to establish if the smoke of your cigarette reduces your shooting ability if the wind blows it in your eyes. It's pretty fascinating.
Oh, they have a selection 231 pistols and rifles in the rules so your cowboys have quite some choice.

LOTOW is a good set of rules but it's written with campaigns in mind. If you like ti or not is a matter of taste but they work fine.

Mike where can pick up thosr uberrules?