Shoot N' Skedaddle - SNS PDF version available for $7, rules free online.

[Elbows]

I tried out my own Old West rules set tonight.  It worked great...and I actually had a good time, even playing solo!

I've temporarily named the rules set Shoot N' Skedaddle...and don't ask why...no reason.  Here are a couple pictures.  Ignored the red tokens - they're wound markers.  I have a bunch of proper markers on the way.  I originally built this Old West terrain and painted up some 30+ models for LOTOW...but it became abysmally boring.  I hope to keep playtesting these rules, as they are quick, and a blast.

Note:  Because this was a simple playtest, I skipped putting furniture in all of the buildings.  This adds a bit, but I was being lazy!

The table, 6'x4'.

The scenario:

Lawmen have been holding David Sloan (wanted thief, murderer, and defiler of women) in a hotel near the Sheriff's office, under guard.  It is the morning of his hangin'.  The local Business Tycoon (crime boss) has come searching for Mr. Sloan, who works for him.

Game Notes: My game can be played using random cards.  In this instance, I used my random cards (currently on the way to me, so I used the "random" function in my photo gallery to "draw" cards) to determine a crew of 6 individuals for each side, Lawmen and Outlaws.  I drew the characters, and then drew random weapon cards...then picked appropriate models.

Left to Right - Lawmen:
Townsperson w/ twin heavy six guns.
Gunslinger w/ twin six guns.
Cowboy w/ six gun
US Marshal w/ heavy six gun
Townsperson w/ six gun.
Cowboy w/ Derringer and sawed off shotguns.

Left to Right - Outlaws:
Cowboy w/ six gun.
Townsperson w/ six gun.
Cowboy w/ sawed off shotgun.
Business Tycoon w/ carbine.
David Sloan (starts game under arrest) w/ six gun
Hired Gun w/ twin six guns (the Business Tycoon brings a free Hired Gun to your posse - hence 7 models instead of 6)
Cowboy w/ twin heavy six guns

Lawmen start in top floor of hotel, with gallows across the board.  They must move David Sloan to the gallows and hang him.  David Sloan can reduce the movement of the Lawmen by struggling (something he did quite well!)

Outlaws start in two groups of three (not included David Sloan in custody!)...each at a road entrance to the board.

I was using my reproduction Old West playing cards which just arrived..pretty slick!

OUTCOME:
It was an absolute slaughter.  David Sloan put up a serious fuss, and they only made it halfway to the gallows.  In the meantime though, almost every other model was wounded, and the Outlaws were cut down by better dice rolling, and serious firepower.  In these pictures...ignore the red markers, as they're simply wound markers.  The game played fast, smoothly, and fun.  Because only 13 models were involved I kept "special" cards to a minimum, with only one special card per turn for each side.  A turn involves two activation cards for each model.  During the game, the only one of note was that a Townsperson joined the Lawmen during the height of a firefight.  He fired once...then ate a sawed off shotgun to the face, dead instantly.

I've already picked up a couple of things I need to edit, but they're minor.  Hope it's this fun when I play my buddies.

[Elbows]

PS: Forgot to mention...the Business Tycoon and one cowboy (both wounded) managed to flee the premises.  The Lawmen let them go, and David Sloan neck was broke a few minutes later.

[thebinmann]

Wonderful

And solo OW rules, I'd be interested it those too!

[Za Zjurman]

Elbows, the rules look very promising and I love your table. You can never have enough buildings. Where did you get the trees?

Regards,
Za

[Mississippi]

Looks awesome. Congrats. Would like to see your rules.

[Last Chancer]

Second that. Would love to see your rules also

[thebinmann]

Love the deck too

[Elbows]

I will have the rules available eventually via PDF...and I have all of the cards which will be available via Gamecrafter...but as you know, buying single copies can be expensive.  Right now the assorted card decks and such are about $30.

I will have the card images available in the PDF, or via email etc.  May be a while though, as this was the first playtest.

While the game is not intentionally solo, the activation is done randomly by playing cards, and the creationg of your posse can be randomized.  Likewise, special cards are drawn from two separate decks, so this is also randomized.  The tactics of moving your models still come down to you.  So it is very suitable for solo play, but it's not fully automated.

I'll be adding more characters/weapons/rules etc. eventually, as I have no Indians etc. currently (but I have Indian weapons...I suppose I wasn't thinking).

The trees are normal Woodland Scenics, and I just stretch lichen over them...they fall apart sometimes due to handling, but "meh".  I'm too lazy to try gluing them.  The sad part is...this is about half of my buildings!  The others are Tri-City laser and are currently being painted.  I actually have too many "normal" buildings, so I'll be making a purchase of a train station, livery, church, some adobe cantinas etc. to really flush out the place.  I'll also be grabbing up some of the GF9 badlands rocks, to go with my desert hills, so I can do some stuff out in the middle of nowhere.

The full rules will have a campaign system available, but it will be very akin to something like LOTOW - involving towns/cities and shops.  Models taken out of action at the end of the game will have the ability to hire doctors of different skill for different costs, etc., recruit new members, and advance their profiles through career points.  It will be a bit simple, and not overly in depth. 

[Elbows]

Chapter Dos: The next Slaughter

So, having such a fun game last night, I decided to test the random-ness of the game...and ran the exact same scenario again this evening.  Same idea, same objectives, but again with randomly created sides.



The Lawmen this game (left to right)

1) Pinkerton with Sixgun
2) Soldier w/ Carbine
3) U.S. Marshal with Buffalo Gun (!)
4) Townsperson w/ pair of heavy sixguns
5) Gunslinger w/ sixgun
6) Townsperson w/ pair of sixguns



The Outlaws this game (left to right)

1) Bandit with sawed off shotgun.
2) Cowboy with sixgun
3) Hired gun w/ sixgun
4) Townsperson w/ pair of heavy sixguns
5) Tycoon w/ sixgun
6) Hired gun w/ pair of sixguns
7) Thug w/ heavy sixgun (David Sloan...for the hangin'!)

Picking random characters and weapons yielded some interesting combinations --- as luck would have it I still didn't draw a number of other "eccentric" characters.  There are around 45 character cards, including a lot of special characters.  Some character types are prevalent (cowboys and townspersons).  Others like the Drifter, Crazy, Priest, Sawbones etc. are much more scarce.  I was surprised I drew the Marshal and Tycoon again despite this.

Pics of the game...



The townsperson hustles Mr. Sloan toward the gallows...he put up less of a fight this time.



The alleyways between buildings became choked with gunfire...



A wounded townsperson tries to shoot the Tycoon in the back of the head...unfortunately the Tycoon kicked in the door and shot him dead immediately after...



The Marshal sat atop the roof of the Sheriff's office and gunned down numerous Outlaws with the slow but brutally lethal buffalo gun...



The gunslinger was given a sawed off shotgun by townsfolk...he dove through a window (injuring himself in the process) and fired into the Outlaws below, failing to kill anyone!



As the game drew to a close, the Lawmen hustled David Sloan toward the gallows...the Outlaws fell man by man...



The Outlaws were gunned down almost to a man...and slowly quit the effort.

Overall, the game played very differently, which was great.  It was absurdly brutal this time - constant gunfights at close range, almost every single model on the board was either injured or killed.  The best part, the entire game took about an hour or a little over.  It plays very quick...but yet maintains enough interest, and fun.  So far, looking good!

[Conquistador]

"...So far, looking good!... '

Indeed, looking to see more playtests.

Gracias,

Glenn

[FifteensAway]

Rules probably won't work for me (too many figures in my wild west variation) but I love the name.  And nice terrain - but put some paint on those buildings (unless the town is too cheap to buy a paint brush!).

[Digits]

If painting it is daunting, paint it like Largo in High Plains Drifter!

[Elbows]

The buildings in this town will have the roofs painted, but that's about it.  The other six buildings are being fully painted, so that the town will end up a mish-mash.  In all likelihood, many of these will be replaced by some new buildings in the future.  But for now, it'll stay as is (minus roofs).

[philhendry]

Nice looking game!  Is that one of Eric Hotz's mats?

[styx]

looks interesting, love to see the PDF when you publish it...