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Author Topic: Review of Old West Gunfight game - "The Law Of The Gun"  (Read 2117 times)

Offline terrement

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Review of Old West Gunfight game - "The Law Of The Gun"
« on: November 07, 2014, 03:23:54 PM »
Just posted my take on this new rule set.

Complete review at Terrement's Lair:

terrement.blogspot.com

Easy, fast-play The Law of the Gun by Chris Peers.

The concept of the rules is explained by the author in his introduction where he explains why there is a place for another Western Gunfight rules. It is, like many, a single figure = one man skirmish game meant to capture the feel of the Old West. The emphasis is simple, fast, and easy to play and designed to have the players reacting as a gunfighter would do – fast and decisive. This is intentional and meant to preclude the need for repeated stoppage of play to look up and check the details for a particular action they might want to attempt on a given turn. To do this, there are some simplifying assumptions. Though artificial in nature at times (my opinion) they work well, and can still be modified easily enough by then gamers – as they often do. It is designed to cover the period from about the outbreak of the American Civil War (ACW) in 1861 until the last of the Indian fights, at Wounded Knee in 1890. It is also designed as much for multiple player use rather than a simple two sided battle, as well as covering the flavor of the game, from historical record to Hollywood. One feature I really like is the incorporation of the possibility of differing victory conditions for each side, based on the scenario. This allows for multiple "winners" based on their objectives and avoids the "shoot them all until one side is dead or breaks." I've included some comments of my own in the appropriate sections where the item is discussed rather than having a full section at the end where I would discuss all of them. Seems to me it will be easier to have them in the place and context where they occur.

Title: The Law of the Gun*
Author: Chris Peers
Publisher: Ruga-Ruga Publications, 2014, Sheffield Road, Sutton Coldfield, B73 5HD

My take on the rules
So, the question is whether or not this rule set is needed among all of the other entries that are out there already – and there are several, many of which are quite good and widely used. Others are less well known, but still used by some. I find them to be a good set of rules, with some ideas not included in other sets. They are simple enough to be learned or taught very quickly, played without having to repeatedly consult the rule book, and I think would work well as an introductory game for a new gamer, as a fast and easy game for a club who wanted to do an Old West game without becoming overly invested in it, or at a convention as both an attraction to draw in new players and acquaint them to Old West gaming or as a competition game. It lends itself well to multi-gamer participation. There is enough there to provide substance, enough uncertainty to cause friction in the decision process of what to do, yet still support the "act on instinct" approach intended by the authors. The generalized gangs allow for easy customization and the attributes provided lend themselves well to personalizing the characters in a game. I like the different scenarios included in the rules as they play well on their own and do provide a great introduction to the game and some of the differences. Although I don't think it will replace any of the well-established and widely used rule sets out there already, I'd pick it up just the same for the reasons I've indicated above. I have a number of the ones already available and certainly don't NEED yet another rule set for the period, but would likely pick one up from a game shop if I were to see it and leaf through it.

Forgot to add, I think they are easily adaptable for solo use, even though not written as a solo game.  There are a few things that I'd like to point out to fellow soloists

1. The rules are simple enough to pick up and easily and quickly get into play. They are not written as solo rules, but with any of the standard tricks of the trade we use in solo, IMHO, they would work well.

2. The author encourages tinkering with them, and they are loosely constructed so that tinkering with the rules would not seem to throw the rest of the rules out of balance.

3. The game design and mechanics seem to be easily adaptable to other periods. We are used to doing this sort of thing anyway. I intend to change the weapons used in two directions and see how it runs as a skirmish game for the FIW/AWI period, as well as interwar / Roaring 20's period.

Give them a look and see what you think.

JJ

Offline CptJake

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Re: Review of Old West Gunfight game - "The Law Of The Gun"
« Reply #1 on: November 07, 2014, 04:02:44 PM »
Nice review JJ.

I've been trying to decide if I want to check these out.   Still not decided but your review makes it more likely I will at some point.  I wish they were available on Amazon.
Every time a bad person dies, a Paratrooper gets his wings.

 

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