A Gunslinger's Paradise (Game)

I've been spending time exploring game systems as of late. Why? Like many a gamer, I'm a bit of Goldilocks, forever searching for "just right". Fortunately there are plenty of games out there worthy of attention and even if the setting isn't you usual fare, sometimes a game brings other elements to the feast that can make for an enjoyable experience all the same.

As a rule, I've never really seen the appeal of the Wild West as a wargame setting.  Maybe it is all the movies where Clint just guns down everyone. That has never struck me as good wargame fodder.  Maybe I am mistaken? I think I'm actually biased thanks to a steady diet of sci-fi as a youth.

A while back I received some notification or suggestion that I should check out A Gunslinger's Paradise (link). I watched a play-through of a scenario and it struck me as interesting. Later I read some more pieces on it, and then had a look at the author's other works. Eventually I decided to throw some hobby dollars the way of the pdf of the game (available here on Wargame Vault) and am glad that I did.

The book is well laid out and reads well - for a one-man-design-and-publishing-band (too many hyphens!) the author did a great job! Not that I've played it yet but it certainly feels there's enough in it to make for a good game, both mechanics- and campaign-wise.  Some highlights:

Lists and list building

List builds are point ("Dollars") based, so you choose your points, choose between 3-tiers of Characters and then kit the Characters out with equipment and abilities. Lots of choices but also thematic.  It would appear to strike a decent balance on first glance.

There's a dozen Factions including Marshals, Cavalry, Outlaws, Banditos, Apaches.  They've all got their tweaks, advantages, and disadvantages. Here's a quick contrast between two Factions that I can readily identify with:

Los Bandidos Mexicanos

Along the southern border Los Bandidos Mexicanos harassed both Mexican and American

settlers alike. Ruthless in their tactics, these men used all types of violence to terrify the hard working

people of many small towns and villages into giving them whatever they asked for.

Many of their Characters can purchase the 'On the Run' ability/trait allows them to re-roll their attempts to resist capture. They've also got a variety of Tequila-powered abilities, such as 'Tequila... It’s Like Beer' which gives them bonuses when shooting or fighting in melee. They've got a single Tier 1 Character (The Bandido Leader), four Tier 2 Characters (including The Gringo and Luchador de Cuchillos), and two Tier 3 Characters. That's means you can create quite a diverse list.

U.S. Marshals

In the Old West there was always one person you could rely on when it came to hunting down

and apprehending outlaws. A U.S. Marshal. Armed with a badge and a gun, these men squared off

against the worst the West had to offer in the hopes of bringing justice and peace to these untamed

lands.

These are more elite list. Primarily consisting of only Tier 1 Marshals (limited to 1 per List) and Tier 2 Deputies, they're going to be hard hitting, tanked up Characters with access to quality weapons. A US Marshal or US Deputy Marshal must attempt to have an enemy character throw down their weapons before they can fire on them, using the 'Hand Them Guns Over' rule - which could really throw a spanner into the enemy's plans!

Turn Sequence and Poker Chips

Each Turn, Players are awarded a number of (poker) Chips related to their list + 1d10. Activating a Character typically costs a Chip and yields 2 Actions (move, shoot, aim, that sort of stuff). 

Activation within the Turn is I-Go-You-Go but with a twist: you need bid Chips for the next Activation.  So if you really wanted to have two Activations in a row, you need outbid your opponent and could end up spending 2 or more Chips of your limited pool, just to get the jump.  

Chips are also used to do things like rerolls and buy additional Actions for a Character. I like resource-type mechanics that add another dimension to the overall tactical challenge. Once all Chips have been spent, the Round is over.

(Poker) Cards

Players each hold 3-cards at the beginning of the Round. Each Card provides some sort of bonus e.g., you can declare your opponent's gun as empty after firing, a free reroll, remove cover modifier or convert the Card to a Chip. Jokers negate your opponent's Card(s). Once a Card has been employed, it's burnt. Once the deck has been burnt, it's reshuffled and played again. I like that, kind of bonuses that regularly pop up during play and you might hold out for a combo e.g., Free Shoot Action, +2 Aim, and Double Damage.

Shooting.  

There's a hit check ( 1d10 + Shooter's Aim + Weapon's Aim +/- cover etc) where a result of 10+ means you're aim is true.  Targets get a save (pretty unlikely to work) and weapon damage is variable - even though you hit you might do no damage or even double-damage.  There's been some thought put into, it making loadouts an important consideration with a surprising number of special abilities and point, effect balancing evident. Armour doesn't appear to be a thing, so that kind of reduces the overall complexity.

Wounding and Damage. 

It appears that 'standard' Tier 1 Characters seem to have between 3-4 wounds, Tier-2 have between 3-2 wounds, and Tier-3 mooks have 2-1 wounds. Most sidearms etc deal 1 wound about 50% of the time, but there are all sorts of modifiers etc at play. I don't love tracking damage, but if it's 2 or 3 wounds for the heroes, I could live with that.

So is it possible to have your top guy knocked out by the first shot of the game? It appears so, but you'd have to be very unlucky on a number of fronts. That sort of risk-and-reward game balancing can make or break a game - on paper, it's feeling right.

Scenarios and Campaigns. 

There are plenty: 26 I think! They are kind of matched to the Factions it seems. There is a Campaign mode where you play a 4-game weeks in a game month, with the first week tending to your gang (recruits and upgrades) and buying/selling locations then 3-weeks of fighting (scenarios, stealing territories). Cash and Influence is rewarded for scenario and faction objectives e.g., Indians might get $$$ for scalps and getting the Ranch doesn't generate the same $$$$ and Influence as the Saloon, but does generate an extra Mook to help you defend your territories if they come under attack.

There's plenty of other stuff that I haven't really given too much thought to, but that's about all I have gotten from my first read of the rules while manning the desk for two-hours while my boys played sport. It's looking promising 👌

Where to from here? I haven't got any Western minis, but I do have plenty of sci fi factions. I may look at trying to prepare a list or two using what I've got. E.g., Orks might make for some decent Los Bandidos Mexicanos, while a Terminator or two could well proxie for the U.S. Marshalls...