The Rules With No Name
by Bryan Ansell, Foundry Publications, Nottingham, U.K., 2008, $84.
This tabletop game (no electronics required) centers on miniature gunslingers and a rulebook to govern play. To start, opponents need at least four pewter models each, a deck of cards dictating action, six-sided dice and a tape measure. Characters come in four classes—citizen, gunman, shootist and legend—with advantages the higher one climbs, such as freer movement, better aim and deadlier weapons. The figures face off a foot apart and gunplay begins, as players either move, aim, fire, reload, seek cover, mount a horse or call out an enemy. Action is based not on turns but on the luck of the draw.
Modeling is a major part of the game. Players can use unpainted figures, but it’s a lot more fun to bring out the mean and moody in each desperado. And while a tabletop will suffice, constructing a few balsa buildings adds strategic complexity. Characters include mountain men, Mexican vaqueros, Apaches, cavalrymen, and even such real-life figures as John Wesley Hardin and Bat Masterson. Each follows a unique set of rules, while optional rules—covering hand-to-hand combat, battle experience, hatred and fear, and drunkenness and insanity—add a layer of nuance and realism.
All this gunplay doesn’t come cheap— $84 buys the rulebook and a starter set of 12 outlaws—but for strategy gamers interested in deep play, or historic modelers looking for variety and attention to detail, it is worth the price. Visit Foundry online at www.wargamesfoundry.com.
Originally published in the August 2009 issue of Wild West. To subscribe, click here.
