Sun sets on Redleg Gang!

Bloody battle in the hills
as Texas Rangers attempt to corral notorious gang!

Stumpy returns to lead ambush on owlhoots!

Outlaws ride into infamy!

Sept. 12, 2004
La Paloma Blanca, Texas – All good things must come to an end... and that's also true for bad things, such as the rampage by the bloody Redleg Gang! The infamous outlaw band ended their daring campaign of terror by riding into a dusty canyon to rescue their captured teammates, and wound up riding into the annals of gaming history!

This year's Gutshot Summer Playtest came to an end Sunday, Sept. 12 with the long-awaited showdown between the outlaws and their nemesis, Stumpy -- the one-legged Deputy who had out gunned, out fought, and (somehow) out run, and the Redleg Gang in their first adventure six weeks ago.

"The Redleg Gang had been spoiling for this fight ever since they learned that Stumpy had survived their attack in 'Shootout at Coyote Gulch' in the first game," said Gutshot co-creator Mike Mitchell. "Like most things, of course, you ought to be careful of what you wish for!"

GOOD WILL HUNTER Will Hunter, owner, operator, and chief bottle washer of Enigmas Games accepts a Gutshot Beer Stein from Gutshot co-creator Mike Mitchell.

Before the gang faced their nemesis, Mitchell presented a special thank-you gift to Will Hunter, owner of Enigmas Collectibles & Games. "We really appreciate you hosting us here," Mitchell said. "These games have really helped us work out a lot of the small details in our game." Will gave one of his typical, modest shrugs and replied, "We really enjoyed having you here and we're looking forward to when the game comes out."

Mitchell smiled cryptically at that and hinted that a solid release date would be announced soon.

After the presentation to Will, the game commenced with a playtest of some much-requested modifications to the Ambush Rules. The modification was as simple as it was deadly: if the Players have set up an ambush, they get a free shot at the people dumb enough to ride into the ambush.

The plot of the game was fairly simple. Iin the last adventure three members of the gang had been captured by treacherous Mexican Banditos: Buckshot Bill, Buckshot Buddha, and Slim. In this, the final adventure, the remaining gang members decided to spring them as they were handed over to the Texas Rangers. The boys made it clear that they were slightly more motivated by the thought of stealing that reward money than actually freeing their own people... apparently it's true about there being no honor among thieves. The Redleg Gang found out the exchange would take place in a small box canyon where the Texas Rangers had a hidden outpost. So, the gang set up an ambush and waited for the Mexicans to ride in with the captives.

"The ambush proved to be a very deadly situation," Mitchell said. "But that's fairly accurate -- people set up ambushes because they work! We might still need to tweak a few things on this topic, but in general I think we've nailed it by doing the most obvious, simplest solution."

Although the Redleg Gang got a drop on the Mexicans, and freed their companions, as the game progressed they found out that turnabout was fair play as Stumpy and his bounty hunters suddenly burst out of buildings and from behind rocks and started blasting away.

The lead was flying and the blood flowing on both sides of the battle as the sun slowly set on the final game. To find out what happened, read the full Game Report on the Redleg Gang's page.

After the game, Mitchell had another surprise: a second Gutshot Beer Stein to award.

"I would have liked to have given one to every player," Mitchell said. "But... I haven't robbed any banks lately, so I had to limit it to just one."

The players opted to dice for it, and since some of them hadn't rolled very well during the game, they decided that the lowest dice roll on 2d6 would take it home.It seemed fitting that the stein went to Chris Trevino (El Gallo Negro), one of the players who had made it to all six games.

THE WINNER'S CUP
Chris Trevino (alias "El Gallo Negro") proudly takes the center spot and holds his commemorative Gutshot Beer Stein. The players diced off to see which lucky fella would take it home, and for once, Snake-Eyes proved to be lucky, as the stein went to the low roller! (l-r): Robert Hart, David Burlin, Mike Brininger, Chris Trevino, Jared Lamb, Mike Mitchell, Jeff Pieper.

When all was said and done, the players were enthusiastic about their Gutshot experience.

Robert Hart (Buckshot Buddha) reported that he enjoyed "Playing the same character each weekend and gradually building on his personality." He also enjoyed "trying to win and not dying and being close to dying and getting better was cool, too."

Jarad Lamb (Shirley) also expressed pleasure with his Wild West experience.

"I liked how it was a lot of quick action, not hard to pick up at all," Jared said, and "The fact that it is set in our world or at least our history."

After it all, Mitchell smiled a weary smile.

"It's not like running a game with your buddies, where you're just there to have a good time on a Sunday afternoon. That's why I'm relieved and sad at the same time," Mitchell said. "I'm relieved because it's a lot of work running a game every week for a month and a half while trying to keep detailed notes about what works, what doesn't, and try to document everything for the Website. In that way, it's a lot of work. However, it's also a lot of fun, and I'm really going to miss coming down here each week to see what these crazy guys are gonna do next!"

As he packed up and headed home, he told Will that he now had to do something even harder than match wits with the Redleg Gang. "Now I've got to go home and write up everything I learned so we can finally get these rules published."

Read the full Game Report for this bloody,
exciting adventure!

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