Get Gutshot at OwlCon 2012
Go gaming and show those Mayans you ain't scared!
Feb. 2, 2012

Grab yer dice and pack yer saddle bags with minis, pardners, it’s time to hit the trail again to Houston’s premier gaming convention, OwlCon. Once again Gutshot co-creator Mike Mitchell will be on hand to run folks through their paces as the nasty undead make another attempt at munching some cowboy brains.
That’s right, folks, Mitchell will be running another test of Hawgleg Publishing’s upcoming game, Gutshot: Night of the Living Deadwood.

“This is probably one of the last OwlCon playtests,” Mitchell said. “We’re very close to having the major kinks worked out in this system, and we’ve begun the process of pulling everything into a final beta document that we can shake down with some playtesting this summer.”

After that playtesting is finalized, the book will move into production.

What a Twist!

This particular game is a variation on the convention classic, “Last Man Standing,” where a small town erupts into a free-for-all gunfight with everyone out to kill or be killed. In this game, though, it will be “The Last THING Standing,” as about half the players will start the game as zombies.

“This is a wild game idea,” said partner Paul “Mad Dog” Mauer. “Not only is it shoot or be shot, but it’s eat or be eaten.”

Mitchell said he was very excited about this adventure because it would let Hawgleg shakedown a specific area of combat that they have yet to explore.

“Up until now, all our combat tests have had zombies vs. humans. This will be the first time we’ve set up a scenario that will feature zombies vs. zombies,” Mitchell said. “I’m very excited to see how that will work out.”
Mitchell will run Gutshot at 8 p.m., Friday night, and a prize will be awarded to the last THING standing!

It’s all in the Cards

Also returning this year is another playtest of Hawgleg’s forthcoming card game, Saloon Showdown.
"Saloon Showdown is a light-hearted card game set in a Wild West saloon on a Friday night. It's got all the characters you'd expect to be there: outlaws, cowboys, drifters, miners, deputies and gunfighters. There's also some gents there who want to stifle the fun: the sheriff, the marshal, the judge and even the preacher are going to show up to help keep a lid on things. All in all, it's the most fun you can have at a saloon without getting tossed through a plate glass window... or waking up with a hangover," Mitchell said.

Saloon Showdown is in the final stages of development, and as such will not be for sale at the convention.

"We're still looking into the details on getting this printed," Paul said. "This isn't just your standard 52-card deck with cowboys pasted on them. This is something really cool and different."

Mitchell will start running games at 3 p.m. on Saturday. The game only takes about 45-60 minutes to play, so Mitchell expects to run three or four games during the four-hour time block scheduled during the convention. So, even if the official sign-in sheet says the game is full, come by and see if we there is an open seat. There will be a sign-in sheet and a sign posting the start times of the individual games.

OwlCon 2012 Feb. 3-5, 2012 -- Houston, Texas @ Rice University www.OwlCon.com 8 p.m., Fri. Feb. 3 GUTSHOT; Night of the Living Deadwood: Last THING Standing! Boot Hill has gotten overcrowded, so the outlaws buried there have crawled out of their graves as gun-slinging zombies! Will you be a brave human defending your town, or a rotting corpse hungry for flesh... and vengeance? A cool prize goes to the sole survivor of this bloody free-for-all. Join Gutshot co-creator Mike Mitchell at his 13th OwlCon appearance and help playtest Hawgleg Publishing's upcoming game, "Night of the Living Deadwood." Visit www.hawgleg.com for more info.  3 p.m., Sat. Feb. 4 SALOON SHOWDOWN (Prototype) -- It's Friday night in Miss Kitka's Saloon, and all the usual folks are coming in for drinks, cards, and maybe to talk with a purty lady. Can y'all keep the customers happy and earn the most money to win? Join Origins Award Winning game creator Mike Mitchell for a fun preview of his upcoming card game. We'll probably have enough time to play 2 or 3 games during this time, so feel free to mosey on by any time to see if we have an open seat. Visit www.hawgleg.com for more info.