Playtest set for
Memorial Day Weekend Mini-Con
April 22, 2003 -- Houston, Texas

The Gutshot Posse is proud to be saddling up with Midnight Comics for their Memorial Day Weekend Mini Convention. The convention will run Friday through Monday, May 23-26, 2003 at the store's location in West Houston. "This mini con is a big deal for us," said Hawgleg co-founder Mike Mitchell. "This is the first time in more than seven years that Mike Murphy and I will both be at the same game convention. I'm really looking forward to this." The Posse will be running the adventure Love & Bullets, or "Not with my daughter you don't!" This is a two-team game that Mitchell originally ran at OwlCon 2003 in February, and as such, it has a Valentine's Day theme: hot lead and fiery love. See sidebar for details. This adventure was a hit at the convention and it should be even better the second time around. "As usual, the playtesters had some great suggestions on how to improve this adventure. Cameron Orwin, particularly, provided some great suggestions on how to strike better game balance between the two gangs," Mitchell said. Playtesting has been particularly important to this adventure, he added. "In a way, this convention will be a homecoming for Love & Bullets. The basic plot was suggested at Midnight Comics during a playtest in March 2003. I was doing an in-store playtest and one of the players suggested the basic plot about two young'uns trying to elope and her daddy trying to stop them. We played it and the game was a hit. We've been fine tuning it ever since."

Adventure Summary Love & Bullets, or "Not with my daughter you don't!" Out in the West Texas Town of Rattlesnake Bend, the Colonel's only daughter has taken up with a handsome, dashing and no-account cattle rustler. The two are in love and are planning to elope. The Colonel has declared that "no daughter of mine is going to run off with a Damn Yankee Cattle Rustler," and has gathered a handful of men to stop them. Aided by the gang of Yankee Cattle Rustlers, the lovebirds aim to high-tail it out of town until the Colonel cools down. It's time to pick sides and decide if love conquers all, or if father knows best. The adventure is for 6-12 characters (more can be added if more players show up). Players usually run two characters apiece. The game will be at 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 24, 2003. Prizes will be awarded to the winning team.

One significant addition to this adventure is that it forces players to use -- and thus test -- the hand-to-hand combat rules.

"We've invested a significant amount of time into creating a set of hand-to-hand combat rules that are simple, consistent and fast," said Hawgleg co-founder Mike Murphy. "Every time we playtest these rules, we get closer to having something that will set this game apart from all the other Western miniatures rules out there."

Mitchell agrees on the importance of getting these rules "just right."

"Although it's great fun to play the game at a convention, every time we take it out and let gamers shake it down and test it out, we learn something that helps us make a better game. And I'm grateful to John, Joe and all the great guys at Midnight Comics for inviting us to their convention and giving us this great venue to spread the word about Gutshot."

Prizes will be awarded to the winning team.

Visit Midnight Comics Website for a full list of events and store contact information.