Showdown in the “Big Easy!”
June 4, 2005 -- Metairie/New Orleans, Louisiana

The streets of Calico Flats were quiet for only a moment before the sounds of gunfire shook the sleepy town as half a dozen gunfighters with blood in their eyes battled it out for the honor of being the “Last Man Standing.”  This year’s convention season continues its furious pace with back-to-back weekend games at Enfilade in Washington (run by Paul Mauer), Bayou Wars in Louisiana (run by Mike Murphy), and next weekend at San Jac Con in Pasadena, Texas (run by Mike Mitchell). This was the first Bayou Wars game run, and as usual, the table was packed with players wanting to sling hot lead for a cool prize!

AND THE WINNER IS… Brian Songi, (“Senor Lopez”), who earned the kudos as the “Last Man Standing.” Gutshot co-creator Mike Murphy (right) beams with pride as he handed over the coveted Gutshot stein.

“The support and interest for this game has been fantastic,” said co-founder and co-author Mike Murphy. “I’m really happy and honored to be here.” The game was set for that Saturday evening, and when it was time to play Murphy had the table laid out and ready to go. “Having the game ready to play at the stated time, is a necessity for a well run game. You don’t want to spend half of your game time, setting up and taking down, because it then cuts into your fun.” He said. Murphy had traveled to the convention with the Little Wars game store and was on hand to answer questions about Hawgleg and Gutshot, as well as autograph any of the Gutshot Core Rule Books sold.

“We’ve been getting lots of questions as to where we are going with this game, and the interest in it is hot,” Murphy said. “My partner, Mike Mitchell, has been fielding a lot of questions as to ‘when and where’ we will be playing, what conventions we are attending and such. So the interest in the genre is definitely there.”

High Visibility
The Bayou Wars convention had games going on in three separate large meeting rooms, besides the main room with the dealers. Hawgleg was lucky and happy to be in the main room, where visibility was high.

“The ‘thing’ that attracts people to a game is actually two-fold,” Murphy said. “One is the visual appeal. I call it the ‘ooh-ahh’ factor. A nice looking setup that is interesting and appealing will attract more players, and observers. The second part is seeing other people having a blast at it. Judging by the noise and fun generated by Gutshot, it always succeeds on this.”

Murphy set up a small town for the ever-popular “Last Man Standing” scenario, using a variety of buildings, including the popular Whitewash City buildings by Eric Hotz. “The Whitewash City stuff is really good. It’s inexpensive, easy to work with, and the variety is the kind I was looking for in a building setup,” Murphy said as he finished getting the small town of Calico Flats ready for action. After the buildings and terrain were in place, it was time to get down to business.

NO CATS ALLOWED Before the free for all begins. The setup of Calico Flats. Mike Murphy ran the "Last Man Standing" game on Saturday.

Getting Quick and Dirty
It didn’t take very long for the players to realize that death was quick and often bloody in this game, and the idea of getting a nice take-home prize kicked the competition up a higher notch.

Players moved their figures around the town searching for a “prime shot” to take out one of their competitors, and you could hear some moaning as best laid plains often changed.

“Oh man…he moved!” moaned Brian Songi as his figure (Senor Lopez) lost the opportunity to make a backshot he had been planning against Gordon Smith’s character, Black Bart. You could hear the other players laugh as Brian’s plans were trashed. He watched all the nice modifiers he’d stacked up by aiming vanish, all because of the luck of the draw regarding which Action Slip was pulled first.

“That’s okay. Black Bart has something for you coming real soon!” Gordon replied as his figure started stalking yet another player’s figure.

“Oh man, this is gonna get ugly real quick!” Murphy observed.

When the smoke cleared
Five turns of combat and it was down to two players: Cameron Petty playing Tommy (armed with a rifle), and Brian Songi’s garishly dressed Senor Lopez. Lopez was down in points due to damage taken from a close up rifle fight with another character, but had moved and picked up a dropped sawed off shotgun. Brian was playing the hope that “Lady Luck” would fall, grant her favor and he would get a good roll on the shotgun to blast his opponent to smithereens.

“Ewww…” came the cry from the table, as the damage was figure out. In the end it was Brian and his Senor Lopez who earned the honor to be called the “Last Man Standing”, though just barely.

Even though five others didn’t win the prize, the mood around the table was great. They all appreciated the game, and the quality of the prize.