Last Bullet Standing - A Long Range Duel in the Desert

Earlier this year I played a simplified verison of Donald Featherstone's/ Gerard Du Gre's 'Lunge, Cut and Stop Thrust dueling game. The game it self is very fast to learn and easy to play, and was further simplified by Kaptain Kobold by using D6s instead of cards. This game is originally designed as a skirmish hand to hand combat and (sword) dueling game, but I wanted to see if it could be adopted to ranged battle as well? 

The Rules

The way Kaptain Kobold simplified the original rules by resolving the battle with a single d6  instead of cards, it looks direct transferable to ranged battle.  -At least for a simple, pretty static, gunfight between a couple of combatants. I feels it automatically gives it itself as a 'hit' is a 'hit'.

Number of Combat Points (CP) can be modified by giving extra CPs for body armour, long range, being in cover, (and perhaps even extra CP for a hard cover), and extra CP can be added as 'Hero Points'. 

The Scenario 

I needed to create a plausible scenario for this game which included the elements of 2 combatants with firearms fighting each other with multiple shots in a pretty static 'duel'. A classic Old West shoot out came to my mind. Since the firefight was to be very static and last for several shots I envisioned a kind of 'Ambush' situation. Perhaps like the classic 'Western scene' where one Cowboy gets into a 'fortified' position in a rocky high ground fighting off any followers coming from the terrain below him. After giving this loosely 'scenario' a closer thought, I think most such scenes I've seen in western movies includes a number of gunfighters on both sides, not only one vs. one. -Well, except for one, but there 'the follower' in the lowlands are hit and killed immediately. -But what if the shooter hit the horse instead of the rider? Even if the shooter is very accurate, it's a long range shot...

Maybe some of you already have recognised and figured out what scene I had in mind? I've played 'scenes' from this movie before. In the intro to 'For a Few Dollars More' the opening scene shows a long, quiet shot of a vast, empty desert, punctuated only by the sound of wind. Suddenly, a distant figure appears on horseback, seemingly wandering alone. Without warning, a gunshot rings out, and the rider falls dead:

There has been many speculations and theories about who the shooter or rider is, and who does the humming. A lot could be written about this opening sequence, but Sergio Leone deliberately keeps the identities of both the shooter and the rider a mystery. Rather than identifying the individuals, Leone is making a broader statement: in this world, nameless men die without warning, and killers remain unseen. It’s not about who they are—it’s about what they represent. It immediately tells the audience that this is not a standard Hollywood Western (like they were at the time) - it's a gritty, violent, ruthless and unpredictable world where death is a constant companion.

But just what if; the shooter initially hit the horse instead of the rider? The resulting engagement would likely turn into a long-range, relatively static potshot exchange or duel:

Forces:

• The Shooter (Attacker): In the movie you can clearly hear the shooter loads a repeater rifle, so he'll be armed with a Winchester. He's in hard cover so he'll get a CP of 6.

• The Rider (Defender): We don't know much about him, but if the rider should have any chance to return fire on such a long range he'll need to use a rifle as well. He's in the open, but seeks cover behind his dead horse and will have a CP of 5.

Mission:

• For both; Take out the opponent. 

Preparing the game

You don't need much to play this game. I already had a couple of 'Cowboys', which are 54mm-ish painted Airfix knock-offs, but to play the suggested scenario I needed a dead horse to set the scene and act as a 'cover' for the 'Rider'. As I didn't have any dead horse in model, I 3D-printed one:

The Game

Time:    10 minutes with taking photos etc. An average game takes about 3 minutes.

Turns:    8. Average about 11 turns. 

Win:      Like the movie I based this scenario upon; the attacker hiding among the cliffs.

Without warning, a gunshot rings out and the horse falls dead. The rider immediately seeks cover behind it and grabs his rifle from the saddle so he can return fire and defend himself:

The rider spots his attacker in high ground in cover behind some rocks:

Just killing the horse with his first shot, the attacker fires again:

...-and misses. The rider return fire...

...-And hits.

The gunmen exchanges fire for several minutes, slowly reducing each other's health:

The firefight goes on until the rider is critically low on health...

...and the attacker finally gives the rider 'The Coup De Grace':

To keep it in the spirit of Sergio Leone it's still mysterious who actually won the duel...

- was it a 'Good Guy' or was it a 'Bad Guy'? 

Conclusion

I had a great time playing this very simple set up. To get the most out of it I put on the 'For a Few Dollars More' main title to create some background ambiance, and used a gun-sound app on my mobile when doing the shooting each turn. Prone or kneeling  miniatures would have looked better in this static game, and I'd use it if had had some.

I think this adaption of the D6-version of 'Lunge Cut and Stop Thrust' Dueling game for ranged battle will work just great for a small shootouts if you're just looking for something quick to set up and play  SOLO on the go.

If you want to add just a little more to the duel than these rules, I think my entry to the 2024 Wargame in a Matchbox Challenge might be an option, as they're still just a simple duel, but allows for some movement, covers and 'Hero points'.

Blog PostScript 

This is what ChatGPT suggested when asked to make a playset based upon these rules. I'm not sure how much saleable such a set would be as popularity and political correctness has dropped on Cowboys & Indians Native Americans, and the market is nothing like it used to be back in the 70ies. Nice playset though.