Western theme gaming

This week it’s a re-visit to one of my favourite miniature skirmish games; Blackwater Gulch: Gangfights in the Old West.

“Howdy Partner! You sure come to the right place if you’re looking for trouble. Blackwater Gulch is full of it. We got Clancy boys down yonder, the damn Vigilance Committee running ‘round like a chicken without a head, some lousy Bandidos stealing everything they can lay their paws on, plus raids from the Bloodwolf Tribe” starts the quickstart rules.

The game, which I’ve been playing with buds for a couple of years now, has players each with a gang, in the basic game that means five miniatures, each with a card which outlines that characters specific skills and attributes.

This starter set contains a pre-generated gang to get you playing faster. Using the full Gang Recruitment rules in the main rulebook you can truly customize your gang, having more Henchmen or maybe even an extra Professional or two.

In terms of game play, Blackwater Gulch keeps things pretty straight forward and simple. A character gets shot, they are generally out of action, which is pretty much realistic of being shot in the old west. That realism can at times be frustrating, as a character goes down easy, and some of the rules streamlining takes away strategy to deal with the issue of surviving.

Gulch does employ rules which allow a ‘gang’ to gain skills over time, for a campaign setting, so that is a good thing.

But back to the pre-boxed gangs for a bit.

The game started out with a half-dozen pre-generated gangs, but have added a few more to expand play options.

“The Blackwater Lines Railroad employed many Chinese and Asian workers and laborers, but once the railroad was finished, many were simply laid off with no place to go. Some left town, others stayed but found it hard to get by on their own in a town full of people who didn’t understand their language or culture. Soon after, many Asians banded together to form the Secret Fist and now run the Oriental Quarter to protect other citizens of their kind,” detailed the box of one such gang.

“The Secret Fist is led by Mr. Foo, a massive man who operates a small pig farm just on the edge of town. His livestock is often used to hide evidence, they’ll eat anything or anyone for the right price. Chang is his right hand man, an adept gunslinger whose sixguns never miss their mark. His old friend, Dr. Hoo, runs a small herbalist shop in town, and secretly supplies opiates to the more well-to-do in town. The exotic beauty Jen Choi and her cousin Fu Tang round out the Secret Fist as henchmen, running odd jobs around town and always ready to back up their friends in a fight.”

“The Blackwater River begins just north of town at the bottom of Victory Falls, and flows many distant miles southward, ending in bayou country. Scores of riverboats carry goods and people up and down along the river, with the riverboat Tranquility being the most infamous. She is manned by a motley, but close-knit crew with a reputation bordering on piracy, carrying their fair share of legal and illegal cargo all along the river,” details the second gang box.

“The captain of the boat is Nathan Reinholdt, a former sergeant of the US Army who commands respect yet is fiercely loyal to his crew.

What makes this gang so darned compelling is that the characters are all homages to the crew of the short-lived, but much-loved sci-fi series Firefly.

For those completely out of the sci-fi loop Wikipedia explains; “Firefly is an American television series space western drama created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label.

Check out both gangs and the game at http://www.blackwatergulch.com/A