Subject: Re: Gunslinger-What's it like?
From: patronius@aol.com55 (Patronius)

>Could someone please provide a game description and who is/was the
>manufacturer. Is it still available or out of print?
>                                  Thanks,
>                                       Bob

Avalon Hill was the publisher.  Essentially, Gunslinger is an interactive
time-and-motion study of Old West gunfights.  And in case that sounds too dry,
it's also a really fun game!

The game is played on a hex-grid mapboard with cardboard pieces representing
the gunfighters.  Each turn, players secretly arrange a set of (usually 5)
cards, which tell precisely what their gunfighters will do during the next
couple seconds:  Move, Draw, Cock, Shoot, etc.  The cards are placed face-up in
a stack, and the turn is played out in segments:  gunfighters perform the
action represented by the top card; then the action represented by the next
card; and so forth.  When an action-card is revealed, the player has some
leeway in deciding precisely what his gunfighter will do (e.g., "Move" can be
used to stand still, move to any front hex, etc.; "Aim" can be used to place
aim on any target in view; and so on).

Each gunfighter has a statistics sheet which shows life points, available ammo,
wounds, weapon types, and other information.

Combat results are quite detailed:  there might be a misfire, or the bullet
might hit various body parts with various effects.  But usually whoever gets in
the first clean shot kills or disables his opponent, and the game is over.  It
can sometimes be a very quick game; but other times it *seems* to drag on
forever--because everything is in slow-motion:  it may take five minutes to
play out a turn that represents two seconds of real time.

The game includes a number of historical and apocryphal scenarios, including
quite a few multi-player scenarios.  It also has a solitaire system which works
reasonably well (though I had to modify it quite a bit to suit myself)--and a
roleplaying option for those who really want to get into the imaginative
construct of an Old West gaming universe.

When Gunslinger first came out, I thought it was a real breakthrough in game
design.  The card play seemed to really make ultra-tactical, man-to-man combat
work realistically.

I think it's one of those games that are hard to break into.  At first, you may
think there's too much record-keeping and the game is moving way too slow.  But
once you get the hang of it, it can be a very fun, fast-paced game.

--P. C.
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