Kitchen Table Mods Vol. #1: Wild West

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miinor_threat

15 August 2010

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Kitchen Table Mods Vol. #1: Wild West

Full disclosure: I despise multi-player.

I think free for all multi-player is a waste of time because it is too random, takes way too long, and is 100% politics. I almost never play free-for-all of any kind.

THAT said, Wild West is a multi-player variant that was introduced to our local play group by my friend Ish and it is actually really fun and worth playing. Trust me, if it is free-for-all multi-player and I don't hate it, it is really really good.

THE OFFICIAL UNOFFICIAL RULES

We have been mixing this format in on Wednesday nights for a few weeks, and KrazyCaley and I thought it was time to codify the rules and make it official. You may have seen some version of this format before, it was new to us but has been around for a while. Here it is in a nutshell:

Before drawing the opening hand, each player is randomly dealt a card to assign him his role as a player (any kind of card can be used, see below.) The roles represent the player's victory condition. The player must not reveal his role card to the other players unless the player is the sheriff, in which case he must reveal his role card. Players may still try to convince other players that their role card is one thing or another; they just may not reveal it. The roles are as follows:

Sheriff (1x)

There is only one Sheriff. Unlike the other players, who start with 20 life, the Sheriff starts with 40 life and plays first, and is allowed to draw on the first turn. Before drawing the opening hand, after the role cards are dealt, the Sheriff, again unlike the other players, must reveal his role card so that the rest of the table knows that he is the Sheriff. Play then proceeds clockwise around the table. The sheriff wins the game when all players besides himself and the Deputy lose the game. Note that the Sheriff may still win the game even if the Deputy loses the game, in which case the Deputy is also considered the winner despite having been eliminated.

Deputy (1x)

There is only one Deputy. The Deputy wins the game when all players besides himself and the Sheriff lose the game. Note that the Deputy may still win the game even if the Sheriff loses the game. Also note that the Deputy, like all other players besides the Sheriff, must not reveal his role card.

Mercenaries (2x)

There are always exactly two mercenaries. The mercenaries win the game as a team when the Sheriff and Deputy lose the game. Again, both mercenaries need not be alive for them to win, they need only eliminate the Sheriff and Deputy while one of them is still alive.

Outlaws (any number)

There may be any number of outlaws. The number of outlaws should be equal to the total number of players minus four, representing the Sheriff, Deputy, and the 2 Mercenaries. An outlaw wins the game when all other players, including the other outlaws, lose the game.

Other than the roles described above, rules are identical to a free-for-all. There are no range or attack limitations, and every player is considered the opponent of every other player, even if they are actually on the same team.

WILD WEST CARDS

Because I am me, I mocked up some pretty sweet role cards to be dealt out randomly at the start of the game. If you do not want to take the time to print and proxy these, a good substitute is Sheriff (Plains), Deputy (Forest), Mercenaries (Swamp), and Outlaws (Mountain). We used that method when we started playing.

	##The Sheriff The Sheriff wins by knowing who to trust, which can be really hard when everyone on the table is trying to convince you they are the Deputy while setting up to wreck you. Do your best to figure out who your ally is. My first time as sheriff my first KO was Ashkaan, my deputy, who was the only person at the table NOT trying to convince me that they were the deputy (thanks buddy).
	##The Deputy The deputy is all about laying blocks for the sheriff and protecting him. You are the only one at the table who knows who the sheriff and deputy are, use that knowledge. It will be difficult for you to convince the sheriff you are for real, but lay down genuine cover long enough and they will know, the other guys can't pretend forever.
	##Mercenaries A good merc play always is some variation of blitz/ambush. If you go for the Sheriff too early or too hard, you make an enemy of everyone else at the table, all the Outlaws lose if you off the sheriff, so they will team up with the lawmen to shut you down.
	It can be extremely hard to figure out who your merc partner is, so just try to pretend to be a deputy and set up for a big knockout punch that hopefully your team mate will be able to jump in on.
	##The Outlaws It is by far the hardest to win as an outlaw. Last man standing is a tall order. You have to be the ultimate opportunist, play the other factions and other Outlaws off of each other. Break up combos, sew confusion and doubt about who is who, and try to set up a dominant board.
	Timing is everything, so is acting. Lay low, act like a deputy, and chip away at the competition. If you can knock off a few other Outlaws or a Merc or 2, your position strengthens. Just remember, if you knock them off too early, they can't weaken the Sheriff and Deputy enough for you to deliver the death blow!
	Sometimes it will seem hopeless. Fall back on table talk and try to set up mutually assured destruction for whoever comes after you. Kill those no good lawmen!

Saddle Up!

Grab your six-shooter and give this format a try, let me know what you think!