Rules
– Basic idea is a dexterity game based around throwing/tossing dice towards an enemy sheet (graph paper?) to represent shooting in a cowboy style duel.
— If graph paper is used the actual shape of the dice that land could be outlined, then filled in like Battletech armor dots?
– So a long range shot could be a single D20. A shotgun could be multiple D4s. Six-Shooter uses D6s.
– Maybe use cards for movement? Throw from a number of inches equal to distance between characters?
– Maybe have some special cards (like Dynamite) that you also throw at enemy.
– Dice result doesn’t really matter, but could be used for some kind of tie breaker? Maybe add total for damage to location? Or just number of dice in location equal damage?
– Enemy sheet has human shape on it, so you can hit arm, torso, etc. Losing an arm means throwing with offhand?
– Maybe track ammo? Changes how many dice you throw? Like Six-Shooter could throw 1 to 6D6
– Need to test how hard it is to actually hit a grid sheet with thrown dice
– Could be multiple players, and you choose how to throw based on position?
– Does wild west duel theme fit best, or maybe spaceships? Spaceships would give more options for sheet layout. Or old water based navy ships?
Concept
Extremely rough idea of a wild west duel at high noon. This is a physical dexterity game. The players have a rough target of their cowboy drawn on a standard piece of paper. Then they place opposite across the table from their opponent who has the same. Then they take turns choosing different weapons corresponding to dice types (like shotgun being a bunch of D4s), and rolling them towards the enemy sheet. The goal is to land “hits” of the dice onto the enemy sheet.
Lessons Learned
Very hard to actually hit anything on the enemy sheet. Maybe a player would get better with practice. Either way a neat concept, and physical dexterity games are a bit of a stretch for me, so it’s good to practice designing new genres. I do like this type of game because it’s somewhat balanced between players of all ages, since strategy doesn’t factor in as much as skill, judgement, and reliable consistency.
And let’s be honest this could equally be called “Battle Yard Bowling” and do pretty much the same thing.
:: Horizon Games :: 