Small-unit tactics in the Old West: a handful of men, a few yards of dirt, a freight wagon and some nervous horses. New to it? Start with the Tactics Primer. Every shot is a slip of odds you can read before you pull the trigger. Cover, smoke, movement and nerve decide it as much as marksmanship.
Lessons are always played as the lawmen, against the computer at Gunhand.
Each round every man still in the fight acts once, in an order set by his quickness and luck. The active man is ringed in gold. He has two actions (one if shaken or down).
Learning the ground. Point at any empty square to see which enemy guns could hit a man standing there, and at what odds. Threat map (T) tints every square by the guns that bear on it. Advise me (V) marks the order the computer would give in your place and says why. Undo the move (U) takes back a move, so long as no dice were rolled because of it.
Ground. Walls and doorways block sight; barrels, troughs, wagons, trees and rocks give cover when they lie close to the target and between him and the shooter. Brush does not stop a bullet but hides a man in it (−10). Water cannot be crossed.
Nerve. A man who is shot at, wounded, or sees a friend fall tests his nerve when he next acts. He may be shaken (one action, −15 to hit) or, if not a hard man, panic and run for the nearest exit. A leader nearby (Virgil, Frank McLaury) steadies men.
Wounds. One wound slows a man's shooting. Two put him down — he can still fire from the ground, as Billy Clanton did. Three kill him.
The end. It ends when one side has no one left able to fight, or when Sheriff Behan and the townsmen close in at the round limit. Points count men killed, down, wounded, surrendered and fled. The verdict compares your margin with par, the margin measured over hundreds of computer-played fights in that scenario — so a lawman who merely wins the historical fight has done only what history did. Par is measured separately for each difficulty and each side. The fight saves itself as you play; Resume appears on the title card. After the fight, Watch the replay steps through every move and shot.
Keyboard play: Shift+arrows move a cursor over the map, Q jumps it to the next enemy in sight, Enter moves to or fires at the cursor square, Esc clears it. Tab reaches every button. Keys: V advise · A aim · F fan · O cover · U undo · T threat map · R reload · W weapon · P flat/stand · G rifle · H hands · L leave · Space end turn · N new game · arrows pan · + − 0 zoom · C centre · ? help.