A Pair of Six-Shooters: Tomas's Holiday Challenge

[jordan_caldwell]

I accepted the call out.
Six Decks @ Six Pubs to hail in the New Year.
I made the Resolution play to try’n best my toughest local ally (Tomas Ramirez aka @MadPip ) for the (unofficial) “title” of Bossiest Berkeley Boy of 2019!

Stay tuned for when the smoke clears, as we will not only announce the Bossiest, but post our combined 12 decks - two of each Faction - to share on dtdb.co.

Let the count down begin!

[RichCarter]

D6 to determine deck?

Or predetermined play order?

[jordan_caldwell]

Oh good question. We will probably end up doing Spinning Barrel (D6 aka Random).

Alternatively, one could conceive of a Grudge matchup structure?

Anarchists vs Entrepreneurs
Fearmongers vs First Peoples
Lawdogs vs Outlaws

Cheers.

[davido4015]

At the legendary Kubla Showdown of '13, we did Six Decks fixed order BEFORE finding out matchups.
Match 1 - take top deck.
Match 2 - 2nd deck, etc.

[jordan_caldwell]

Our New Years Revolver was a success!

We ended up going with Spinning Barrel (random) match-ups, visited 6 pubs, cafes, and noodle houses, with our 6 decks each, all in 6 hours to bring in the New Year:

…

Round One @ Eureka! (Berkeley | Eureka! Restaurants) @ 6pm
Drinks: “Sunny Daze” vs “Shallow Grave Porter”
Decks: “…And hell followed with Him…” Morgan Regulators vs 108 Righteous Bandits “Public Trust”
("...And hell followed with Him..." (Revolver 1) · DoomtownDB) vs (link)

Jon Longstride took to the townsquare (a stud) and proceeded to bully Tom’s quick succession of deeds. When Forster Cooke purchased a Shotgun, I became weary with both Irving Patterson and Vida Azul - the latter Tom was able to maneuver into a shootout and trade for Xiaodan Li (at Hustings) tricking me with Siege of the Orphanage to do so, but also trapping himself there in the process. I countered by immediately playing Nathan Shane to initiate a second shootout, revenging myself for the loss of Vida. With the board set and Tom’s influence low (And me with 2 Stone CP!), he came out to fight. Winning my first lowball that day, we both had the same tactic in mind, but as the Winner I was able to Pistol Whip the dude who he was going to use to Pistol Whip my dude, sealing his fate.

jordan 1 - madpip 0

…

Round Two @ Jupiter Brewhouse (http://www.jupiterbeer.com) @ 7pm
Drinks: Both of us guzzled their 20 ounce “Hazy Hef”
Decks: “Probe” Fort 51 vs Mogan Cattle Co. “Easy Cowboy”
(Probe (Revolver 2) · DoomtownDB) vs (link)

Tom quickly layed three deeds, and as I hadn’t drawn any gadgets, sent a plucky Quincy Washburne to occupy Blake Ranch in an effort to slow his early economic dominance. Tom smartly responded with sending Jarret Blake and Henry Moran on a Curse of Failure job, and was it not for a miracle of science - I top-decked a legal Full House to Tom’s cheatin’ Full House which I punished with It’s Not What you Know - would have made this a very difficult match indeed. Tom replaced his fallen cowboys, and there was another skirmish or two, but as the board flooded with greater Blue chips than Red chips, eventually got pinned at key locations (like 1st Baptist Church and Pharmacy) with me at the dude advantage, so I ran a Technological Exhibition on the Townsquare (which he couldn’t defend without giving up a 2-CP deed) and plopped POST-A-TRON into play sporting the defining CP.

jordan 2 - madpip 0

…

Round Three @ Victory Point Cafe (https://www.victorypointcafe.com) @ 8pm
Drinks: “Gilman Nectarine Saison” vs “Blindwood Dry Hop Cider”
Decks: “Tunnels!” The Sanatorium vs Protection Racket “Johnny Kill Good”
(Tunnels! (Revolver 3) · DoomtownDB) vs (Johnny Kill Good (Top 8, Tombstone 2019) · DoomtownDB)

Tom got an early surge of money stepping all over my unprotected deeds while I slowly built up all kinds of Hexy nastiness on my dudes. I began to harry him with Phantasm and Blood Curse to prevent him from racking up CPs using his home (I think he managed two) when Puppet hit the table and the real shenanigans began. Big Nose Kate started working for the Sanitarium and calling out her former gangmates, but was eventually put down by Marion Seville who had had enough turncoat. I think a second dude repeated that fate (the details begin to become a little hazy by this point). Tom puts me in check a couple times, but I Hex my way out of it, and started in with the booting tech of Leonardo “Leon” Cavallo and Paralysis Mark to lock down the board to a win.

jordan 3 - madpip 0

…

Round Four @ Bangkok Noodle House (http://www.bangkoknoodles.com/BKK_Noodles/Home.html) @ 9pm
Drinks: Two bottled Heinekens
Food: Ginger Fish Plate vs Beef Stew Noodles
Decks: “Wild at Heart” The Spiritual Society vs Full Moon Britherhood “Mason Adler Stone DMH”
(Wild at Heart (Revolver 4) · DoomtownDB) vs (link)

My luck began to change as I cockily leapt the indomitable Mariel Lewis into shootouts pumped up having been to Charlie’s Place. Unfortunately, Tom countered with Stakes Just Rose and La Quema - not to mention Grit manipulation in Black Owl and Rosenbaum’s Golem - to keep Mason Adler in the fight with more bullets than I had poker draw - and continued to lay down DMH after DMH, burying my dudes in Boot Hill through the Sidekick protection my deck tried to employ. I changed tack, and tried to offer up one sacrificial dude each turn to keep Mason booted at home to leverage Tom’s incredibly low Influence total using Rumors to almost sneak a victory from defeat. Tom snubbed this last ditch attempt with a well-timed Steven Wiles to double his influence, and proceeded to throw my remaining dudes into the veritable blender that was his deck’s structure.

jordan 3 - madpip 1

…

Round Five @ Triple Rock Brewery (http://triplerock.com) @ 10pm
Drinks: Hefeweizen Triple Dry vs Pomegranate Cider
Decks: “Snatch and Slide” 108 Righteous Bandits vs Law Dogs “Blessed Dogs”
(Snatch and Slide (Revolver 5) · DoomtownDB) vs (link)

Um. I can’t even remember how it happened - it was so fast. My deck is supposed to set up This is a Holdup! and then escape using the home ability but that never happened. Instead, before I knew it, all of my dudes had bounty and Hattie DeLorre hit the table, making quick work of Jim Hexter. Oh yeah! I tried to slip over to Maza Gang Hideout, which I presumed would be hard to defend, to get my combos going, but got cut down. I think we both cheated and played Ricochet. Tom kept relentless pressure on my dudes, and stomped on my deeds. The dudes I hired to replace those fallen met similar fates. Tom rolled through me for a win.

jordan 3 - madpip 2

…

Round Six @ Bobby G’s Pizzeria (https://bobbygspizzeria.com) @ 11pm
Drinks: Three Flowers IPA vs Marzen Pilsner
Food: Pepperoni Pizza
Decks: “Concealed Carry” Protection Racket vs Eagle Wardens “Tuwikaa’s Stiff Drink”
(Concealed Carry (Revolver 6) · DoomtownDB) vs (link)

Our final matchup of the night. Will Tom perform the comeback to tie for the Bossiest Berkeley Boy of 2019? This deck was Tom’s first “X factor” deck in awhile; he built it the day before. And it took me off guard. I would walk to Townsquare to interrupt his card draw with, say, Travis Moone toting a Winchester Model 1873, only for Tom to use Nathaniel Tuwikaa’s ability to call me out, nullifying my guns, refuse, only to watch him take a Good Stiff Drink to reload, or, to receive similar treatment from Richard Faulkner and …It’s Who You Know. I refused all of these callouts, and Tom got cycling cards, playing deeds, and stepping on mine. After a round or two of this, I finally broke through the “Word Blockade” with a lucky draw, and started building up my own economy. Then the Kidnappin’s started to flow into my hand, and I was able to not only revert shooutout poker back to bullets, but also to drag his dudes around the board using job posse mechanics. Nathaniel dropped and with it Tom’s hope for redemption.

jordan 4 - madpip 2

…

Overall, I had a blast, as this challenge not only forces you to make six decks, but also to play them, perhaps varying tactics from game to game, against an opponent doing the same. I would definitely be down to play me some more Revolver in the future - perhaps at an upcoming Round Up!

Also, with the release of Joker Pack, and this deep into the game’s run through, and with the database (http://dtdb.co) active, there is no longer a legitimate excuse not to be able to put together one deck of each faction to participate.

Until next year!
Cheers.

[davido4015]

Jordan - in the decade plus that I’ve known you, you’ve done some freaky’ insane Doomtown sh*t. But THAT is totally over the top - a 6 pub crawl playing Doomtown all the way. I am humbled at your creative ways to enjoy Doomtown under any and all circumstances

[Pr0digy]

I thought I had a fun New Years Eve, but hot damn… I can’t hold a candle next to this pile of awesome!

Thanks for sharing Not sure there will be time at Denver in Februrary for GenghisCon, but I’d be up for this challenge at Gencon this year if there is interest!

[davido4015]

^^^ Like Gumby, my arm can always be twisted.
Let’s try 6 players (or multiples of 6):

Six players, six outfits, six decks, six venues (although the Gencon venues get packed) - perhaps as a Wed. pre-con event?
or Sunday p.m. post-con?

[Pr0digy]

Wednesday pre-Gencon 6 shootin’ - let’s make it happen! Who’s in?

[jordan_caldwell]

How Tom and I did it -

We put our six Homes into our wallets. When we got to a new location, we “pick a card” to determine our match-up, putting the remaining Homes back in our wallets. After the game, we put that Home back in it’s tin box. Thus, no repeats, and no need to remember who/what etc.

This could work easily enough for an even number of players.

If there is an odd number, perhaps the odd players out jump into Multiplayer? (worth 50% more points if folks’re keepin’ score?)

[jordan_caldwell]

@Pr0digy

I’m callin’ you out!

Six factions, Six decks, Six hours, Revolver style, Wednesday before the Convention at Kilroys.

I’ll need your answer before July 29th, 2020…

[Pr0digy]

[Pr0digy]

(official start at Kilroys, as soon as folks can make it there?)

[Lapp]

Looking forward to a change in the Wed social!

GenCon events are submitted and schedule will be up once approved!

[jordan_caldwell]

@Pr0digy,
Hard to imagine a scenario, given current events, where this callout is liable to play out as issued.

Just be warned that it stands until such a time as circumstances dictate appropriability - unless’n yer too chicken to maintain the composure of acceptance in good faith!

[jordan_caldwell]

24 Hour Countdown to the 2020 “A Pair of Six-Shooters: Tomas’s Holiday Challenge” Showdown with special Social Distance Regulation!

Stay Tuned…

[jordan_caldwell]

Our Second New Years Revolver was a success!

Self Quarantine
Unlike last year, we Berkeley Boys were unable to enjoy Doomtown in a downtown setting for this Holiday Challenge - instead, we huddled up inside, just Tom (madpip), me (jordan), and our good friend Jameson. Too, as the new set “Welcome to Deadwood” has yet to arrive in our mail, but is available to peruse on the database, (http://www.dtdb.co), look for linked decks to speculate about which cards might be useful to improve on the decks played here.

Who will be the Bossiest Berkely Boy of 2020!?

Setup
Drinks: One shot each before each Round
Food: Homemade Beef Stroganoff (not pictured)
Format: Six Decks, Spinning Barrel (random) match-ups, no repeats.
Tie Breaker: If needed, a Seventh game with decks of choice will decide outcome.

jordan 0 - madpip 0

…

Round One
Decks: “Sharpshooter” Desolation Row w/ Jasper Stone vs Eagle Wardens w/ Hank Ketchum “Tuwikaa’s Stiff Drink”
(Sharpshooter (PO6 '20, Round One) · DoomtownDB) vs (link)

Florentino Cruz (aka “Indian Charlie”) and Willa Mae MacGowan headed into town on the Desolation Row job early, and was opposed by a recently hired Jacqueline Isham (aka “Knifefight Barbie”) who brought Henry Moran with her. Early opposition - who unfortunately fell quickly making the Outlaws rich for it. Although that would be the last time the home job was opposed, Speak-with-Buffalo (and his Fancy New Hat) would repeated use A Good Stiff Drink and his ability to cycle to the cards needed (like …It’s Who You Know) to otherwise claim the Townsquare for the majority of the game. But, unable to reign in my economy, eventually I was able to draw a Kidnappin’ and sidestep the Influence-as-Draw shenanigans to seal an early win.

jordan 1 - madpip 0

…

Round Two
Decks: “Press Conference” Eagle Wardens w/ Lacy O’Malley vs Full Moon Brotherhood w/ Jasper Stone “Mason Adler Stone DMH”
(Press Conference (PO6 '20, Round Two) · DoomtownDB) vs (link)

Noticing all my dudes had lower than 10 grit - and were thus “safe” from Mason Adler’s job so long as I didn’t engage - I was under no pressure to act rashly. Winning lowball, Alexander Sequoia ran into the Townsquare to draw a bunch of cards and quickly unboot before being chased out by Black Owl. This draw yielded me Steven Wiles, which added the necessary Poker Draw to my otherwise dead hand of Shootout actions (which were being discarded one-all at Sundown), and temporarily changed my mind about non-engagement. Seeing Willa Mae in my starting posse, I decided to take a risk. Dropping the 1st Baptist Church to lure the Fearmongers over, I played my stud and we got to shooting. My Pinned Down hit the table, he used Maurice Croker to eradicate my stud rating (how did I miss that!?). I somehow managed to show a Cheatin’ Four-of-a-Kind to Mason’s Clean Full House. He punished with This’ll Hurt in the Morning, when Unbelievably, my deck replaced the two aced cards with value-replicas, discarding Adler as the priority casualty. Tom struggled to recover but the lucky blow crippled his deck badly and he was unable to re-mount this deck’s typical offensive.

jordan 2 - madpip 0

…

Round Three
Decks: “Scattered Reports of Mysterious Disappearances” Bayou Vermillion Railroad vs House of Many Faiths “The Public Trust of Caitlin McCue”
(Scattered Reports of Mysterious Disappearances (PO6 '20, R3) · DoomtownDB) vs (link)

“Two Core Deeds?!” I though to myself when Tom revealed his starting posse “Who does that!?”. Tom proceeded to make a lot of money playing deeds while I built up movement hexes and hoarded a couple Point Blanks. A couple rows with Jim Hexter ensued, but Evan Lucas was unable to give as good as he got. I think he got discarded twice through the course of the game. My memory gets a little fuzzy here. What I do remember is a key moment when I thought I had Hexter dead-to-rights with a Fleet-Footed + Point Blank combo after transporting an unbooted Tyxarglenak (Exp 1) into fight with Papa Marius via Gateway, only for Jim to catch Tyx Unprepared, then beating him fair-and-square at straight-up poker. Them damn Point Blanks sat in my hand unused the entire game! Tom cleaned me out slow flooding his side of the street with blue chips, using his home ability and cards like Bacillus Pasteuria to keep his dudes stretched across his empire of diamonds.

jordan 2 - madpip 1

…

Round Four
Decks: “Psychoporter” Smith & Robards Trade Show vs Lawdogs (Classic) “Blessed Dogs”
(Psychoporter (PO6 '20, Round Four) · DoomtownDB) vs (link)

This was my favorite game of the night. For the first three turns or so, we built up. Tom played miracles and even got some control points out of Sentinel. I built up an in-town and out-of-town cash operation, the former the likes of Marshal Caves Callerman or Andrew Burton (with a Ranger’s Bible) sat on to block, the latter left undisturbed. I sent Prof. Eustace True on periodic missions to block his flow of ghost rock in turn. Very few skirmishes over several turns. Soon enough, the board pressure forces me to make a move, and I decide to send my offense in two waves, both armed with Flamethrowers (and plenty of money to gas up maximally). First I send Grey Man thusly armed - Caves and the gang mow him down. Then I play and arm Nathan Shane, having expunged my opponent of his best shootout actions, who flares to 5 bullets, uses his ability, spies a conspicuous lack of cheatin’ punishment, and opts into a Cheatin’ Five to Marshal’s cheatin’ Four. Did Tom know I didn’t have a cheatin’ resolution either? He called my bluff as well. But that “extra casualty” clause cost him his other blessed dude, and with that, I was out of check. Next turn I finally drew several dudes and deeds to spend my hoarded money upon to close the game.

jordan 3 - madpip 1

…

Round Five
Decks: “'Twas Grace Hath Brought” House of Many Faiths vs Jonah’s Alliance “Bounty Slucksters”
('Twas Grace Hath Brought (PO6 '20, Round Five) · DoomtownDB) vs (link)

Most of the details of this game escape me. I remember Fred Aims getting swole on Influence while Master Shou got swole with miracles. I remember forgetting to draw my sixth Randall card more than once. Using the home, different Outlaws camped the Townsquare as studs with lookouts (a second unbooted dude to actually issue the callout), which Shou was able to avoid using Amazing Grace. The middle of the game happened. Then, when the board was ripe for the taking, we chessed our dudes onto deeds to check and recheck, and suddenly Antoine Peterson hit the table, and he and Fred ran a Recruitment drive to try and rustle up either Sloane (Exp 1) or Jonah Essex (Exp 1) from the discard pile, with Tom smartly playing Someone Else’s Problem to isolate Eve Henry from participating! Unfortunately, I drew decently enough while Tom cheated, and the leadership of his gang was put on Censure, leaving me with just enough chess advantage to close the game.

jordan 4 - madpip 1

…

Round Six
Decks: “Helltank” Fort 51 w/ Darius Hellstromme vs Morgan Cattle Co. (Classic) “Easy Cowboy”
(Helltank (PO6 '20, Round Six) · DoomtownDB) vs (link)

This game gave me a little deja vu to last year’s similar matchup. Tom quickly played in- and out- deeds, and I hired an additional scientist (Dr. Erik Yaple) to occupy his Gomorra Gaming Commission, to which he responded by sending Jarret Blake and Maggie Harris on a Curse of Failure job to two-team him; only this time, I did not top deck a full house - indeed - my luck had run out. Next turn, Jarret and Maggie repeat this tactic and take out Hattie Delorre, who carried my hopes with her of being able to defend against his steady flow of shooters purchased through legitimate means of hard earned upkeep from subsidized deeds. As I was unable to develop my own economy, and got cut down each time I tried to disturb the Entrepreneurs’, each loss of a dude hurt, and Tom’s coup de gras was side-stepping my studs to clip my influential dudes with spot removal jobs, a tactic he repeated against Jake Smiley to seal his victory.

jordan 4 - madpip 2

…

Reload
And that was our 2020 in Doomtown. We’ll see what sort of hand 2021 deals…

[Doomdog]

I love the writeup and there are some cool sounding decks there. I miss playing with actual cards. While the online options are fine for getting games in you really miss out on the social side of things. Hope to see the lists you two have been cooking up

[jordan_caldwell]

And linked…

[Lapp]

You’ll have these for NYE 2021