Christmas Shoot out 2025

The annual Christmas shoot out at the Wyre Forest Club and 10 rival gangs arrive to spread some Christmas cheer. 

The mission is simple scattered across the table are 50 presents which have fallen from Santa's sleigh, players must pick them up and drop them into the festive zone in the centre of the table, due to the aura of goodwill no one is allowed to shoot in the zone.

For each present dropped into the zone players receive one point.

We used a cut down version of Dead Man's Hands to keep the game moving along, each player entered on a table edge, players were not allowed to shoot their immediate neighbours until the first two rounds had passed. Many players used the opportunity to rush to grab some early presents.

It's not long before the lead if flying.

The native warband lacking in fire power were pretty handy with the tomahawk scalping a number of characters including the all female posse - shocking behaviour....

Marching down the street took some balls - but it also attracted a whole lot of fire. The not some magnificent seven quickly became the fragile four and then the tragic three.

For many picking up a present often resulted in a hail of bullets coming your way... Santa's presents were soon littered across the table.

In the centre of the table and the safe zone players having dropped off presents used the magic circle to step out shoot and step back in - hardly the Christmas Spirit.

The final round and a mad rush for the present drop with 4 players all within one present of one another. In the end the Cinderella Cattle Company bagging a late win by one present :-)

Great fun - everybody got to take an active part, with individual firefights taking place across the table, so many mini encounters in back alleys and shop doorways.

Merry Christmas......

Christmas in the old west. - Dead Mans Hand

The pre-Christmas bash at the Wyre Forest club and a suitable festive affair as the Cinderella Cattle Company once again take to table top looking to spread some festive cheer with the barrel of six shooter.

The town of Santa's Gulch and 5 gangs are on the hunt for treasure, spread across the table are 8 barrels, the content of each have to be taken to one of the buildings on the table for a cash reward.

The challenge for each player is to find the barrel that fits the location, find the bible and drop it back at the church and the reward is $100, the razor to the barber for $25 and so on and so on.

With players coming on from all angles it was not long until the lead started flying. The Mexican's took an early lead grabbing a barrel from the hangman's platform, but the look on the face of the leader suggested it was not the prize he wanted.

Confusion in the stable as the barrels are mixed up and carrots for Midnight the best horse in town turns out to be fresh linen for the hotel.

Meanwhile my Cinderella men were making hard work of getting the bible back to the church despite the fact that they were a few feet away, barrels had to be rolled through the door and this was covered by a hotel full of angry Mexicans.

Grabbing a hostage the Cowboys moved out into the street as the gang made a run for the church door. The hotel guests took down to of the gang before one of the guys from south of the border fell out of the window as he got to his feet the Cattlemen put him out of action (the card features in Dead Man's Hands have some great touches).

With a number of gangs seeing their morale crumble it became a race for the final barrel and the cash prize. The keys to the jail and the $100 on offer. One Gang rushed for the barrel only to be blasted by a shotgun in the back.... Merry Christmas.....

In what some might say is a slight of hand the outlaws pull 3 aces giving them the initiative for the turn.

Sneaking round the corner, the Outlaws bumped into Jeff Lebar from the Cinderella ranch who was making a run for the barrel only for poor old Jeff to be gunned down. 

Just as it looked like the outlaws had won, the gang failed it's morale and decided their own skins were better than the money on the table.... Giving Howard of the Sackmen the win....

Great fun.... some lucky shots and sneaky play but nice to get the boys on the table for an outing and a great way to finish the last club of the year. 

Pony Wars - Life is cheap on the plains.

Can it really be the first outing of these rules???

The figures were painted months ago but it wasn't until a club night conversation turned to who had a copy did the nudge occur to read them and get figures on the table. A real gem from the 80's whilst the casualty calculations takes a bit of getting used to, the Indian reaction tables are fantastic and really make the game what it is.

For a change we all played on the same side the fear and dread made us all play nicely together in a single focus of rescuing the homesteaders.... We collectively felt a real need to do the right thing and get the settlers out alive.

Things started so well the column cleared the first pass and came upon the sheep farmers, who instead of coming under orders ignored the boys in boy and decided to hunker down in their farm..... bloody civilians don't they know we were trying to save them.

Elsewhere another group of settlers were set upon by a war party, the white folk grabbed their weapons in an attempt to drive off the hostiles.

Meanwhile the next homestead started to pack up their belongings as they could hear the gunfire from over the hill, a party of scouts raced to help them, just as a wagon train appeared on table, this lot would take some shifting....

The scouts galloped off to help the other settlers but they were too late and the farm was already a blaze and more Indians were appearing from the treelines. The cavalry commander orders the settlers to head for the fort, but they opted to circle the wagons instead..... arrrggghhh.

Elsewhere the main column had run into a problem, looking to push head to the far encampments they rushed to form a firing line as women and children ran for safety with the boys in blue.... The Indians just kept on coming and ammunition was now becoming a problem.

Meanwhile the settlers at the far end of the valley heard the firing and decided not to wait voting to pack up and head to the farm without an escort..... bad news a war party spots them in the open....

As the troopers held back the angry Sioux warriors another settlement is raised to the ground and the settlers killed.

All in all not a good day on patrol for the cavalry, they were forced to beat a hasty retreat to the fort with barely handful of homesteaders. The scouts were left conflicted as they watched the settlers be butchered by the natives.... if they had pressed on they would surely be killed, instead the left them to their fate to ensure others made it home.

The cavalry when kept together were strong but they could not be everywhere at once. But when the ammunition started to run out, they, were forced to strip the civilians of their ammo. That will not look good in the papers back east....

A great fun game, you can see why it stood the test of time and so many people clambered to see if back in print....

You can see why B troop did not make it back.... we must do better next time or their will no one left to protect....

The Magnificent Eight......

The Internet is awash with - What a Cowboy....

Jumping aboard the stagecoach.... The return of the “Cinderella Cattle Company”.

Having recently reclaimed some of your stolen cattle from the Federales in a vicious fight at one of their strongholds the CCC head east towards Laredo to resupply. Tired and weary they are surprised to discover that the town has hardly any men and no law to look after those that remain. The townsfolk tell of the Mexican Federales who constantly cross the border and raid Laredo for food, supplies and men to work on the newly constructed railway near Santa Maria. They are due back any day now and without any protection the townsfolk are at the Federales mercy. Laredo’s bank has been turned into the towns store where all supplies needed to survive the coming months has been hidden. The Federales will attempt to take it.

The CCC are the towns only hope. Tom Keifer agrees to help. Barking orders telling his men to make preparations to defend the town. In true Magnificent Seven fashion - the Cinderella Cattle Company deploy across the town covering the potential entry points and the approach of the Mexican wagons.

On with the game.

The Federale troops were many and the cattle company few.... but they they had a few tricks up their sleeve. Lighting a cigar and tossing a stick of dynamite from an upstairs window into the street below - BOOM. 

Larry Mazar...strikes the first blow......

Hiding out in the jail, Jody Cortez and Drew Hickey ready themselves as a number of Federals fill the street.

The wagons stripped of their escort rush into town how Tom Keifer was waiting for them and from a window in the store takes out the wagon drivers. Lucky the dog leaves his mark.

Despite taking down a number of the Mexican's the Cinderella Cattle Company were being push backwards and were running out of options by moving they had kept the Mexican army on the back foot, but they where starting to pinned in place by the superior numbers.

The clash in the Jail, full of smoke and lead - in an echo of Davey Crocket at the Alamo many years before  Jeff Lebar was gunned down in a cell unable to hold off the attackers any longer.

In the East of the town the Mexican Captain draws on the Cowboy leader and ducks back one of his men taking the bullet that was meant for him.

In the North of the town the attackers were closing in on the bank and it's stores. Stinky Pete let's fly gunning down another Mexican. But was unable to hold back the Federales.

With half their number down or out of the fight the Cinderella Cattle Company head of the hills. Little to show for their efforts in the way of Gold, but valuable experience in the on going campaign.

Roll the credits........ 

US Artillery - Pony Wars.

The last of the bare metal for the Pony Wars Project

A couple of items to even up the forces, these were from the Baccus ACV Range and with 4 pieces and limbers to a pack enough for most encounters.

With Hammerhead now only a few weeks away, a final push to get the buildings finished, but it's quite a pleasant feeling knowing that there is no spare metal knocking around.

Next up...... Constructions old and new......

Perfect Six Miniatures - Ponies

I really should be finishing off the dismounted Indians but a short detour to finish the recent purchases from Perfect Six Miniatures.

Many of the US campaigns and tactics of the Great Sioux War was focused on destroying the villages and Indian ability to wage war - This involved the destruction or capture of the Indian pony herds. So if I was to recreate certain engagements I would need a bunch of ponies - step forward Perfect Six perhaps the only provider of horses without saddles in 6mm....

I opted for basing them on circular bases, which represent them within their Indian camp, initially I had thought about having several bases to represent Indian horse holders but in the end will opt for one type or another, only having the cavalry needing horse holders.

Sioux warriors oversee a number of herds on the lookout for Crow or Cavalry raiders.

It seemed a shame to just buy ponies, so I also picked up several hay piles, these will be useful for the Battle of the Hayfield /Wagon Box Fight or an objective for the cavalry to defend as they venture at from Ft Phil Kearny.

Early memories the Ladybird book on Indians.... who would not want to refight this :-)

In breaking news Perfect Six Miniature have just released dead horses and buffalo..... How could I resist. 

Right back to the dismounted Indians........

Dispatches from the front XII

October already where has time gone.

This time out a couple of new projects to take me into the winter months and hopefully not another lockdown. The latest offering from the Command and Colours Stable is Jacobite Rising.

I have played a few of there offerings before, but some one should have told me about the sticker party, a full day of peeling and sticking. The larger stickers were fine, but the infantry could be a touch fiddly with the the yellow packing paper coming away with the a number of the infantry.

That aside the quality of the game is superb, the blocks are uniform in design and colour and the terrain pieces really well drawn. The scenario's range from Killiecrankie 1689 to Culloden in 1746. I had always fancied gaming the period but until someone invents tartan paint the thought of painting hundreds of highlanders put me off... So Jacobite Rising is the next best thing.

The only thing that knocked the shine of this excellent game was the flaming customs charge and handling fee almost half the cost of the original game..... ouch.

First game tonight, I recon it needs to get out of the box and on the table at least 8 times to justify the outlay...

Meanwhile a home grown classic is looking to make a come back - Pony Wars "B Troop ain't coming back".

One of my first ever collections was a 15mm Plains War force from Freikorp now owned by QRF Models, painting was rather basic and I never had quite enough to put on all elements of these excellent rules on to the table maybe this time around 30 years later..

You can back it here - http://ponywars.uk/

They need 1500 backers so take a look.