The Bartender’s Quick Reference Section

Suggested Your
Activity
Timetable Timetable
7:00–7:30 Guests arrive and read their information
sheets
7:30 The game begins
Read the Announcement: Zeke’s body
8:15 The stagecoach arrives
Give the skirt to Kate (or Lucy, if not using
Kate), and the letter to Abe (or Dan, if not
using Abe)
Ask if people want to send telegrams
9:00 The judgment must be made, by John, Abe, or
Dan
Announce that people can now be arrested, and
can die
10:00 The game ends
Read the Announcement: End of the game
Lead the debrief to see who prevailed
The Solution, and prizes

The Three Cardinal Rules

 Is it fun?
 Will it upset the evening for everyone else?
 Make it up!

Fighting
In general, when one player wants to attack another, they must be
within touching distance, must have an Item card saying “(Weapon)”
or the Brawling Ability, and must succeed in a Rock-Paper-Scissors
trial against the intended victim.
 If the attack succeeds, the victim falls unconscious: if it
fails or ties, there is no effect; if someone else heals them
within ten minutes, they immediately make a full recovery.
 If no-one heals them in ten minutes, and the injury occurred
before the judgement is delivered, then after the ten minutes
have passed, the injured character recovers fully and can
rejoin the game.
 If no-one heals them in ten minutes, and the injury occurred
after the judgement is delivered, then the injury was fatal
and after the ten minutes have passed they die. Use the With
Your Last Dying Breath card!
If the intended victim wins, they can either attack back or flee
(can’t be attacked again by this person for 10 minutes).

© 2003, 2012 Freeform Games LLP Page 1 www.freeformgames.com

Any exceptions to this will be described on the Item or Ability
cards involved. Injury from being poisoned works just the same way.
Unconscious characters: if someone else heals them (with the First
aid kit) within ten minutes, they immediately make a full recovery.
If no-one heals them in ten minutes, and the injury occurred before
the judgment, then after the ten minutes have passed, the injured
character recovers fully and can rejoin the game. If no-one heals
them in ten minutes, and the injury occurred after the judgment,
then the injury was fatal and after the ten minutes have passed they
die. Use the With Your Last Dying Breath card!

High Noon
If a player wants to challenge another to a duel, give them the High
Noon card. The two of them must undertake three Rock-Paper-Scissors
trials against each other, in public with everyone else (who wants
to) watching.

Telegrams
Anyone can ask you to send a telegram for them – give them one of
the blank forms to write their message. Some characters are expected
to ask to send telegrams (Clem, Mel, Sheriff or Deputy), and there
are reply items provided. For any improvised telegram requests, you
should make up suitable replies.

The Climax
Once the Judgment has been delivered, players have an hour left in
which to try to achieve any outstanding goals, so this may be a busy
time. During this period, you may have to arbitrate on all kinds of
disputes – and remember, in this session people can die! If anyone
is killed or fatally wounded, make sure that you announce this
loudly so that the other players are aware of what has happened.

Finishing the game

After the game has finished, this is the sequence to complete the
evening:
 Who is the killer?
 Who is secretly related to Zeke, who cut Zeke’s ropes, who is
a hired killer, who was guilty of fraud back East?
 Read the Solution
 Prizes (if you want to give out prizes, then do)

© 2003, 2012 Freeform Games LLP Page 2 www.freeformgames.com