GUNFIGHTER'S BALL WILD WEST MAT

The trend in tabletop gaming is the use of finely-detailed printed mats instead of felt or flocked cloth. They're neater, they lay nice and flat, and if designed properly, the detail on the surface fools the eye into seeing texture. This characteristics of game mats has driven their popularity. And then there is the durability; no more problem with flock rubbing off your groundcloth!

The neoprene-backed printed cloth mats are the most popular of all. This is usually referred-to as "mousepad" material, since it is essentially the material used to make the old-fashioned mousepads we know so well. Using typical gamer ingenuity, somebody discovered several years ago how well this material looks when printed, and how nicely it flattens out on the table and voila, paradigm shift.

Here's a closeup (about 200% magnification--these tufts of yucca will print up about 1/4" wide) of the kind of results you can get with a printed game mat. The artist we're working with made this render so we could evaluate textures, and we were immediately blown-away.

Here's a mockup of the final mat in 3'x4' size. The artist is now working on applying that detail to the entire surface in a similar pattern to the one pictured. Each end has vegetation, and the sides are more clear in case you want to put several mats side-by-side to make a big town.

I'm really excited about this. If you've ever seen our game demo board at a show, you've seen the improvement that a nicely detailed surface can make over a plain tan groundcloth. This game mat gives you the advantages of a textured board with the convenience of rolling it up and putting in a tube for transport. And the material rolls out flat with enough weight to stay put.

If the campaign hits 28k, everybody who is eligible for stretch goals will receive on of these. If they are unlocked, they will also be available in the add-ons in case you want additional mats, or if you pledged below the level that receives stretch goals.

And don't forget, we have an interim stretch goal at 23.5k, which is a mounted version of Honest John the Sheriff!

Any questions can be directed to us through Kickstarter, or via email at knuckledusterharris@gmail.com

Pistoleer Cards

If you have perused the Greenhorn Download, you will have a good idea how the basics of Gunfighter's Ball work. To make the game more interesting, we incorporate special abilities using Pistoleer Cards.

This was something Desperado never had, and it was entirely up to players to role-play any quirks they had, or entirely up to Game Masters to design them into characters. This deck provides an easy and systematic way to spice up characters to take the game beyond a simple "move and shoot" to something with more depth.

There are 52 cards, comprising 52 skills, quirks, advantages, disadvantages, and special abilities. Each card has a detailed description of the characteristic with effects on play described in enough detail that a rulebook is not necessary.

Examples include:

River Rat . . . handy with a throwing knife.
Lunger . . . sickly, starting the game with fewer wound chips.
Nervy . . . cowardly and ap to run when the shots start flying.
Ambidextrous . . . no penalty for using non-dominant hand.
Sidekick . . . gives hero an advantage when nearby.
Rube . . . ill-equipped for combat.

The entire list:

Greased Lightning

Hesitant

Deliberate Shooter

Wild

Drunk

Marksman

Pistoleer

Cavalryman

Horseman

Guerilla Horseman

Nervy

City Slicker

Sneaky

Oafish

Bruiser

Featherweight

Fleet Of Foot

Pegleg

Trick Rider

Clumsy Shooter

Climber

Four-Eyes

Tough

Lunger

Ambidextrous

Thumb Buster

River Rat

Old Wound Acting Up

Mute

Miner

Lady

Hero

Sidekick

Spooks Horses

Old Nag

Mule

Cowboy

Hired Gun

Rube

Eagle Eye

Glutton For Punishment

Sissy

Left-Handed

Lucky Son Of A Gun

Cursed

Proud

Gentleman

Mysogynist

Raging Drunk

Code Against Killing

Hubris

Methodical

The number in the red circle is a relative weight so that a point system can be use to build characters. For instance, if a game allows for characters to come out at a net level of 1, then this ability would need to be balanced out by a disadvantage with a weight of -1.

We cut some of them and start another deck which will be called the "Dirty Tricks" deck. This will essentially be a weapons and special equipment deck with some special skills such as "menacing glare."

The mockups above are something I put together to illustrate how they might look. I incorporated images from a real antique card deck in order to give it a little period flavor. I'm still on the fence about some of the graphic design, but the content is finished.

Visit the Kickstarter and see how it's going!

Adios!
Forrest

Rattlesnake Jack Unlocked! Next Up...

Rattlesnake Jack has been unlocked!
That didn't take long at all--thanks to everyone who participated.

Now we can move on to this critter--The Chaco Kid.
He's ambidextrous, quick as greased lightning, and awake: awake and very puzzled . . .

Considering the track record of this campaign, I'm sure we'll get there in no time.
Can't wait to show you what's next!

Adios,
Forrest

SIZE COMPARISON II: GUNFIGHTER'S BALL, BLACK SCORPION AND DEAD MAN'S HAND

Here's my second size comparison. You can see, Black Scorpion is just a tad larger. The male characters might be larger--I don't have any for comparison. Also note that the thickness of the Dead Man's Hand's integral base makes it artificially taller, when in fact it's just about the same as Gunfighter's Ball. I always planned to make my figures compatible with DMH--they are excellent figures and I will enjoy painting and using them in my collection alongside my sculpts.

The second photo is a style comparison between Black Scorpion and Gunfighter's Ball. The Dame With No Name (Gunfighter's Ball) is a bit of an Amazon, so she matches Black Scorpion very well.

I hope those photos help in the decision-making process. My competitors make a lot of very nice figures. We live in a truly magical time for gamers--all this stuff is available. My philosophy is to make my figures blend so customers can take advantage of it all.

SIZE COMPARISONS

Just had a question from a backer regarding the size of Gunfighter's Ball figures compared to Artizan. Here's a quick snapshot I took. I had some Artizan figures in my collection that I pried off their washers and re-mounted on our slotta bases. I do not have a Dead Man's Hand figure handy, but I created my figures with the measurements of DMH so I could match scale. If you have a photo of a matchup of the two, please send it my way.

LAUNCHED!

We launched the Kickstarter Friday night as promised. We're closing in on our funding goal very quickly. Check it out HERE.
The exclusive figure for the campaign is The Drifter--when the campaign is over, he's gone forever.

WE OPEN THE BALL AT 6PM FRIDAY!

The Gunfighter's Ball Kickstarter kicks off at 6pm US Central Time on Friday. We're staying pretty tight-lipped about the details, but here are some teasers:

*We will be raising money for the Judge's Guide rulebook, which will be designed by respected veteran designer Dave Taylor. The book will be full color with lots of photos!

*For those of you who bought our old Desperado boxed set, take heart that a full set of character cards (which will be for all intents and purposes the same format) for Knuckleduster's GB minis will be in the Kickstarter.

*Almost all of the bling you've seen posted on Facebook in the past few months will make an appearance in some way, shape, or form. Some of the most frustratingly unreleased items of the past year will finally be released ;)

*Since this is our first Kickstarter, we're keeping it modest in scope--no injection-molded plastic items, for instance. Fulfillment time will not be horrendously long since we have a lot of production experience, manpower, and sources in the industry.

*There will be stretch goals. Boy howdy will there be stretch goals! In fact, you physical fitness types may want to start stretching now in preparation.

That's all for now. I'm off to the salt mines to do a ton of graphic arts work to tart up the Kickstarter page. See you on Friday at 6pm--mark your calendar and tell everyone you game with!

I'll leave you with a mystery; one that will be solved in a few days more.

PRE-KICKSTARTER SAMPLER FROM KNUCKLEDUSTER

Knuckleduster's November Kickstarter preparations are galloping along. We released free PDFs of the Gunfighter's Ball Greenhorn Edition so you could get an idea how the game works. Now we've put together a discounted sample set of figures, buildings, dice, and poker chips to whet your appetite for November's big party. The sampler items are all available for immediate shipment, so you examine the way everything is produced and put together before committing to the Kickstarter.

The $45 sampler includes:

1. Three Gunfighter's Ball figures (with slotta bases), chosen at random from among the fighters in the collection.

2. One false-front commercial building, also chosen at random (does not include the Smithy or small out-buildings; only the buildings with false front and boardwalk that show you the full capabilities of our multi-media design).

3. A set of 4D6s, 2D10s (one ivory and one black), and a cubic D3 (1-1-2-2-3-3).

4. Clay poker chips used to track wounds in the game. Each character gets six white and three red chips; 3 full sets are included in the sampler.


If you are already a customer with Knuckleduster figures and don't want randomly-selected fighters, please let me know and we'll substitute bystander characters for them.

If you already have Gunfighter's Ball buildings and figures, you can order a dice set, now available in the shopping cart. These are good quality Koplow dice, and include the D3, which saves you the trouble of modifying a D6.

We're always happy to answer any questions you have about the game or the miniatures in the comments below or on our facebook page.

THE GREENHORN EDITION, FREE DOWNLOADS AVAILABLE NOW!

Download the Greenhorn Edition for Free!

In anticipation of our November Kickstarter, Knuckleduster has released a simplified version of the game called "Gunfighter's Ball, Greenhorn Edition." The release includes:

1. Rules PDF with a version of Gunfighter's Ball for beginners. Advanced rules from the upcoming Judge's Guide are not included, but the Greenhorn Edition is a complete, self-contained game.

2. Quick-Play sheet PDF with the basic charts needed for play.

3. Three starter scenarios that range from a dirt-simple grudge match to a big gunfight spanning an entire town.

4. Generic character cards, in printable form and in jpeg format for those of you who want to modify the cards to include photos of miniatures.

A set of the dice needed for play has also been released. This set features 4D6s, 2D10s (one ivory and one black), and a cubic D3 (1-1-2-2-3-3).

DOWNLOAD HERE

You'll get a zip file with the rules, quick-play sheet, scenarios, and character cards. Unzip them and start playing!

NEXT POST; THE GUNFIGHTER'S BALL PRE-KICKSTARTER SAMPLER KIT!

Gunfighter's Ball Buildings

The upcoming Gunfighter's Ball Kickstarter will feature an expansion of our terrain kits. If you're not familiar with our new MDF building line, let's do some quick catch-up.

WHY NEW WILD WEST BUILDINGS?

We wanted terrain that matched the size and heft of figures made by us, Dead Man's Hand, Wyrd (Malifaux) and other figure makers of recent years. We also wanted to inject more detail into the designs without adding a lot of assembly hassle.

The solution? Mixed media buildings, part wood, part metal, and in future configurations on the drawing board, part resin.

WHAT MAKES GUNFIGHTER'S BALL BUILDINGS UNIQUE?

The Gunfighter's Ball building kits feature:

--The steady hand of Lee Beheler, the same designer who created the old TCL buildings that many of you are familiar with. He's excited to have a chance to update his designs and apply lessons learned over the years.

-- Roofs that come off

-- Doorways that are realistically-scaled for today's game minis, especially when they're on the kind of thick bases made today.

--Doors and windows that are fully modeled in 3D and cast in metal. They have interior and exterior detail. Sashes really do appear as separate shapes, and there is woodwork around the inside of every opening.

--Extreme ease of assembly. The basic carcass of the buildings go together without a "zipper" seam along the edges, and the hardware pops into place and can be held with a dab of superglue.

--Interiors that have fully engraved floorboards, and all the planking dressed up with butt joints and nail holes. Also, the cedar shake roof pattern is much more to-scale than buildings we've made in the past.

--A 1/4" "foundation" so the floor and boardwalk are not resting directly on the ground.

FREE INSTRUCTION MANUALS FOR YOUR PERUSAL FOUND HERE.

DO I HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE KICKSTARTER TO GET MY HANDS ON GUNFIGHTER'S BALL BUILDINGS?

Not hardly, pilgrim. Here are the buildings already in production and in the shopping cart, ready for purchase:

WHAT BUILDINGS ARE GOING 

TO BE IN THE KICKSTARTER?

In the Kickstarter, we'll be launching a bank (MDF with a fancy resin front), an old adobe jail (like the one in Rio Bravo), a barber shop/bath house (complete with barber pole, ornate barber chair, bathtub, and other furnishings), a two-story boarding house/hotel , and large saloon with room for Cancan Dancers and multiple tables of poker and faro games (the Alamo Saloon). 

These buildings will take it up to the next level in terms of accessories and detail. Remember my old metal-cast bank interior set? It will be completely re-worked with a resin teller's cage and digitally-modeled desks, clerks, and a vault door. The resin bar is modeled and awaiting the funding to go into resin production, and a line of furniture for the boarding house is pretty far along. Prototypes for these and more Kickstarter items we'll save for a future post.

Adios,
Knuckleduster

Coming Soon, the Gunfighter's Ball Kickstarter!

COMING, NOVEMBER, 2017...

Finally, the Kickstarter that will bring together all the pieces of the Gunfighter's Ball system into one Wild West game. This will include:

• The core rules, also known as the Judge's Guide, which covers basic rules, advanced rules, character-building, faction-building, and scenarios.
• New, unreleased metal and resin models.
• An expansion of the Gunfighter's Ball building kits, including a large saloon with accessories, an even larger livery stable, and a jail house, all with the signature multi-media construction style that utilizes metal cast detail parts in conjunction with traditional MDF framing.
• A full color card deck that includes photos and stats for every model Knuckleduster produces and  expansion card packs for the newest figures.

Stay tuned for updates!

KNUCKLEDUSTER PRESENTS GUNFIGHTER'S BALL!

GUNFIGHTER'S BALL (TM)  is Knuckleduster's premier line of Wild West miniatures, superbly sculpted, mastered with digital technology and cast in razor-crisp tin pewter. 

The range includes:

Over 50 fighters

More than 30 bystanders

MDF Buildings and Terrain

Mounted Characters

Animals

To top it off, Knuckleduster is in the final stages of editing the Gunfighter's Ball (TM) skirmish game system, which will be published in the fall of 2017.

Explore the Knuckleduster West in our online store, and stay tuned for more information on the Gunfighter's Ball (TM) game, coming soon!