SPORTING HOUSE RULES
A COLLECTION OF
OPTIONAL AND ADVANCED
RULES FOR YOUR TABLETOP
GUNFIGHTS
By forrest harris
INTRODUCTION
The pages that follow contain house rules and other ideas to expand and
enhance Gunfighter’s Ball ™, the wild west gunfighting game by Knuck-
leduster Miniatures. These will one day be collected into a book, but the
blog format provides the ability to publish each rule sheet as they are de-
veloped and playtested. After all, if the serial format was good enough for
Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, and H.G. Wells, it’s good enough for us!
Please try these rules in your Gunfighter’s Ball games and comment in the
space provided below each article.
Gunfighter’s Ball ™ is a trademark of Knuckleduster
Miniatures. Gunfighter’s Ball rules copyright © 2018
Knuckleduster Miniatures. Sporting House Rules © 2022,
Knuckleduster Miniatures. All rights reserved.
OUSE RULE NO. 1
JUMP START FOR SLOWPOKES
On the first round, each character gets one card in the deck re-
gardless of their action number. At the end of the first round, the
full number of action cards for each character are shuffled into the draw deck.
For games with new players (at a convention, for instance) and scenarios that
might be ruined by the dominance of a strong character in the early stages, this
rule allows everyone to get in one turn before being killed (if they are lucky).
For scenarios where a heroic character needs to have the chance to overcome
attackers in the first turn, use the standard rule, giving all characters their action
cards at full count from the very beginning.
Copyright © 2022, Knuckleduster Miniatures. All rights reserved.
OUSE RULE NO. 2
RUNAROUND REMEMDY
If someone starts their turn in your view and remains in your
view until passing your 180-degree arc of vision, you can automati-
cally and immediately turn to adjust your facing (either directly toward them or
some other angle that allows you to see them while keeping other threats in
view). Because your opponent remains in your view, you can quickdraw against
them if they declare a shot (but only if you are eligible).
Example: Groin Shot McGhee is facing off against Dan McGann the Three-
Legged Man. On Dan's turn, he uses his exceptional running speed to blaze
past McGhee and attempt to shoot him in the back. McGhee is allowed to turn
to face old Dan before the triple-legged outlaw can declare his shot. If, on the
other hand, Dan had crept up from behind MgGhee, or started anywhere else
behind his 180-degree facing (roughly an imaginary line drawn through both
ears and to the horizon), the McGhee could not have turned.
Copyright © 2022, Knuckleduster Miniatures. All rights reserved.
OUSE RULE NO. 3
WESTERN TIFFIN
Reshuffle the wound deck only after a fatal head wound. Other-
wise, discard wound cards after use. Each wound card drawn
makes it more and more likely that the dreaded head wound card will be next!
Copyright © 2022, Knuckleduster Miniatures. All rights reserved.
OUSE RULE NO. 4
GO AHEAD AND PULL THEM PISTOLS!
Wyatt Earp famously said “Take your time, but do it quickly.” You
may wish to take your time during a quickdraw in order to improve
the accuracy of your shot.
During a quickdraw contest, voluntarily take a 1 point penalty to gain a +5 point
secondary modifier on your quickdraw shot regardless of whether you win or
lose the contest. You may penalize yourself a full 6 points for a 30 point bonus to
shooting, however your opponent is guaranteed to fire first!
There is an aspect of gambling to using this rule, of course. If your opponent is
a bad shot or the modifiers are lined up against him, the risk might be accepta-
ble. If your opponent has you in the crosshairs with a lot of advantages, this
move could be suicidal!
Copyright © 2022, Knuckleduster Miniatures. All rights reserved.
OUSE RULE NO. 7
EYES IN THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD
When a Sometimes it is unrealistic to imagine a character not no-
ticing someone coming up from behind. Allow characters to hear
an opponent who is not in their direct line of sight by passing a skill test (theses
distances correspond to pistol ranges):
Easy (75%): 1 inch
Average (50%): 9 inches
Hard (25%): 15 inches
If the defender succeeds, he or she may immediately turn to face their cow-
ardly, dry-gulchin opponent and make a quickdraw challenge.
Example: On Blue Duck’s turn he enters the rear of the saloon while his
enemy, Bass Reeves is watching out the front window for another charac-
ter. Blue Duck declares a shot from 6 inches away, intending to put a bul-
let in Bass’ back. Bass rolls percentile dice to see if he can turn to face the
outlaw and make a quickdraw challenge. He succeeds by rolling 47%, just
under the target number of 50%.
Copyright © 2022, Knuckleduster Miniatures. All rights reserved.
OUSE RULE NO. 8
BUFFALOED
When If you attack a character with a pistol as a melee weapon,
and you have th edrop on them (they neither hear nor see you com-
ing, or are unable to take a turn dur to having a quick draw debet), inflict
1D3+1 damage and render the victim both prone and stunned (recall that
“stunned” means they forfeit the first action of their next card).
Copyright © 2022, Knuckleduster Miniatures. All rights reserved.
OUSE RULE NO. 9
ACCIDENTAL DISCHARGE
When a roll of 0 (10 inches) is made during movement, roll for an
accidental weapon discharge. This is a "hard" test requiring a roll
of 25 or less on percentile dice in order to occur.
If an accidental discharge occurs, roll 1D3 to see what happens:
1-Bullet is fired harmlessly into the ground; cross off 1 ammo.
2-Bullet is fired into your foot; take 1 chip of damage and you are reduced to
half movement for the remainder of the game. Fall prone (you may get back up
on your next action).
3-Roll or draw from the Black Deck for a random wound result.
The discharge occurs from whichever weapon is drawn, and if that weapon
has a damage modifier it is applied to the wound result. If no weapon is drawn,
the largest concealed or holstered weapon is designated as the weapon discharg-
ing.
Copyright © 2022, Knuckleduster Miniatures. All rights reserved.
OUSE RULE NO. 10
BARKING AT A KNOT
Sometimes a character wants to do something the judge considers
impossible. Instead of forbitting it, allow it with a 10% chance of
success.
With the addition of this rule, there are four levels of skill test:
Easy: 75%
Averate: 50%
Hard: 25%
Legendary: 10%
Copyright © 2022, Knuckleduster Miniatures. All rights reserved.
