Pulp Alley: Shootout at the Docks

The Rebel players in Joel's Junta & Pulp Alley mashup - Keith, Bruce, and Brian

We hadn't played Pulp Alley in what seemed like forever. So, when Joel volunteered to run it last Sunday, I knew we would need a refresher. I read through the "Quick Start" guide to get the basics down in my head, again. I passed along these to the other players -- especially the two brand new ones -- and felt like I was semi-ready to play. The Pulp Alley rules use some very clever mechanisms that go beyond the basic move/shoot/melee types of rules.

Brian's Rebel Peasants came charging in from the jungle countryside to enter the fray

Years ago, I had run our group's initial campaign following the adventures of Dakota Smith in SE Asia in the interwar years. It was a lot of fun, so I was happy to get a chance to play when Joel picked it up, albeit with different characters. Joel's Pulp Alley world was a very clever combination of the old Junta boardgame and Pulp Alley. Each player was one of the factions from the boardgame - I was the University Faculty, Allen was the Black Marketeers, Keith was the 3rd Brigade, and so on. He had also given us our alliances, Rebel vs. Loyalist.

Allen's Black Marketeers leader (in black, of course!) and Sidekick race to engage the 3rd Brigade

Unfortunately, with five players and Joel GMing that meant only Allen and I were present from the Loyalist faction. Add in the fact that both Keith's faction, and the Peasants that Brian would be playing had a "league ability" that gave them extra troops, we knew we'd be outnumbered. The rebel faction that Bruce would be playing (the Church), was a "normal" league for our games, consisting of a Leader, Sidekick, and Ally. I didn't realize till the end we were outnumbered 18 to 6, but hey, who said life in a Banana Republic was fair?

One of the features of Pulp Alley is the use of "plot points" (one major, four minor in our game), which act as the victory points for theses games. Most of the minor plot points were spread throughout the warehouses in the docks district. As a real twist, Joel made the Leader of the Church faction the major plot point. He also placed him in our midst, far away from his own league and those of his Peasant and 3rd Brigade allies.

The Church and 3rd Brigade tack refuge among the shipping containers as they close in on an objective

Allen and I planned to jump on his quickly, hopefully knock him out, and meanwhile send the rest of our forces to spread out and snag the minor plot points. Fortunately for Bruce, he won the Initiative and his leader (who had a special ability that made him faster) quickly skedaddled and disappeared among the shipping containers. I took that as a change of plans, and spread out to seize three of the four minor objectives (each worth one VP, while the major was 3 VP). If I could get those, and Allen snagged the remaining one on his side of the board, we'd eke out a victory.

That's about when the shooting started. My Sidekick, Professor Emilia, is a handy shot with a gun - as is my leader, Professor Duarte. Our graduate assistant doesn't believe in guns, so has no shooting ability. I gave him the device our "Bastion of Science" league ability grants us that allows him to automatically solve a plot point when adjacent. Within two turns, both the grad assistant and Duarte had seized minor plot points. Emilia decided to be overwatch instead, and gunned down the first unlucky rebel of 3rd Brigade who came within her line of sight.

Allen's Black Marketeers & Keith's Rebel 3rd Brigade mixed it up in the center of the table with grenades, guns, and fists

Allen sent his Ally to the corner of the table furthest from our enemies to snag the third plot point. His leader and sidekick dashed towards the center and began to mix it up with Keith's 3rd Brigade, and an occasional minion of the Church who popped up. It was a back and forth battle that had the effect of stymieing each from accomplishing anything else. Meanwhile, Bruce concentrated most of his league into picking up the fourth minor plot point. There was nothing I could do that didn't seem suicidal, so I began to move back towards the waterfront, taking cover behind crates, containers, and a fountain along the way.

My University Faculty moved towards the water with our plot points, taking cover and firing on the rebels all the while

A surprising development occurred when the entire Peasant force made a beeline for the corner where Allen's Ally had thought to easily snatch up the plot point there. One feature of Pulp Alley that is unique, and takes some getting used to using effectively, are the Fortune Cards. These allow you to spring traps on other players, cause them to move less, be out of ammo, etc. With three players on the Rebel side, and only two on the Loyalist side, we were at a disadvantage in these. Still, things looked pretty much in hand until Brian's peasant gunned down Allen's ally, giving them a clear road to the the fourth plot point. We got a bonus when Bruce's minor plot point he'd snatched up turned out to be a Red Herring (0 VP).

Brian's Rebel Peasants begin to make a run for the crucial final plot point

I saw the danger developing, and all three of my characters began rushing for that side of the board. On the final turn, both my Duarte and Emilia got in good shots at Brian's sidekick, who was looking to give them the clear win by securing the third minor plot point. He was wounded, and when he activated, we played the nastiest trap we could on him. Brian needed to roll three six-sided dice, all with 4's or higher for them to win. Otherwise, we would secure a tie. Luck was not with the University Faculty and Black Marketeers that night as Brian succeeded (12.5% chance?).

The climactic final scene as Professors Emilia (yellow) and Duarte (green jacket with gray hat) try to prevent the Peasants from seizing the final minor plot point

It was fun to play Pulp Alley again, though. I thought the Loyalists (particularly the University Faculty) did a good job, despite being outnumbered. We almost held them off and secured a tie -- despite the fact after the first turn we had very little chance of wresting the major plot point from them. It just goes to show you...there is never a "dole" time in the Banana Republic!