'Ruthless' Western Rules Get Cold Reception

 

Western gunfight game set up and ran by Keith using the 'Ruthless' rules from Marks Game Room

One thing about our Sunday Night Gaming group -- we are NOT afraid to try out new rules sets. We'll try something different even if we have a perfectly acceptable rules for that period that we enjoy. For example, my friend Keith wanted to try out the Ruthless set of Western rules from Marks Game Room. They were written by Mark Fastoso and Brian DeWitt, and are a fast-moving, easy-to-play set of miniatures rules. Once we sat down to play, though, we found that we had different versions of the rules in hand -- and no character cards!

    My gang of four gunfighters - the Bone Thieves - led by the old boss at right

We made things work out, though, with Keith making an adjustment to the rules on the fly with our input. He'd created gangs for the six players while he would GM. Each gang consisted of four characters, with Tom's Cattle Ranchers having six, because he thought we would all gang up on them. As it turned out, he did a better job of balancing things than he'd feared. The biggest problem was that three of the gangs just wanted to get off the table. Allen's gold miners wanted to exit off with their mule loads of gold ore intact. Mike S had a group of claim jumpers who wanted to relieve them of their season's worth of hard work. Mike W controlled a group of Bone Collectors, early paleontologists, wanting to escort their wagon to safety. My gang of Bone Thieves wanted to similarly relieve them of their discoveries. Joel's sheep herders also just wanted to get off the table. Even Tom's ranchers, once they roped their missing prize stud bull in the center of the table, were willing to make an exit.

    Our target for the scenario, the Bone Collectors and their wagon load of dinosaur bones

Keith had carefully arranged us around the table with those wanting to exit having to do it through the ranchers, Bone Thieves, and Claim Jumpers. However, the table was large enough that both Joel and Mike W were able to take a wide, loop path along the long edge and essentially escape unmolested. The Sheep Herders never fired a shot, and the Bone Collectors did only when taking a snap shot at someone targeting them. That said, the Claim Jumpers and Bone Thieves did our best to initiate the action, and we engaged in a lively gun battle with the ranchers and gold miners. So, there was shooting going on, and blood was blood spilled on the barren plains of the Old West. 

    The most fired-upon gang that evening was Allen's gold miners, trying to get to market with their ore

So, how did the system work? Each player had a hand of five cards from which they chose one for their Initiative Order. Players took their turns from highest to lowest. All of a player's characters acted on the card he chose secretly, with ties decided by suit. Some cards had special abilities, such as a "7" allowing one character to take 3 actions instead of 2. An Ace was required for waking up from being unconscious, and a 3 allowed you to discard additional cards form your hand if you didn't like what you'd been dealt. If this sounds vaguely familiar, it should. I felt Ruthless was a bit too close for comfort to the Wiley Games rules Fistful of Lead. It also uses cards for Initiative Order with certain cards granting special abilities. It also uses a d10 roll to hit, and the numbers needed are very similar (both need an 8 to hit at Long range, for example).

    Largest gang of gunfighters in the scenario were the Cattle Ranchers, looking for their stud bull

To be clear, I'm not accusing Mark's Game Room of plagiarism. I know Mark in passing from Historicon and Cold Wars. I've played in his games and he seems like a nice, low key guy. Ruthless is free to download -- he and his friends are not selling them to make money. However, the rules seemed too derivative to me. It seems obvious where their inspiration came from. Perhaps Mark and his buddies played FFOL, but they didn't like certain things about the rules? So, they made their over variant -- that's fine. Everyone is free to take someone else's rules and change them for their own games. They can even take them to conventions and say they're using a modified version of the rules. You see that all the time! However, to create a set of rules that are similar and covering the same period, then give them a new name and publish them (even as a free download), seems to be on shakier ground to me. 

    The Sheep Herders (using my goats as stand ins) just wanted to get off the table safely

There IS a chance they never played FFOL. Maybe they just heard or read about the card initiative mechanic and special values for certain cards and independently came up with their own rules. I've heard that you can't copyright rules mechanics. I'm willing to give Mark the benefit of the doubt because he seems like a great guy. However, playing Ruthless felt like trying someone's slightly tweaked version of FFOL. Probably the most interesting change to the Wiley Games system was you could take a snap shot at someone firing at you if you could play a card from your hand higher than the one they used for Initiative Order. That led to hard decisions -- do you save the high value ones so you can snapshot anyone trying to gun you down? Or do you play them, going first and hoping the others don't have a higher card to snapshot you?

    The shooting starts with the Claim Jumpers blazing away at the Gold Miners & Cattle Ranchers

I liked that aspect of the rules. I also felt that all of a player's figures acting on the Initiative Order card  rather than each character getting their own card (like in FFOL) made a game with six players move faster. Still, given a choice, I would play Wiley Games rules in the future rather than Ruthless. Keith felt the same way, and said he was shelving Ruthless. I like the greater customization of characters that the Wiley Games system offers compared to Ruthless. It feels tighter and more internally consistent. The wounding system makes a lot more sense to me. In our game, every single time a character was shot and knocked unconscious the player was able to bring them back immediately the next turn with an Ace or 4. I like the way FFOL handles wounding better.

    'The Kid' (bottom right) made the bad decision to take on a handful of Cattle Rancers & paid for it

Still, we hadn't played a Western game in awhile and it was good to try out the rules. The scenario did end with a whimper, though, as the various factions exited the table. It seemed that of the six of us, only the Claim Jumpers and Bone Thieves really wanted to fight. And there was no way our two gangs could prevent the other four escaping off-table. So, the other players "won" the scenario easily. Even though my four gunfighters shot down three of Allen's miners (repeatedly wounding them till they were truly out of action) for the loss of only one of ours, we "lost." Same with Mike's Claim Jumpers. They inflicted more damage than they suffered, but he and I were the only "losers" of the four on the table.

    'Shoot - they're getting away!' Yeah, like 4 of the 6 gangs just wanted to get away...ha, ha!

Thanks to Keith for setting up the game and to all the players who read the rules I'd forwarded them ahead of time. It always makes a new set of rules go smoother when more than the GM has read them. There's bound to be something the GM or any one player forgets that the others may remember. So, if you like the core idea of the Wiley Games system and want to try a game that tweaks its ideas, maybe read through Ruthless? Note that the well-designed Quick Reference Sheet does NOT contain all the rules, despite what they may imply. You need the character cards to understand the wound system and see the stats for the gunfighters. I discovered those in the free scenario downloads.

Anyway, I've been slow writing up this game report because I've been working on the first play-through video for my Surviving 'Nam rules. It is taking a LOT more time than I thought it would. This is the first time I've ever tried to film myself playing a game. I just spent three hours tonight doing my first try at it and I'm not satisfied with the result. I'll give it another go tomorrow, though. Hopefully, I'll get it right soon!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 217
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 198

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 14
• Terrain painted in 2026: 36

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 34
• Scatter painted in 2026: 75

A Visit and Revolutionary War Battle with the Hubbard Ohio Gamers Guild (H.O.G.G.)

 

    British troops advance through the crop fields to attack the American rebels at Harlem Heights, 1776

One of the things that I really wanted to start doing once I retired was visit the various clubs in our region and get in a game with them. Helping with my mom and her decline in health kept me from doing that for the last two years, though. Her recent passing, and a trip through northeast Ohio to upstate New York, gave me a chance to stop in and visit Rich Brown in his small city outside Youngstown. Although we weren't arriving on their scheduled night, Rich set up a Revolutionary War battle for us and hosted Jenny and I for the evening.

    Rich & Gwen (right) hosted Jenny & I on an off-night for their group, providing pizza & game!

The Hubbard Ohio Gamers Guild (H.O.G.G.) meet in the basement of his wife Gwen's yarn shop, which is also the physical location for RRB Minis & More. While gaming, you are surrounded by much of his stock displayed as if you were in a brick and mortar game store, which you pretty much are! Rich carries many of my rules sets and shows up at most of the regional game shows. He was using Flash in the Pan rules by David Bezio for the game, a very simple and easy-to-learn game. Rich had set up the Battle of Harlem Heights, 1776, which is the sixth in a series of games re-fighting the American Revolution on its anniversary.

    British command after its first turn of advance (another unit would march on to cover the right later)

Jenny and Gwen played the Rebels, while Rich and I took command of the British. Our job was to dislodge the stubborn Americans and chase them off the table. Our opponents simply needed to prevent that from happening. Rich explained to us that he isn't particular about his re-fights simulating the historical outcomes tactically, but did want the deployment to present the same challenge to the tabletop commanders. He must have been doing a good job, so far, as he mentioned that they were 5-for-5 on having the historical winner triumph in their games. What that meant for our game was that troops arrived on the tabletop somewhat piecemeal, as they did 250 years ago.

    American riflemen line the barricades in the gully, ready to take a toll on advancing troops

Each of us controlled two units. Mine were a battalion of Highlanders and a small battery of artillery. I shifted my highlanders from the center to my side of the table (the British left), while Rich sent his light infantry in open order up the center. His regulars would come in later on the right. The artillery hung back to see where the American flanking force would come in. Sure enough, Jenny's small unit of riflemen appeared on my left flank and rear. My artillery began firing at them as quickly as we could unlimber, and started to inflict hits upon them. Meanwhile, they blazed away instead at the rear of my column of highlanders, who they had obviously showed up to harass. Gwen's riflemen in the gully between the two heights used the barricades and cover to begin sniping at the advancing British light infantry.

    First British wave of highlanders on the left and light infantry in open order in the center

In the game, the regulars on both sides started the game with four stands of troops, the light infantry had three, and the American riflemen only two. Artillery counts as one stand. Each stand moves and fires individually, but they test morale as a unit. When shooting, players roll for each stand individually. A stand of skirmishers inflicts one hit, regulars two hits, and artillery three. Units in Flash in the Pan that take hits must check morale, of course. The more hits a unit takes, the worse chance of passing the check. If it suffered enough hits, the unit may not even be able to roll high enough on 1d6 to pass the test. For example, when my highlanders and Jenny's Continentals fired on each other, we each inflicted a total of 8 hits on the ther. We couldn't roll high enough on a 6-sided die to pass. So, what do you do? You can "voluntarily" remove a stand to give yourself a +3 on the roll. Why would you do that? Well, otherwise, you will flee backwards once, then test again. If you fail the second time, you flee again. So, the only way to rally your unit may be to suffer the loss of a stand (or even two). It is a very clever mechanic.

    More American riflemen appear on the British rear and left & engage the artillery in a duel

However, morale is not all an inexorable decline. At the end of each turn, you can test morale to rally off any hits, removing one on a 4 on 1d6, two on a 5, and three on a 6. Typically, as the range shrinks, the number of hits you take mounts, though. You find yourself unable to rally them off quick enough. The effect of these mechanics is that you will see units fleeing away from the enemy on the tabletop, then rallying and reforming. They will then march forward into battle again, as accounts of countless Revolutionary War battles describe. This happened in our game as both my and Rich's British marched up, fell back, and then marched back up again. Gwen was rolling well, and she kept driving off Rich's light infantry. Gamely, they rallied and returned to try again. Meanwhile, my artillery firing on the the flanking riflemen were eventually able to drive them off the field. Flash in the Pan is not a game of sudden routs and collapse of commands. You wear down your enemy and get them to the point where they simply can't inflict enough in response and are eventually forced to call of your attack.

    At top, the lights have been driven off by the fire of the riflemen in the gully (for the 1st time)

My highlanders were much superior to Jenny's Continentals, but she rolled well enough when we got within range that both of us were battered and driven back. She was forced to eventually remove two stands to be able to roll high enough to rally them. Unfortunately, my rolls were poor enough that I ended up having to do the same. We did get lucky and wounded General Washington, who was inspiring Jenny's troops to roll above their pay grade. I guess old Georgie didn't find the whistle of the bullets as "charming" this time as he did earlier in his career...! Ha, ha!

    Highlanders also suffering hits, this time from the American riflemen to their rear

Gwen's Harlem Militia were able to get to the gully and take cover before Rich's advancing regular infantry could double-team the riflemen alongside the Lights. The militia's volleys gave the regulars a pasting, and they were driven off. Meanwhile, Rich's lights had been shredded down to an ineffective force. Rich and I counted up our force and had only 8 stands between our four units. We agreed that the Americans had given us enough of a bloody nose that there was no way we could force them back uphill. Like gentlemen, we took our lumps and pronounced Jenny and Gwen the victors. 

    British artillery whittled the riflemen down & finally were able to drive them off

A key mechanic in the game is what's called the "Battleworth" roll. It is a number of d6's that a unit rolls when testing to move, shoot, or rally. Green troops or Militia have 1d6, Regulars 2d6, and Elites 3d6. Units may also have +1d6 for an inspiring leader (like the Continentals did with our first president). A player rolls the Battleworth number of six-sided dice, using the highest result on a single die. So, Militia may out-roll Elites on a turn, but over the course of the game, the Elites rolling their greater number of dice will likely out-roll and out-perform their lesser capable opponents.

    Highlanders and American continentals close in on each other, ready to deliver a volley

It was a fun, quick game. Now that I have a game of it under my belt, it would be easier to make tactical decisions and use the rules to maneuver to gain a tactical advantage. The rules are free to download, so they're worth taking a look at. Though on the face of it they appear very simplistic, their subtleties become apparent when playing. Rich will likely have printed copies of the rules available for sale, too, this Oct. 9-10 at Advance the Colors (if you're coming -- and you should be!). 

    After suffering from their fire many times, the Brit light infantry charges the riflemen in the gulley

Thanks, Rich, for adding a bonus night to the H.O.G.G. schedule to accommodate Jenny and I! And for the pizza and beer, of course! 

    Both sides are battered after hammering away at each other with musketry all game

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 217
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 198

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 14
• Terrain painted in 2026: 36

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 34
• Scatter painted in 2026: 75

'Blue Angels' - Next Pulp Sci-Fi Team Finished

    My next batch of 28mm metal Hydra Miniatures for my 'City in the Clouds' Pulp Sci-Fi game

You gotta feel for the girls -- pushed to the side by two separate groups of minis after being started on. They almost got their revenge and beat the batch of Viet Cong from Gringo 40s to the finish line, but I decided that I need to brush seal them first. The clear bases I'm putting things on for this project certainly switch things up a bit! 

    Hydra's 'Retro Raygun' line of 28mm (32mm?) figs are well-sculpted and very characterful!

First off, I need to trim the figures from their integral metal bases. I think folks are calling these "puddle bases" now? Not sure why -- they look nothing like puddles to me! I use wire cutters to snip off most of the base and then a X-acto knife to get as much of the excess metal around their boots as I can. Yes, it is every bit the pain that it sounds like. So, if anyone knows of a better way, I'd be happy to hear! I glue the figures to cardboard for painting, propping them up so they're reasonably upright while it dries. Once I'm done, I have to cut them off that cardboard as neatly as I can. Then I have to scrape off the glue from the underside, so bare metal is exposed again. I use 2-part Epoxy to attach them to their bases, once again propping them up so they stand up straight while the epoxy cures. I've heard superglue can "fog" clear plastic, so I stick with my tried and trusty epoxy. I have to do any matte coating on the figure as a brush on instead of spray, so that I don't fog the clear base. I suppose that I could spray them while on their cardboard, before trimming them off. That's what I did with the first batch of Valkeeri. Finally, I use clear gloss on the top of the base to mask the ring of epoxy around the boots. Yeah...LOTS of steps!

    I like how the girls look on their clear bases, but boy is it a LOT of extra steps...!

The first step in painting them was to do their blue skin. I used a Sky Blue base coat, and then watered down some Vallejo dark blue as a wash to give their faces some definition. The Hydra Miniatures castings are super-high quality with good details and very little flash to trim off. Later in the process, I finish their faces with a very dark blue in the eye socket instead of black. I use a very light colored bluish-white for the eyeball, and a medium blue eyes (of course!) for their eyes. I paint their lips a medium blue, too, and I think their faces came out great.

    Sorry for the blurrier frontal view of the leader - love the pose! She looks very...imperious?

Next, I painted their one-piece leotards a pale yellow, dry-brushing them with white. I did their gloves and boots in white. Next up, was painting all of the metallic parts -- helmet, gun, and belts -- in Iron Wind Steel. This was going to be just the base coat, with only an outline left after I'd applied the Metallic Blue craft paint to each metal part. For the belt buckle and the ridges on the helmets, I used a Bright Gold. I added a few tiny dabs of turquoise metallic in the highest spots of the metallic blue on the helmet to make it look as if light was reflecting off of them. And then I sat back and said, "Uh-oh...damn it!" I had just given the Blue Angels helmets that evoke the football helmets of the hated Michigan Wolverines! "Noooooooo...!"

    Looking down from above you can see their unfortunate 'Michigan Wolverines' style helmets....sigh

At that point, I decided the Blue Angels needed a little more decoration. I painted a thin stripe of metallic blue at the end of their boots and gloves. It was a nice contrast and break between the two pale, light colors. I grabbed one of my dark blue micron pens and added three buttons on the outer side of their boots, too. All that was left now, was their guns. I had painted them previously with my dark metallic Iron Wind Metals Steel. I added two rings of coppery-gold accent near the muzzle of their rayguns, and a golden line on the side. The handles and and ventral fin of the gun I painted a color called Chocolate Brown Metallic that I really like using in my Sci-Fi figures. The last step was to paint the nozzle of the gun red metallic with a metallic rose pink tip.

Chick fight! The two batches painted for the project so far square off inside a space station    

I sat back and was surprised at how easily and quickly I'd finished this squad. I pondered if I should add some more decoration -- maybe a wing-like symbol on their lower backs to go with the Blue Angel name? In the end, I decided not to do so. These were cool looking figures and I didn't need to do a lot of detail work to make them shine. So, I called them done, and began the process of removing them from the cardboard they were glued to and epoxying them onto their clear bases. 

I'm happy with how they turned out -- despite the whole Wolverines vibe...ha, ha! Well, I can always make them the bad guys (er, gals), right? So, what's next? Well, since these were a batch of "old" figures (bought before 2026), it is time for a new one. I decided to paint up my contingent of seven Trojan War Achaeans -- Diomedes' contingent. I believe all seven miniatures are from Wargames Foundry, but since I bought them unpainted (and out of their bags) from my friend Keith, I'm not sure. Otherwise, I plan to work on a couple medieval town buildings at the same time. It might end up being a tall order -- one is four story and the other two (not counting their roofs). We shall see how long it take!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 217
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 198

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 14
• Terrain painted in 2026: 36

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 34
• Scatter painted in 2026: 75

Reinforcements for the Viet Cong from Gringo40s

    More excellently sculpted 28mm metal Viet Cong for my Surviving 'Nam games from Gringo40s

I finished my second batch of Gringo40s Viet Cong, this week. All of them are armed with assault rifles and will be more reinforcements for the V.C. forces my players of Surviving 'Nam might will face. I noticed that in larger games, I've come close to running out of Foes a few times. So, these eight will help with that. I've will also begin a second solo campaign to be published on my new YouTube channel as "play through" videos at the request of numerous people online. I'm balling the channel Lead Legionaries on YouTube in honor of this blog! I created the first "Getting Started" video and published it on Sept. 9.

    I painted these V.C. in a mix of their trademark black pajamas, khaki, gray, & faded olive drab

This is the second of three batches I'll paint from the figures a friend brought back with him from a visit to the U.K. earlier this year. The final batch all have arms holding their rifle that must be glued in place. Naturally, I deferred those to a later day! I also have a few more specialty figures from the purchase to paint up, but I'll likely save those for last. To get these ready for paint, I based them up first and brush primed them with Liquitex White Gesso.

    For this batch, I picked out a mix of kneeling, advancing, & standing poses

I decided to paint these in a hodgepodge of black, khaki, gray, and faded olive. I always feel that the more variety there is in an irregular force, the more accurate it likely looks. I decided the ones with the helmets would be most likely to have access to cast-off uniforms, so I did those in khaki. The bareheaded ones were more likely to be in the trademark "black pajamas." I wasn't completely random in choosing colors. I also intentionally mixed up the equipment colors -- the web gear, bags, and straps -- in both tan and faded olive. The goal was to have no two figures completely alike among the eight. It was interesting that all eight of these miniatures had the grenade pouches strapped to their back. Fewer than half of the Crucible Crush ones from my first five batches had those. In fact, at first I was confused what the heck they were until I went back and referred to my sources, again!

    These minis probably had the least amount of flash of any metal figures I've ever painted!

These painted up fairly quickly as there weren't really that many things to paint up differently. Skin was first, then their uniform color I selected, then equipment, rifle, and sandals. The equipment was all the same color except that grenades inside the pouches required a color for the handle and the metallic "potato masher" part. In fact, when I finished the grenades protruding from their pouches, I sat back and was surprised it was time to paint the eyes next. Wow, that seemed to go quick! The eyes on these V.C. were SO much easier than my Wood Elves inside their helmets...ha, ha! They came out fairly well, I thought, and there were none I was particularly unhappy with.

    Gringo 40s lets you pick out individual poses from their line when ordering, & their prices are great!

Once that was done, it was time to do their wash. I decided to do my dark brown vehicle wash on all of the colors except for the black, which I left alone. I did use a black wash on the assault rifles -- I like the effect it gives on guns. Once that was finished, it was on to flocking. I added the 3-D printed resin vegetation to the bases of these, as well. I considered the experiment with them on the bases of the V.C. female fighters a success, and will continue doing this. I may even buy more varieties next time I see Green Stuff World products to add them to my "normal" (as opposed to jungle) basing scheme.

    Last look at this batch of 8 V.C. that will be reinforcements for the enemy in my games

What else is on my painting desk? Well, the twice-delayed Pulp Sci-Fi ladies are coming along nicely, and will be completed shortly. I even decided on a name for their unit -- the Blue Angels! I have to come up with a name for their race, though, after I stole the "Valkeeri" name from Hydra Miniatures. Oh, and you may have noticed that both my "Miniatures Acquired" and "Painted" went up with this batch. I succumbed to temptation and bought seven unpainted Mycenaeans to use as my contingent in games of Ilium. Thanks, Keith! I plan on working those in right after the Blue Angels are done.

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 217
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 193

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 14
• Terrain painted in 2026: 36

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 34
• Scatter painted in 2026: 75

Playing Zombie RV at Wargames Among the Warplanes

    My survivor Hank is mugged by three zombies in a back alley in a game of 'Zombie RV'

One of my friends on the Lead Adventure Forum, Bill from Dice, Doubloons & Random Musings, regularly attends an upstate New York show called Wargames Among the Warplanes. It is put on by a local group of miniature gamers at the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo, NY. I told him that I really wanted to make it up there for one of the shows. I enthusiastically support efforts to get our miniature wargaming hobby in front of the public at historical sites. I mentioned it to Jenny, and we decided to combine the show with a long weekend of hiking in the Finger Lakes region.

    Bill assists Jenny as he runs back-to-back sessions of Zombie RV on his amazing tabletop

We arrived early and met the show's main organizer, Boe, who'd requested that I bring him a copy of Surviving 'Nam (and autograph it for him...ha, ha). We looked around for about 45 minutes and then wandered over to where Bill was setting up his game of Zombie RV. I remarked that I hadn't played it in a l-o-n-g time (ever since I stopped running it for the Sunday Night Gaming group because...well, if you know, you know...ha, ha!). Jenny and I had signed up for it when we arrived, along with one other attendee. Bill gave us each two survivors (exactly how I would run it at conventions), and had us each start in our own corner of the 2'x2' board. It was supposed to be cooperative -- no survivors shooting each other -- but other than that, it was every survivor group for itself!

    Bill makes cards for his survivor characters, too, with a large picture of the figure on the back

I decided to have my two survivors, Big George and Hank, stick together and make sure they didn't get separated and overwhelmed individually by zombies. We sprinted over to the Pawn Shop, first. Big George opened the door and immediately found some useful supplies. Hank covered the rear to ensure no zombies were sneaking up on them. They moved to the shop's back door, forced it open, and were in a small back alley which had three buildings (with back doors) adjacent. Big George moved quickly (for his bulk) to the next shop, and was able to force open the back door. Once again, he found the supplies rather quickly and was ready to move on to the next location. Unfortunately, he heard Hank calling that they had company and to hurry up!

    Street level view of Bill's awesome setup: quiet now, but the zombies will show up soon!

Bill uses a similar zombie spawning method that I do. Each turn, there is a chance they will spawn on a random board edge instead of the central dumpster fire (a very cool Bad Goblin Games scatter terrain piece!). Wouldn't you know it, but three zombies showed up right in our back alley courtyard! Another was following Big George from the shop, and another group was closing in from a different alley way. My survivors decided to attack the two zombies blocking their way back to the Pawn Shop's back door. The plan was to hurry through that back to their card and skedaddle. Now, in Zombie RV, the odds are heavily weighted in favor of the survivors. On a 5-6 on 1d6, Hank and his friend would splatter the zombie they were in melee with. On a 4, they'd push it back 2d3 inches. In return, they could be hit by the zombies only on their activation and by a 6 on 1d6.

    Big George opens the Pawn Shop door, while Hank keeps an eye out for zombies in the 1st game

Bill had joked earlier, asking if he'd see the famed Mike D bad luck in rolling dice during the game. So far, things had gone smoothly, as Big George made his rolls to force open doors on his first try and found the supplies right away. Plus, we had the percentages on our side: two, big beefy survivors against a couple scrawny zombies. What could go wrong? Of course, I rolled two misses on my attacks! And then Bill rolled for the zombies. Big George was hit with a natural 6! G'ah!! I rolled my "grit" roll (to ignore the damage) and actually rolled the necessary 6! Hey, maybe Bill wouldn't see my famously bad dice rolling! Bill rolled for the other zombie to attack Hank, but it missed. Whew!

Exiting through the Pawn Shop's back door, Hank & George move on to the next building in the alley

On my next turn, I had a decision to make. Attack the zombies with my first action and then run away with my second or just bolt and run. I figured that if we stuck around, the other zombies coming would swarm us on their turn. Fight or run? They would get an attack as we turned our back, but remember -- they hit only on 6's. Big George and Hank decided to run. Bill rolled his attack on Big George: another 6! I tried to repeat my successful Grit roll and failed. Bill rolled for damage. On a 1-3 the survivor suffered a wound but no other adverse effect. On a 5-6, they were wounded knocked down, and on a 6 they were dead. Guess what?? Bill rolled yet another six! Big George became a Happy Meal for a tiny girl zombie in pink bunny slippers! Bill then rolled for the zombie getting his free strike at Hank as he turned to run. Another 6 -- Bill's third in a row (not counting the one last turn). Of course, I failed Hank's grit roll (which was his special ability, succeeding on a 5-6 instead of just 6). Bill then rolled for damage. Does anyone even doubt what Bill rolled next? Yup, his fourth 6 in a row! Just in case you're counting, that is a 1 in more than a thousand chance!!

    Each turn more zombies spawns in a randomly rolled location at Wargames Among the Warplanes

Bill felt so bad about it, he ruled as GM that the zombie had actually missed (nudge, nudge, wink, wink), and Hank was able to move his two actions away. Facing superhuman, 6-rolling zombies, Hank had no choice but to abandon poor Big George to be a big gorge for the victorious zombies. Well, that went south in a hurry! Of the three players, I was the only one to have a survivor die. And guess who was carrying on my supplies? Big George, of course! So, I could rename myself Big Loser after that game! 

    Slowly, inexorably, the zombies begin to surround & close in on three groups of survivors

As always, Zombie RV plays quickly. Bill suggested we play another round. Jenny and I were game. We took a quick break to watch one of the warbirds take off on the museum's C-47 Skytrain cargo planes in D-Day colors take off on the runway. Then, we were back at it for another game on Bill's amazing looking tabletop. I kept Hank, but drew Bobby -- a muscle shirt wearing character with a pistol and a Molotov cocktail in his pocket! I switched spots to enter on Jenny's corner, as she'd move to another one as well, for a change of scenery. 

    Hank & Big George decided to attack the zombies blocking their escape back through the Pawn Shop

Seeing how sticking together didn't work last time, Hank told his new partner to investigate the Donut Shop while he checked out the building they had parked near. Hank forced open the back door and dashed around, pulling a tarp off a suspicious looking lump at the end of the one of the aisles. He was shocked to find another survivor in a nurse's scrubs aiming a pistol at him. "Whoa, whoa!" he said, throwing up his hands. "I'm one of the good guys." She lowered her pistol, and said her name was Sandra, and she'd been hiding in the store for several hours waiting for the zombies outside to wander off. Hand helped her up and asked her to follow him, they'd meet up with his friend Bobby. 

Horde of zombies give chase to a survivor who tries to use the terrain to elude them

Bobby was just exiting the Donut Shop with a sack stuffed with what looked like "Long Johns" or "Bismarcks" -- cream-filled donuts. "Bobby, meet Sandra," Hand smiled. Through a mouthful of donut, Bobby said his hello. The three chuckled, and then froze in place. The unmistakable moaning of zombies preceded four of the undead -- one a huge, nasty-looking one -- rounding the corner and catching sight of them from very short distance. 

    In Game 2, Hank pulls up in his upgraded ride with a new partner, Bobby

Bobby tied the sack of donuts to his belt and pulled out his Zippo lighter. Producing a bottle with a cloth fuse, he lit it and tossed the Molotov Cocktail straight at the nasty zombie. There was an immediate WHOOSH! of flame and the monstrous zombie was engulfed. The puddle of liquid spread to where the two neighboring zombies were shuffling, but they continued to move forward. "You ain't gettin' my donuts, you bastards!" Bobby called, and then shifted position to where the zombies would have to come through the flames to get him. That seemed to work, as two more fell, their clothes and bodies catching fire rapidly. Bobby laughed. "Did you see that, Hank? First time I actually pitch one of those things and I get three strikes!" He looked back where the zombies were writhing on the asphalt, no longer moving forward.

    Hank checks out the Game Store, looking for supplies or something useful to scavenge

"Four," Hank smiled, pointing at the fourth zombie, who also entered the pool of fire and went down, burning. "Now, check out that last building and Sandra and I will guard your rear." Bobby pulled out his pistol and ran towards the final building in the back alley they'd planned to check out. Meanwhile, Sandra and Hank pointed out to each other clusters of zombies approaching from two sides -- drawn by the explosion of the Molotov cocktail. They took up positions and began firing with their pistols. After the success of the Molotov, the pistols seemed to have no effect on the zombies. I rolled miss after miss, counting at least six rolls in a row that were no higher than a "3." I was reminded of what I tell my friends in our Sunday Night Gaming club: "I don't have bad luck, I just have very streaky Good Luck and Bad Luck."

    Meanwhile, Bobby hits the jackpot finding two boxes of cream-filled 'Long John' donuts

Slowly, the zombies closed in on them. Panicked, Sandra darting away, one of the zombies following her. The other three zombies encircled Hank, who was slashing away with his machete and somehow holding them off. Sandra felt guilty, and ran back and tried to smash one of the zombies attacking him in the back of the head with her pistol. It distracted it enough that Hank's machete sliced its head off entirely. For good measure, he embedded it in the forehead of another zombie, that dropped to the ground. They heard gunfire as Bobby ran towards them. "I got the supplies -- let's go!" 

    'Bobby, meet Sandra' Hank introduces the terrified nurse he'd found hiding in the Game Store

Well, here I was again. Two survivors with a zombie in contact with each of them. Run, or fight? More zombies were steaming towards Hank's group, though. They would likely get overwhelmed if they stayed to fight. Surely, Bill couldn't roll two 6's again on Hank and Sandra if they sprinted for their vehicle? What are the odds? Yeah, yeah, I know the odds! I decided to move Sandra first. Bill rolled and missed -- she got away! Now, Hank. Bill rolled -- not a six!! Ha, ha -- my luck is truly streaky! The trio were able to outrace the zombies to their vehicle, turn the ignition, and peel out. That was close...!

    After dispatching zombies with his Molotov cocktail, Bobby moves on to investigate the 3rd store

I thanked Bill for running the game and giving me an opportunity to play Zombie RV, again. At times, the game seems "Easy" -- ordinary zombies hit survivors only on a 6. However, the rules lean heavily into the knowledge that sometimes players are going to roll badly. Jenny lost one of her survivors in the second game. So, neither mission was a cake, er, Donut walk. Each time, somebody didn't make it back to base. I had a lot of fun, especially in the second game. If you haven't played Zombie RV, feel free to click on this link which brings up all of my posts for ZRV. Scroll back and read some battle reports. For a free set of rules from David Bezio of Grey Area Games, it is a lot of fun! If it looks interesting, maybe also download the Campaign expansion I created with the author's input. They're also available free on RRB Minis & More's website. 

    Meanwhile, zombies are closing in on Sandra & Hank from several directions

It was great to meet Bill, finally. We have been reading and commenting on each other's wargaming blogs for more than a year. He's a great guy with lots of creative ideas. One that I am going to steal from him is to paint up zombie dogs as "Fast Zombies" for Zombie RV. I love the way he decorates the interiors of his buildings, too. Hopefully, you were able to get a taste of that from my photos. Expect more updates in the next few days, as I am home from our Finger Lakes & Wargames Among the Warplanes trip!

    After initially fleeing, Sandra feels guilty & returns to help out Hank, who is surrounded

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 210
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 185

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 14
• Terrain painted in 2026: 36

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 34
• Scatter painted in 2026: 75

    His drought of rolling 1, 2, or 3 over, Hank dispatches two zombies with his machete!

 

    Thanks to one of my posts, Lead Adventure Forum members are now keeping tabs on meetups!