A Coffin for the Sheriff – Story of a Colt Concerto in Bang! The Dice Game

High noon in a small nameless town in the west. A sheriff is pouring himself coffee in his office. He is prepared for another uneventful day in the cozy little hamlet.

Suddenly, the deputy comes running into the office, informing him that three riders have just come into town. The sheriff feels a foreboding chill. The deputy informs him that the riders left their horses near the saloon. Acting fast, they leave the office, but are immediately met with a barrage of bullets. They make a dash for the saloon, all the while shooting wildly. Skidding past the revolving doors, they hit the floor, just missing some targeted shots, which strike the player-piano and make it play a jolly little tune.

 

They break some of the windows and start shooting back. The sheriff can see two outlaws, while the deputy spots another one. They fire at the shapes and are certain some of their shots land. As the sheriff tries to peer through the window for a better view, a bullet flies into his right shoulder. He is jolted to the floor in agony.

As the sheriff groans in great pain, the deputy suggests drinking some alcohol to soothe his body. “Now’s not the time to be drinking!”, the sheriff ejaculates. He nonetheless doesn’t obstruct as the deputy downs some beer in his throat. This invigorates him considerably. The wound doesn’t hurt that much anymore. After this he consumes a full bottle of liquor from behind the counter, which makes him feel fully healed up. He orders the deputy to stuff some bottles into her pockets, just in case.

 

They emerge into the street, right into the muzzle of a gatling gun. “What in tarnation”, the sheriff can only utter, as a volley of lead is aimed at them. Both jump for cover. After the firing has ceased, the deputy sees this a moment to lunge towards the gun. She fires rapidly and is able to finish the outlaw but is gunned down by the last bullets ringing out of the machine.

The sheriff, now alone, is suddenly face to face with a second outlaw who has a clear shot on him. But the outlaw hesitates. Then he falls forward with blood spurting from his mouth. A man clad in black is standing behind the outlaw, his rifle still smoking. The man walks past the sheriff with a glance that tells him they’ll meet again this very day.

Suddenly there is thundering boom. The last outlaw must have tried throwing a dynamite, but it has exploded prematurely. It raises a cloud of debris, which impairs visibility for an extended amount of time. As the dust settles, the sheriff sees two men standing opposite each other in the main street, both of whom are clad in black.

The men stare at each other in silence, hands ready to pull their guns out of the holsters. At a precise moment, both men draw their weapons and let shots ring. After a silence that feels endless, the man who saved the sheriff cocks his gun while the other one won’t perform any gunplay ever again.

Now the man faces the sheriff and identifies himself as a renegade who has come for him. The sheriff tries to draw, but the renegade is faster, shooting the gun out of his hands. “Any last words”, asks the renegade. The sheriff closes his eyes, awaiting the inevitable.

Out of nowhere an arrow hits the renegade. Then another. And another. As the rain of arrows grows even fiercer, the sheriff darts into a nearby building. After the sounds of the ordeal are over, he emerges from his hiding place unscathed. Which cannot be said for the renegade, who looks like a pin cushion or a hedgehog. Whatever that man did to those Indians, it must’ve been grave.

With the day of violence at an end, he is the only survivor. Burying the deputy, while leaving the others to rot, he reads a verse from the Good Book and walks out of town.

The sheriff wanders off into the sunset, in search of another nameless town…

 

Basic info:

Title Bang! The Dice Game
Designers Lukas Zach, Michael Palm
Publisher dV Giochi
Original release year 2013
Players 3-8
Age range 8+
Playing time 15 min

Photos: created by the author using Bing AI (Dall E 3)

You might also like

---

More from Features

---