The Lions Did Eat Tonight!

Today the Jackson Gamers met and played two big game hunts with Howard Whitehouse's Mexican Jack Squint Presents The Lion Eats Tonight big game hunting rules.  We had tried Mexican Jack's game back in July and had a blast with it.  This time things turned out a little differently - the lions did eat tonight!

All figures and terrain are owned by Col Campbell who painted all of the men and the metal animals (those on bases).  The plastic animals either came from "animal tubes"  bought at the Jackson Zoo or at Michael's or from the Dollar Tree (the two bull elephants).

The mighty hunters are gathered to go forth and seek fame and glory.

Hunt #1 - Six intrepid hunters venture into the African bush in search of big game.  But the game was also searching for them.

Alan Haggard draws a bead on a charging lioness.  Can he get her before she gets him?

Yes, he does!

Hunter McGinnis is suddenly faced with a charging lion.  His porter has already run away but his faithful gunbearer stands by his side.  The lion is wounded and slinks off into the bush.

Baron Potzdorf is faced with a raging rogue elephant.  Things do not look good for the baron!  Partially concealed in the background, Mr. Enfield is sparring with an enraged lion.

And they weren’t as Potzdorf is stomped into the veldt by the rogue elephant.  And Mr. Enfield is still sparring with the lion

His gunbearer and porter suffer the same fate as the elephant bugles over their mashed bodies.  And Mr. Enfield is still sparring with the lion.  Seems that neither one can do anything but fend off the blows of the other.  How long can this last?

The elephant turns on Alan Haggard who coolly takes his shot and puts a heavy round right between Dumbo’s eyes, avenging Baron Potzdorf.

Finally Mr. Enfield smashes the lion’s skull in with the butt of his rifle, thus ending the long fight between them.

Escaping any damage from the lion a while ago, McGinnis begins to track him, only to encount a lioness in the bush.  He takes careful aim and kills her.

Meanwhile, “Nipper” Atkins gets his moment of fame, nicely potting a charging rhino with a single shot.  Bravo, Nipper!

 Game #2 - After a break for lunch at the local watering hole (actually Quiznos), we began a new hunt.  Three of the players each take a hunting party while three take a pair of game animals each.

The second hunt doesn’t start off well for Wilbur von Huysman.  Although he dodges a maddened elephant, his gunbearer and his porter succumb to the elephant’s mighty hooves.

But as the elephant rushes on past, von Huysman is set upon by both a lion and a cape buffalo!  Can he successfully fend off both of them?

Well, he sends the cape buffalo scurrying back into cover with a well-aimed shot, but the lion does him in.  The bull elephant has turned back but can only bugle his frustration that the lion has taken his toy.

Meanwhile young Mr. Stanley has encountered and dispatched a rather large lion.  Good for you, Mr. Stanley!  Of course what isn’t told is that his gunbearer, Gumby, actually fired the fatal shot.

Poor Wilbur’s body has been dragged off into the bush so that the lion can enjoy his meal in peace.

Suddenly Stanley is set upon by a rhino.  Surely he will do better against such an easy target.

Well, actually he doesn’t.  Leaving Gumby the gunbearer to face the rhino, Stanley and his porter flee into the bush.  Suddenly the porter runs back along side Mr. Stanley.  “Bwana, bwana!  Behind you!!”  A cape buffalo, previously wounded by the ill-fated von Huysman, has charged down on Stanley.

But Stanley keeps his nerve, turns, and kills the buffalo rather quickly with a single shot!

Moving back out to join his gunbearer, Stanley and his party are set upon by a rogue bull elephant.  Stanley and his porter quickly lose their nerve and scurry back into the bush.  The elephant rampages past the gunbearer and disappears into another patch of scrub after Gumby shoots him.

And another rogue elephant charges poor Mr. Frobisher, who earlier had a shot at an elephant cow and her two calves but declined graciously, saying, “ I don’t shoot at mothers and their young.”

Too bad the bull elephant didn’t know that as he mashes Frobisher and the porter into the veldt!

While Stanley and his porter are hiding from the rogue elephant, the gallant Gumby is facing a ferocious lioness.

Wounded by Gumby, the lioness scurries by him and jumps on the poor porter, instantly killing him.

But as she drags the body deeper into the bush, Stanley can hear Gumby shouting, “Bwana, bwana!  Come quick!  A large elephant!!”

But Gumby is very unlucky this time.  Mr. Rogue elephant squashes him.

And then continues on to attack young Mr. Stanley.  Inflicting a wound on the elephant, Stanley is able to avoid the charge and the elephant heads deeper into the bush.  We ended the game at this point as two of the three hunters had been mashed by elephants.

Game Results:  The results of the two games, which may carry over to another game in December were:

Atkins – killed a rhino with a single shot, gaining 60 reputation points.

McGinnis – killed a lion (10 points) and heroically does something for which I can’t remember, gaining another 10 points for a total of 20 reputation points.

Graf von Schneider – missed his only shot and ends up with a -10 reputation points.

Alan Haggard – had some trouble with his boots, losing 10 points but regained his aplomb and killed a lion (20 points) and an elephant (40 points), for a total of 50 reputation points.

Mr. Enfield – beat a lion to death with the butt of his rifle after a long fight, gaining 30 reputation points.

Baron Potzdorf – stomped to death by an elephant before he can really do anything; no reputation points but becomes the butt of jokes in the local bar.

“Junior” Stanley – although killing a cape buffalo with a single shot (60 points), he lost his nerve and ran away several times (-30 points), missed an easy shot (-10 points), and finally claimed a kill his gunbearer made (10 points to the gunbearer), resulting in only a gain of 10 reputation points.

Wilbur von Huysman – another hunter stomped to death by an elephant before he could do anything; no reputation points and also became the butt of jokes.

Frobisher – lost 10 points when he missed a shot on the elephant charging him, but his gallantry with the mama elephant and her calves counteracted the miss; no reputation points.

Look forward to more exploits of daring-do by our mighty hunters in four weeks!!