Western Legends

Edition and objective: This entry covers Kolossal Games' 2018 Western Legends base game, BGG 232405, using the publisher-credited 24-page first-edition English rulebook. The official product is listed for 2–6 players. At setup, choose a 15-LP short, 20-LP standard, or 25-LP long game. Players compete for Legendary Points (LP). When a player reaches the threshold, the end game is triggered; each character unlocks a unique Legendary ability after reaching 5 LP.

Set up characters and map: Put the map in the centre and place the General Store items, playing cards, story cards, bandits, Sheriff, cattle, nuggets, and prospecting dice as shown in the setup diagram. Each player chooses a color and takes a player board, scoring cube, and story discs. Draw two character cards and choose one, then take the starting items, money, playing cards, and Marshal/Wanted points listed on its back. Starting track points are placed without triggering track rewards. Standard play uses the side of the board without character Objective cards; those are an included variant.

Start of turn: Resolve Start of Turn effects, then choose one benefit: take $20, draw two playing cards, or take $10 and draw one card. Choose the weapon and mount to use this turn. If a player owns more than one, they may choose at the beginning of each of their turns, but normally cannot switch during that turn. The Action Phase follows, with exactly three actions; most actions may be repeated unless a card or specific rule says otherwise. A newly purchased weapon or mount is an explicit exception: it may immediately become the active item.

Actions and movement: Spend an action to move, use a card ability marked ACTION, initiate Arrest, Duel, or Rob against a player in the same space, or perform a location action. Without a mount, one Move travels up to two spaces; with a mount, use its movement value and move space by space. The central plateau outlined by red dotted lines is impassable. The brown boundaries around Darkrock and Red Falls mark town spaces. Entering a space occupied by a bandit immediately stops movement and starts a fight, so the player cannot continue along the planned route.

Locations and prospecting: A player in one of the three spaces neighboring a General Store may buy and/or upgrade any number of affordable items with one action. Each exact item is limited to one copy, and the inventory holds at most three miscellaneous items, which cannot be upgraded; mounts and weapons can be upgraded by paying their price again and may score at the end. At the Mine, roll both prospecting dice in one action: Gold Nugget gives a nugget, Tailings gives $10, Gold Dust gives $10 and rerolls that die, and Gravel gives nothing. Players can carry at most four nuggets. At the Bank, Deposit Nuggets trades each nugget for $20 and 1 LP. Cash cannot exceed $120, and excess gains are lost. The Bank also allows one Heist per turn, resolved as a fight against its guard NPC. A win gives $80 and 3 Wanted points; a loss gives 1 Wanted point, one wound, and one card draw. Work at any location earns $10 for an action.

Cattle and poker: Spend an action at a Ranch to take one face-down cattle token; a player may carry only one. If a Move action ends at a Rail Station, the player may immediately Deliver/WRANGLE it for Marshal points and the cattle reward. Ending at a differently colored Ranch allows Deliver/RUSTLE for Wanted points and the reward. Neither delivery costs an additional action. A Saloon action starts poker by paying a $10 ante and drawing a card; other players in the same town may pay the same ante and draw a card to join. Players make their best five-card hand from two cards in hand plus the three community cards. The winner takes the fixed $50 prize and all antes; the active player also earns 1 LP if they win. Losing players draw a card. The active player wins ties. If nobody joins, the player on the right sets aside their own hand and draws four as dealer; a winning dealer returns the pot to supply. Two tied non-active players split the pot rounded down, returning any excess to supply.

Player and NPC combat: To Arrest, Duel, or Rob a player in the same space, the initiator declares the type and plays one card face down; the target may fight with a card or give up. Reveal cards, resolve BONUS, then alternate REACTION choices before comparing modified values; in a player fight, the initiator wins ties. The loser takes one wound and draws a card. Arrest requires the initiator to have Marshal points and the target to have Wanted points; success sends the outlaw to the Sheriff's Office and removes all Wanted points and cattle plus half of their money and nuggets, rounded up as specified in the rules. A successful Arrest gives the initiator one Marshal point. A winning Duel initiator gains 2 LP. A winning Rob initiator gains one Wanted point and chooses half the target’s cash or half their nuggets, rounded up, plus their cattle if present. A winning defender does not receive those initiator-only rewards. In a bandit fight the initiator loses ties; a win grants either 1 LP or a Marshal point, unless the player is Wanted. The bandit is removed either way. A player may fight each specific player only once per turn.

Marshal, Wanted, and stories: A player cannot hold both types of track points at once. A Marshal may give up all Marshal points to become Wanted; a Wanted player must first be arrested and lose all Wanted points before returning to the Marshal path. Track movement can award bonuses. At the end of a Wanted player's turn, their row grants 1, 2, or 3 LP; a Marshal scores 1, 2, or 3 LP at game end for the first, second, or third row. Each point gained beyond space nine of either track becomes 1 LP. When a player meets a public story card's condition, they may place one story disc on it, at most one contribution per turn. A story needs two discs with 2–4 players or three with 5–6; once it has enough, resolve it at turn end: read its story, give each contributor their reward, place any bandit, and move the Sheriff as instructed. A contributor receives the reward only once even if both their discs are on that story.

Sheriff and recovery: Wanted players cannot enter the Sheriff’s space. With a Wanted player on the map, stories or Manhunt may move the Sheriff. Entering an outlaw’s space first forces a one-card discard, then a fight: the player on the outlaw’s right draws four fight cards and selects one for the Sheriff. Bandits use two and bank guards three; the player loses NPC ties, and NPC card effects resolve after player Reactions. Arrest by the Sheriff gives one wound and a card draw, returns the outlaw to the office, clears Wanted points and cattle, and loses half their money and nuggets rounded up. Escaping returns the Sheriff to the office without another reward. Wounds cap at three; extra wounds are ignored. Discard only at turn end to a hand limit of five minus wounds. At the Doctor, one action plus $10 heals all wounds and draws one card per wound removed. At the Cabaret, one Revel action converts each $30 spent to 1 LP.

End game and scope: When anyone reaches the chosen LP threshold, finish the current round so every player has taken an equal turn, then give each player one final turn. Score each $60 as 1 LP, up to 2; lose 1 LP per wound; add points for upgraded weapons and mounts; award a sole Wanted leader 3 LP; tied leaders instead get 1 each, as do all other Wanted players. Marshals score 1, 2, or 3 LP according to their track row. Highest total wins. Ties compare Marshal or Wanted track points, nuggets, then fewer wounds; a remaining tie is shared. The book also has a two-player Man in Black system, Objective-card variant, and first-game simplifications. The 2020 English second edition and expansion rules are not assumed identical to this 2018 base-game account.