Showdown

Let me set the scene. It was Game 20 out of 21. John Barker and I had endured a Queen’s Birthday weekend horribilis. We were both on 10 wins out of 19 and looking down the barrel of a -50 rating-points debacle. JB had that “Buddy, can you spare a dime?” look whilst I had that “Did anyone take the number of that truck?” look. I came to the table wearing John Barker’s name tag upside-down (‘cos that’s how he plays) so he remarked that I must have worn it that way so I could read his name more easily.

Despite lots of macho menace and posturing, we both start quietly until, after three paces, I fired my first shot with TOURIES for 69. John “Chew” Barker challenged it due to its similarity with TOORIES. He had no strong reply, so I reloaded and fired SAZ for 45. This time JB gave me his first barrel with HORNITOS for 86 hooked onto the S that I had cheekily sat in the TWS column. Having beaten him to the ammunition supply, I proceeded to blast him with BoRANES for 89, then FLEeCING for 92 two turns later. Unlike our last showdown, JB had left his Smith and Wesson in its holster and was returning fire with his derringer. After 14 rounds, JB’s finally emptied his second barrel with SARDINE. But when the smoke cleared, I had gained a 509-355 revenge from our last showdown. Next time I expect JB to come along with his Gatling gun.