How to play Carnival Cowboys
A match takes four cowboys and a 45-hex board. Here are the rules, the hazards of each map, and tactics for your first matches.
The goal
Be the last cowboy standing. Each of the four cowboys starts in a corner of the board with three lives. Bullets, bison, barrels and nearby dynamite each cost one life; some hazards are fatal at once.
Plan two actions, then everyone resolves together
Every round, every player secretly plans two actions. Then all the plans resolve at the same time: everyone’s Action 1, then everyone’s Action 2. You have ten seconds per action; if time runs out the game chooses Stay, and your plan is sent automatically.
Your rivals lock both of their actions before you choose yours, and nobody ever sees another player’s plan.
The four actions
Move
Step to one of the six neighbouring hexes.
Shoot
Fire 1 or 2 hexes along one of the six straight lines. Uses one bullet.
Stay
Hold your hex. Anyone moving into it bounces back.
Reload is the fourth action: it refills your six-shot chamber at the end of the round. You can move or stay in the round you reload, but not shoot.
Moving on the hex board
- A cowboy who stays put owns his tile: anyone moving into it bounces back.
- Two cowboys choosing the same hex both stay where they were.
- A move into a hex where a cowboy stands works only if that cowboy moves away in the same action; cowboys never swap places.
- With no free neighbouring hex you cannot move, but you can always Stay.
Shooting
- A shot travels 1 or 2 hexes in one of the six straight directions, and is checked after everyone has moved.
- It stops at the first cowboy in its path. A cowboy on the next hex is always hit.
- A cowboy on the second hex is hit 60% of the time, and only if the next hex is empty.
- If your move fails, your shot is checked from where you actually stand. A shot that cannot reach anyone still spends the bullet.
Bullets and reloading
Your chamber holds six shots in every mode. When it is empty you must spend an action to Reload. In the free modes bullets cost nothing; in the Arena League every bullet you fire is one you bought, so a miss costs you.
Hazards on each map
Battle Royale · Mountain Summit
Three warned tiles fall after every round. End your turn on one and you fall.
Snakes · Twin Peaks Canyon
A new snake arrives each round, at most 5 at a time, and slides one hex toward a cowboy. A bite is fatal.
Bison Run · Sunset Prairie
With no warning, a stampede sweeps two neighbouring lanes after Action 2. One life each.
Scorpion · Carnival Town
A sting costs a life, and the stung cowboy cannot move or shoot next round.
Bombardment · Copperhead Mine
Dynamite drops without warning on even rounds. A direct hit kills; a blast next door costs a life.
Barrel Run · Dustfall Saloon
Barrels roll before Action 1. A hit costs a life, knocks you aside and cancels both your actions.
Arena maps
Four maps exist only in the Arena League. The Arena draws each match’s map from its rotation, which can include these four alongside the six above; you find out which one you got when the match starts. The Drifter League and Training never play them.
Jail match · Jailhouse
No animals: just cowboys, bullets and the closing land. The first cowboy knocked out goes to jail: 24 hours with a Tier 1 costume, then 20, 16, 12 and 8 hours with Tier 5. That costume cannot ride in the Arena until it is free.
Wanted · Dry Creek Depot
One cowboy starts with a price on his head. Whoever takes his last life earns 5 extra points; if he survives and wins, the 5 are his.
Penitentiary · Territorial Penitentiary
The hardest map in the Arena. The first two cowboys knocked out are arrested: that costume cannot enter the Arena for up to 7 days, less for higher-tier costumes. The Drifter League is never affected.
Apache Land · Yosemite Valley
Every round, after Action 2, arrows rain down: 1 hex, then 2, 4, 8, 16, then half the board every round. No warning: remember where they fell. A hex hit this round is safe next round. Each arrow costs one life.
Jail and bail: on the two prison maps, if the match ends in a draw (no cowboy left standing), nobody who went out in that last round is jailed. A jailed costume’s owner can pay bail in SPINFUN to free it early; the game’s Jail screen shows who is behind bars, the price, and whether bail is open.
Sundown: the land closes in
On every map except Mountain Summit, from round 5 the outermost ring of hexes glows red every two rounds. At the end of that round poison sticks burst out of it, and any cowboy still standing there dies. Once only the middle is left, one more hex closes every two rounds (High Noon), so every match ends.
If your shot takes out the last opponent, you win even if the land gets you in the same round.
Winning
The last cowboy standing wins. Places follow the order cowboys go out; cowboys knocked out in the same resolution share a place. If nobody is left standing, there is no winner.
Beginner tactics
- Stay off straight lines. A rival can only hit you along one of the six straight lines from his hex, at 1 or 2 hexes. Ending your turn out of line with everyone is the safest place to be.
- Shoot where they will be, not where they are. Shots are checked after everyone has moved, so aim at the hex a rival is likely to step into.
- Use the second hex wisely. A target two hexes away is only hit 60% of the time, and only if nobody stands in front. Close in for a sure hit.
- Count your bullets. Reloading takes an action. Reload when no rival is lined up with you, not when you are cornered.
- Hold your ground. Staying put makes your tile yours: a rival who tries to step in bounces back.
- Watch the red ring. From round 5 the outer ring closes every two rounds. Be off the red hexes by the end of the round they glow.
- Let rivals trade shots. Points for second and third place are real; staying alive while others fight is a strategy, but the closing land will push you in eventually.
Multiplayer and computer rivals
Entering the Drifter or Arena League looks for other players for up to 10 seconds. Any seat still empty is filled by a computer-played rival, shown with a blue plaque. Training is always you against computer-played rivals.
Points, leagues and prizes: Rewards and leagues FAQ.