The Final Sunset for a Weary Cowboy with Your Town
Explore more of Your Town, a Graphic Novel Adventure, where building and exploring are the central focus of gameplay.
My initial attempt at building a town and exploring the wild west resulted in the only ending most fitting for me… Eaten by a bear. Oh, my! So I returned to Your Town for another attempt at surviving through the end of a year. I wasn’t too thrilled with all of the bookkeeping, yet I still wanted to see what else there was. Back to riding off into the sunset!
Game Overview
Game Name: Your Town
Publication Year: 2016
Designer: Shuky
Artist: Uncredited
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
There are all sorts of fun scenes to find throughout this western adventure. Although the town building element is central, there are plenty of paths to explore in the desert.
All of the bookkeeping can seem excessive at times, though. With so much to track, it felt like a balancing act…
Unexpected Meetings
Like a true western, almost every character I met was some sort of bandit. My gun was at the ready. There were pumas. And more bears. Yet there I was, still alive!
I gave some strangers the benefit of the doubt. This fellow looked safe enough. He passed my ocular patdown.
As suspected, the adventure part of this gamebook actually is intriguing. There is a lot to explore, but not everything may be visited during a single play.
Yet the bookkeeping felt like a weight. I ignored as much as I could, but a lot of values had to be tracked.
Static Events
A letter can be found on some panels, which corresponds with the event index. So event M is always encountered when that panel is reached a little bit into the adventure.
This adds a level of randomness to gameplay, but also cuts down on the reusability. I quickly learned when I would need to avoid certain areas until I met the requirements.
Not to bring it up too much, but this is where Penciltown does better. Its events are more random and unexpected.
It can also be frustrating to head off exploring, only to be penalized for something totally unrelated.
The Aspects That Define a Gamebook
Not every gamebook has to be absolutely amazing to offer up a great experience. I feel like the bookkeeping and grid building can work for the right audience. It actually surprised me that this didn’t pan out for me! I’ve done some accounting and actual bookkeeping over the years… Maybe I just don’t want those in a game? Ha!
The background adventure is actually interesting. There are puzzles to solve, hidden numbers to find, and many different possibilities. Yet there are also the odd elements, such as dropping a pencil on a picture to determine the outcome of combat. I can see the unique aspect, but sometimes failure leads to immediate death. Not so fun.
Western-themed games aren’t the most popular, and I don’t have many in my collection. I loved the idea behind this one. I wanted to love the mechanics! Unfortunately, I was just racing to the end, hoping to survive long enough.
Session Overview
Play Number: 2
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
Play Details: Level 1 Goal
Required Play Space: 22″ x 18″
Setup Time: 5 Minutes
Play Time: 1 Hour & 20 Minutes
Outcome: 31 Points (Loss)
I made it! I actually reached the conclusion a little too soon, as I was working through another connected adventure of sorts. My score was lowly. There’s much more to explore… Yet I think I burned out already.
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
5
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
3
Originality
Design & Theme
6
Quality
Components & Rules
3
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
5
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
4
Continue the Conversation
What do you think of Your Town? It’s a rather unique sort of Graphic Novel Adventure that combines extensive bookkeeping with exploration. There is a whole map to explore with various zones. How do you feel about tracking a lot of individual values? I’m disappointed that it didn’t work out for me, although I appreciate the idea behind it!
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