duel for honour (in the walmart)

An argument at the Walmart checkout counter between the tired cashier and an irate customer has escalated. The only way forward is to fight; the only ending lies in shame. How do YOU choose to defend your honour?

The aim of this game is to tell a ridiculous story of hand-to-hand combat in a banal supermarket setting. Everybody loses when you get physical in a Walmart… but a numerical “Ego Points” system determines the in-universe winner of the duel.

To play, you’ll need a 6-sided die and working knowledge of rock-paper-scissors mechanics.

The game document is a framework to prompt a particular story experience: one that is satirical, absurd, and a little trashy. Beyond the combat framework and prompts for backstory/character motivations, playing to different tones is fairly flexible — however, the game revolves around confrontation/depictions of physical violence so if you don't feel comfortable engaging with these topics, this probably isn't going to be up your alley.

I've always loved putting a spin on everyday things to make new ways of engaging with them: making the ordinary a little more absurd and calling forth the silly primal part of our monkey brains that has less regard for social norms. I grew up on The Onion, and Cunk on Earth is one of my recent favourites. I also wanted a chance to draw subjects I don’t normally draw to let myself get a little silly and loose with my art, and I haven’t had a chance to do that much outside of my Magpie book doodles in pen. 

To encourage myself to Get Looser, I kept the visuals simplistic and rough (compared to the standard of visual polish/flair that I typically set for my work) with a fat gritty pixelated brush, completely in black-and-white. The rules and setup for the game are similarly relaxed; it is not a particularly glamorous story that is to be told, in fact quite the opposite, so my intention was to sow seeds of ideas that players could run with in whatever way they wanted. The gameplay experience is very much what you make of it — the combat/points system is there to inspire roleplay and encourage chaos. Rock-paper-scissors incorporates some… competitive physicality into the game, but still leaves it up to chance (great for chaos). I definitely took inspiration from Grant Howitt’s BIRD CRIMES but wanted more structure to guide my game’s progression.

An overall theme of my Magpie book is appreciating the little things that often get passed by in the grander chaos of life, finding joy in the flaws of our surroundings... I’ve already established how I’m a sucker for contrasts, so a Walmart seems like a fitting setting to stage a reflection on humanity.

All in all, duel for honour (in the walmart) is just a facilitator of a good, fun, silly time. However you play it, whatever you choose to make with it, I hope it brings you a little joy and a small chuckle next time you go to Walmart.