Buckshot Roulette

About Buckshot Roulette

Buckshot Roulette is a tabletop horror game by the Estonian developer Mike Klubnika, first released on itch.io and brought to Steam by Critical Reflex in April 2024. It later came to Xbox.

You enter an underground nightclub, sign a release of liability and sit down at a table across from The Dealer, a figure with a wide toothy face. A shotgun is loaded with a set number of live and blank shells, in an order neither of you knows. On your turn you shoot The Dealer or yourself. Shooting yourself with a blank keeps your turn; a live round costs you a life.

From the second round, both of you get a handful of items, such as a magnifying glass, handcuffs, cigarettes and a beer, each giving an edge. The Dealer plays the same rules and the same odds as you. Three rounds decide whether you walk away with the prize. Double or Nothing mode lets you keep going for more.

The horror is the anticipation: the click before each shot, the grainy dark room, the pounding music. A 4-way multiplayer table adds online matches where friends bargain, beg and betray each other.

It suits players who want a short, tense game they can finish in one sitting, and groups who want to frighten each other.

How to play Buckshot Roulette

1. Sign the waiver and take your seat at the table.
2. Watch how many live and blank shells are loaded into the shotgun.
3. Use your items to learn about the next shell or change the odds.
4. Pick up the shotgun and shoot The Dealer or yourself; a blank on yourself keeps your turn.
5. Win three rounds to walk away, or try Double or Nothing.

Tips

• Count the shells as they are fired; the odds of the next one being live change every shot.
• When you know the next shell is a blank, shoot yourself to keep your turn.
• Use your items before you pick up the gun; each one can change what the right shot is.
• In multiplayer, watch which items others are holding before you choose a target.

Questions