Real Inspiration For Your Western Towns

Having played many Western games over the years, I always have been surprised how many fellows buy some buildings, paint them, and place them onto the table in a line with Main Street running up the middle. Nothing wrong with this. Most Western towns started like this. I like these two websites because they give me some ideas other than the Shootout Down Main Street game. They also help me select buildings to model, paint schemes, and signs. As time goes on, I'll be adding additional websites that will help you improve your town modeling and gaming.

Ghost Town Gallery
Ghost Town Gallery has many ideas for town layouts, buildings, and more. Daniel Ter-Nedden and Carola Schibli, who live in Switzerland, have visited over 180 ghost towns and have taken over 1,700 photos of them. The website is categorized by state and town name, plus they now have a virtual mapping feature, making browsing even easier. Some photos show the entire town, while others show individual buildings. This is the next best thing to actually visiting the ghost towns yourself.

CL Western Studio & Backlot
What better inspiration for cinematic Western games than a real movie studio backlot? According to their website, "the CL Western Studio & Backlot is located only 35 minutes west of Calgary in scenic Alberta, Canada. The location is within the union crew zone and about an hour from the Calgary International Airport." More importantly, their website features a town map and detailed photos of every building in it. For gamers, this means no more guessing what types of buildings to buy and what colors to paint them. This town is the real deal, as far as movies go.