Shotgun Duel for iOS: It's Just Like Actual Dueling… Minus, You Know, Getting Shot

Is some Bad Egg trying to bark at your ol’ Buckle Bunny? Some Bunko trying to make off with your new Bangtail? Or, more likely, is some punk from accounting trying to say you’ve snagged his stapler?

Now you can settle things just like they would in the old west: with a good ol’ fashion duel — sans bullets, a criminal record, and the risk of gangrene, of course. First, you’ve got to pick your weapon: iPhone, or iPod Touch?

Back in February 2009, Inedible Software released Shotgun [iTunes Link] after the company’s co-founders met in an iPhone development class at Stanford. The idea was simple: it’d turn your iPhone… into a shotgun. Users “pump” the shotgun by jerking the iPhone back and forth (vertically or horizontally), then “fire” by either tapping the screen or jerking your hand upward to simulate recoil. It was a fun toy, and something that Inedible hoped a few people might download.

Over 7 million downloads later, the company decided it was time to take things up a notch. Enter Shotgun Duel. Same idea, but with better graphics, improved gesture detection, and best of all: multiplayer dueling.

Here’s how it works: Two players, each with their own iPhone or iPod Touch, connect to each other over Bluetooth or WiFi. With the duelers a few paces apart and rockin’ their harshest sneers, the countdown begins. When the clock hits zero, the one who gets their gun cocked and fired the fastest is the one who walks away (or, at least, the one who doesn’t have to buy the next round of beers).

The game, which is totally free [iTunes Link] (ad supported), is an absolute friggin’ blast. It’s got a pretty slick achievement system built in, rewarding the player for things like consecutive duel wins or getting the gun cocked and fired a ridiculous number of times in under 30 seconds. Each achievement earns the player a few points, with which they can buy new guns and skins, or disable ads. Want points faster? They’ve got offers from TapJoy (download some free apps, get some points), or point bundles available through In-App purchase.

Use it to finally prove to your friends that you’re pretty much a jedi. Use it as a way to kill twenty minutes at lunch. Use it to settle who makes the coffee next. Whatever you use it for, it’s better than actually… you know, shooting each other. (Oh, Alexander Hamilton; if only you’d been born 205 years later.)