Town forum usage
People can do things however they want, and add whatever features and games they like, but this is how my town is set up so far using the town forum...
NOTICE BOARD
Listing of town events, and for general posting of notices, advertisements, etc.
THE SHERIFF
The Sheriff helps people with their problems and questions, but mainly is for reporting crimes like if someone has been unfairly assaulted and robbed. The Sheriff will go and duel them if possible until what was stolen is taken back from them, or they have at least had a good beating. The deputies will do the same, either commanded by the Sheriff, or taking charge themselves if the Sheriff is not available. If trading is ever included the Sheriff may also offer rewards for townspeople who defeat enemies of the town. For example if someone agreed to pay the town for temporary use of the facilities, but then don't pay then they are guilty of robbing the town.
THE CHAPEL
The preacher looks after the spiritual wellbeing of the townspeople, offering advice and discussions of a religious nature, listening to confessions, etc. Also the preacher will provide regular sermons to teach the people, but the pulpit is open to anyone to preach and share their views any time. The preacher will also perform the ceremony if any town members want to get married.
THE SALOON
The townspeople hang out here, drinking and chatting, and introduce themselves to the barman. It is also where the casino is located. Everyone gets $100 of casino chips for use in each game, but if they lose them all then they must deposit $10 into the town treasury to get another $100 of chips. If it's ever possible to trade between players then they will always have to buy them first, but can also sell them back, so it will be possible to win money too.
The casino workers (called 'dealers') deal cards and other things, and in a single game whichever dealer is available can make the move. The dealers can also play in the games themselves, but they are not allowed to act as dealer in their own games, and must wait for another dealer to make the move. So far there are two games...
ROULETTE
As often as a dealer is available and bets have been placed the Roulette wheel is spun, producing a random number from 0-36. The dealer can use an actual Roulette wheel, or else a reliable random number generator. Players can place any number of different bets at once, eg....
Any single number 1-36 (odds 36-1)
Any two consecutive numbers (odds 18-1)
RED or BLACK (odds 2-1)
ODD or EVEN (odds 2-1)
(1-12) or (13-24) or (25-36) (odds 3-1)
If number 0 appears all bets lose.
(Or betting on two rolled dice, total 7 odds=5-1, total below 7 odds=2-1, total above 7 odds=2-1. Profitable game for the casino.)
PONTOON
Each player plays their own game against the dealer, but the dealer can play several people at once. A deck of shuffled cards is used, and after taking out any cards already dealt in a game the dealer then simply deals cards from the deck whenever needed. All cards dealt are named for all to see.
The dealer gets one card and the player gets two. The player then bets a certain amount that they can score higher than the dealer, by adding the values of their cards together, but if they score higher than 21 then they lose. The player must always bet a minimum amount once the first cards have been dealt, but will bet more if they are more confident they can beat the dealer.
The player says, "TWIST" if they want another card dealt to them, and goes "BUST" if they score higher than 21, losing their bet.
When the player wants to stick with their current hand they say, "STICK". The dealer then deals cards to himself until he either scores higher or equal to the player, or goes over 21. If the dealer is BUST then the player wins back twice their bet, but if the dealer scores equal or higher than the player then the player loses their bet.
Cards 2-10 have their face value, picture cards are worth 10 and Aces can be worth either 1 or 11.
The dealers calculate each players' winnings and losses who have bet, and tell them their total credit at the end of each hand/spin.
Note if your town requires taxes to be regularly paid then the members can win money or get bounty hunter rewards by paying less tax, or people can be paid for doing town jobs in the same way.
I hope these explanations are clear, I can give examples of some games if not, which will plainly show how simple this is to do.
