(Gnome Wars) The Battle for the Hair

This past weekend was one of the most productive, but also most relaxing ones since I've gotten married 6 1/2 years ago.

After a morning of yard and housework, we received a small trickle of visiting friends all day.  No major arrivals of giant families from Michigan staying overnight, just recently divorced (and bored) friends and a few bored neighbors as well.  At one point, my wife needed to leave to go to her annual review for her Per Diem job, and my friend Don, the lone visitor at the time, had taken a nap on the couch.  Soon, my littlest, Millie, was passed out on the chair, and I waited for Maja to pass out as well.

Instead, I got a "Daddy, can you bring out my tower and play a game?"

How can I resist?

In "last week's" episode, Snow White had evaded capture and got changed to her normal, morbidly obese, Little People size. 

Now Rapunzel had been captured by the German Gnomes, and stowed away in a castle.  With no Flynn Rider figure to rescue her, who would do it?

The Rescuers

Four separate teams were formed by Maja as I set up the Germans:

• A unit of a female warrior and two mouslings had already infiltrated the castle and were attempting to get through the defenses
• A kick-butt unit of Little People Snow White, Bruce Carmezind (The Most Interesting Gnome in the World), a little red frog, and a Little People Race Car (with driver)
• A unit of renegade German Bunny Cavalry.
• A "Peace" Van driven by David the Gnome and Zeke the Mouse. 

The Evil Gnomes

• 2 units of German Gnomes, one guarding in front of the river, the other behind it.
• Stonecutter Homer was watching the Battle from a safe location near the tower.
• An Owlbear, as placed by Maja, was guarding the interior of the tower.
• An out of control Ettin.

The Geman Gnome Defenses - Rapunzel is NOT to scale.

From L to R: Snow White, Bruce Carmezind, the Race Car, the Peace Van with David and Zeke, and the Bunny Cav.

Armed with only a blunderbuss and a bow, respectively, David and Zeke did what any credible rescuing hero would do: floor it and plow into people, running over three of out the five peasant infantry blocking the bridge.  Bruce climbed atop a hay bale and started gunning down Germans.  The Bunny Cav positioned itself to charge the German flank, and were oddly followed by Snow White.

On the Germans turn, their guns were wildly ineffective. Everyone apparently was soaking up the irony of a Peace Van running over people.  The next line of German peasant infantry defending the bridge slowly creeped back, only to be met by the rampaging ettin, who cared little of friend or foe.

The Van Rides to Rescue!

The rescuers responded by sending the little red frog into hand to hand combat with the Green German line, and his ultimate demise.  Bruce, jumped off the hay bale and wildly shot into the Germans staring at the van.  The van met the ettin head-on to a violent collision, but had enough power to slowly push the ettin off the bridge, making hime more dead than wet.  The Bunny Cav finally got ready to charge into the Germans, yet Snow White stood in the woods, staring off in the distance.

Our Mousling friends (& Human)  in the tower made mince meat of the Owlbear, yet could not defeat the donut laced machinations of Homer.

Van vs Ettin

The German counterattack whittled the Bunny Cav down, as well as gunned down Bruce Carmezind.  While heroes in the tower fought Homer, the ultimate betrayal occurred.  Maja decided that Homer was close enough to Flynn Rider that they kissed, fell in love and wanted to escape everyone. 

Our heroes caught unawares, the van flew over the bridge and slide to a stop, only to be surrounded by the German rifles...

Wow, the valet parking is so attentive!

The Bunny Cav finally got their charge in, routing the Grey Germans still guarding the near side of the river. 

Did Snow White know this was going to happen?

The Happy Couple

The mouslings in the tower managed to escape, but David the Gnome and Zeke the Mouse are prisoners of the Kaiser!

It was a great impromptu hour long game with my daughter.  Everyone else napped and became much more pleasant for the rest of the day.  Now I just have to figure out the next game for her and her sister.  It may be a variant of a very old scenario after I come back from my Daddy's gaming extravaganza next weekend, but I need to know who's on who's side....

There are double agents everywhere!