Our annual Easter game is usually one of the games of the year. I have an back catalog of ideas I've "borrowed" from other players, as well as a handful of scenario I'd like to "candy coat."
When I realized the a big floor game wasn't an option this year, and learning new sci-fi rules wasn't going to work, I turned to some old reliables: Mouslings, Savage Showdown, and the Just Born company.
For the Swiss village of Zuckerangriff, Easter is a much celebrated holiday. Baskets of eggs and confections dominated what's largely a celebration of Spring. It's so beloved that even the village Donut shop closes for one day, and they stay open for Jul!
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| Zuckerangriff. The rich gnomes live on the other side of the river. |
Rumors of distress within the town trickled out to the countryside, and two groups heeded the call.
The Snakes: A group of Mousling bandits, led by the brute Wakanda, these folks were as likely to the pillage the village as they were to save it.
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| The Snakes, with "heroes" Pinky and Wakanda (center) |
The Merry Mice: The Mouslings, led by the dashing Robin Mouse, were likely to get distracted in the middle of a project, but their heart was in the right place.
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| Merry Mouse 1, Friar Buck, Robin Mouse, Mouse Marien, Merry Mouse 2 |
Rules: The big objective (saving the wounded Gnome in the center of town) was worth 5 points.
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| This will end poorly for the Gnome |
The other objectives were worth 3 points.
All objectives were hazardous, meaning failure to acquire them would result in one wound to the attempting figure.
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| The wrong day to come into market |
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| It's Terrapin Terrorism! |
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| A Wildchild among Mouslings |
Saving Gnomes: The gnomes in this village aren't too smart, and refuse to fall for the "fake news" of another monster attack (They had a problem with wolf attacks awhile ago.) Mouslings could encounter Gnome figure on the board and treat them as an objective. Success meant the Gnome was coerced to leave or hide in their homes, and earned the warband one point.
Turn One: A Joker was immediately pulled by Robin Mouse granting him a Bennie and some bonuses, but also unleashing the remaining pack of Cotton Candy Peeps, coming from all directions (Peeps do come in packs).
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| Miss Pumpkin Farmer: That's the sound of inevitability that you hear behind you. |
Turn Two: Robin Mouse attempted to communicate with the strange, almost hedgehog-looking Mousling. The Wildchild Mousling did not appreciate Robin's approach, and a boomerang hit the Merry Mouse upside the head. The leader needed to burn through his two Bennies to rereoll the encounter (still a failure) and soak the subsequent wound.
Meanwhile, Mouse Marien was taking business into her own hands, firing deadly accurate arrows at the Peeps' one weak spot: their vestigial eyes. The beast died instantly.
On the other side of town, it was obvious that the Snakes were not there out of complete altruism.
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| "How you doin?" |
The Snakes ignored the nearby cries of Gnomes in distress, saved a few lovely Gnome ladies, but otherwise travelled in a pack for defense.
Turn Three:
Friar Buck and two of the Merry Mice swept through there corner of the village, saving a few Gnomes.
Robin Mouse was again wounded by the deranged boomeranger.
The Snakes? They were checking out the Donut Shop, only saving an NPC that forget it was a Gnome holiday.
Turn Four:
The locals secured, Friar Buck went after the marauding Peeps, acing his rolls, and easily chopping through the Sucrose carapace armor of one of the monsters. The Merry Mice in two were but a step behind.
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| Friar Buck takes a piece out of the Peep. |
Mouse Marien came back to save her beloved (and twice incompetent) Robin. She came up behind the Wildchild and hit them in the back of the head. The tiny Mousling seemed like a bigger threat than the Peeps!
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| Mary Hood waylays the Wildchild |
Turn Five:Robin Mouse gained his senses, then peered across town to see the scourge of Mouse-kind, Wakanda. For a moment, he drew his bow to take aim at the bandit-lord, but he couldn't go through with it.
His Merry Mice were much braver, charging into another rabid Cotton Candy Peep and killing it. Unfortunately, another Peep was nearby and the Mouslings weren't as lucky. Friar Buck had to step in and kill that beast to recover the bodies, rather than officially rescue the nearby turtle.
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| The Merry Mice take out one Peep, |
Turn Six: While the south end of the village was contained. The center of town by the bridge was pandemonium. The Snakes' refusal to help allowed the Peeps to take control of the area and feast on some of the clueless individuals, including the wounded gnome and the Pumpkin farmer. The Pig Cart would be eventually intercepted by the Snakes and taken as plunder.
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| With both players ignoring the bridge, the downtown is lost. |
End of Game: Merry Mice 7 Snakes 3
My daughter Maja (age 12) runs the Snakes and each session she intentionally goes after objectives that would help her warband. It's a "It's what my character would do" thinking that works out better in a games like Mordheim or possibly zombie survival.
Millie (age 10) still wants more wild fun, but her Merry Mice performed admirably yet again.
I'm still planning on that sci-fi Easter-themed game for this year, using Planet 28. Possibly Orthodox Easter?
