Spring Marks Big Announcements from Plaid Hat Games! Hot

Oh wow...Mice and Mystics looks GREAT. Reminds me of Mouse Guard and Secret of NIMH. This is EXACTLY the kind of game I'm calling for when I talk about there needing to be different kinds of fantasy in gaming. Can't wait to see it..

I've seen the cards and rule book. It's amazing. On Anthony racano's Facebook page (cardboard jungle) Chad Hoverter sculptures are up....it's just a fantastic production.

Lets hope the game play holds up to the promise. It sounds cool just from the blurb above.

I'm usually not a fan of games where you play anthropomorphic animals, but this Mice and Mystics does look amazing. Reminds me of the Redwall books I used to read to my students. I'm also liking the for ages listed at 7+. will be good to play with the kids.

I'd love to look; unfortunately I've been waiting for Safari to load it for two minutes so I just force quit...

OMG! So cute! I may need to pre-order this one. Also age recommendation is 7+. This looks like it will be exactly the kind of game that the young people I play with will lobe.

Love those little guys! I'm kind of co-op'd out but it does look promising.

I will definitely preorder this

I'm trying to SELL games, not buy them. Thanks a lot Colby you jerk!

Game looks SO awesome.

Pre-order instead of Kickstarter? I didn't realize til just now, but hot DAMN that is refreshing.

Incredible! Can this be a success? I hope so.
Unfortunately it's double the price to order something directly from Plaid Hat to Finland otherwise I would be in just because of the originality of this game.

Good Luck!

Yeah, i'mma go ahead and say that this is my most anticipated game of the year right now. I like that it's family-friendly, I like that they're really putting some effort into creating a new fantasy world and setting, and MY GOD those figures. It's exactly the kind of _different_ fantasy I've been craving. We need to support this wholeheartedly- I hope the game lives up to my expectations, but even if it doesn't it looks like it'll be a very noble failure.

Dude, the figures are great, but seriously, they hit the art out of the park. It's ridiculous.

This looks awesome. Did you guys see these crazy dice? Love the cheese icon.

Where are you guys getting some of this info? The website is bare-bones and no page on TOS. It *looks* really cool, but I'd love to find out more about game play other than "co-op adventure game". Rules anywhere yet?

Nevermind, there's a page on TOS now...

The website doesn't look bare bones to me. http://www.plaidhatgames.com/games/mice-and-mystics. Did you check out the submenu for the game?

Any idea how long the pre-order offer will be available?

Those dice look good! Still can't get the website to load though...

The more I look at this game the more I like what I see. I appreciate what appears to be few, simple icons instead of half a dozen or more thrown up all over the page. I like how the layout of the cards is simple as opposed to busy and I particularly like the art style. It reminds me of those old gnome books I used to see on coffee tables when I was a kid in living in Germany as opposed to all the anime/comic book crap in most fantasy games these days. The artist should really be commented.

I'm just about to pull the pre-order trigger, but would like to know more about the 'storytelling' rules. I mean, are these going to be one and done scenarios where you can't really play them a second time (thinking those Cutthroat Cavern type modules) or do they mean something more like Talisman?

I've played Mice & Mystics, and it's fantastic. It's not just a great co-op dungeon crawl that you can play with your kids; the best part is, you're playing a story. Literally - in addition to the rules, you get a story book, and play out the different chapters. There are special rules for individual adventures, different map tiles, and great uber-threats like cats and birds.

As far as the stories, Jeff, you're right, they don't offer a ton of replay. Once you're through them, the only reason to replay would be if you've got a different group (or if you lose and want to try again). However, there are 11 adventures to play through, and you can set it up and play it without the story. I understand Plaid Hat will have some web adventures, and I know they have expansions planned, but the adventures are a bonus. They're not the only way to play.

This isn't a full-blown review, because I only played the prototype a few months ago, but if I was making a recommendation, I would tell you to jump all over the pre-order offer while you can.

Alright, I'm slightly more confused now.

Is this like Castle Ravenloft then? A number of scenarios that when linked tell a story? If so, I don't mind replaying the Ravenloft scenarios because the dungeon layouts and monster order changes. Keeps it somewhat fresh.

Thanks for providing what you know, Max!

In retrospect, I guess most boardgame product pages are pretty sparse. A collage of components, some scuplts, and 6 character cards are all fine and dandy. Four broad paragraphs about the game itself is not what I call a lot of info. They haven't even put out a picture of a dungeon tile, much less what it looks like when the game is setup. The art and the theme is great, but have no idea of the mechanics other than what has been said here on vague terms.

I'm not trying to piss on anyone's parade, I just thought I was missing something. But I think this just illustrates how much theme can sell a game. Still looking forward to finding out more, couldn't consider a pre-order without rules or an informed review.

Castle Ravenloft is an excellent comparison (though this is going to be way better). The chapters go together to build a whole novel, with one story leading into the next and a ton of supporting information.

I can definitely see waiting for more info (except that, like I said, I have played it, and it's pretty darn awesome, so I personally wouldn't wait for it just because I already know how great it is). I wish I could review it now, but since it's only just now getting ready to go to print, there's no way to get a review copy in time to feed the preorder.

The designer had this to say on BGG. I'm gonna go ahead and pre-order. This looks awesome.

The game comes with a rulebook and a storybook. The rulebook will be posted soon so you all can get a better gist of game play. It is not similar to Arabian Nights even though I do enjoy that game.

Gameplay Summary:

You and your other players each play one or more mice who are trying to save the kingdom. A play session has the mice working through a single chapter in an unfolding story. There will be some reading involved. The game generates the challenges while you try and cooperate with your teammates to overcome those challenges and accomplish the chapter goals before time runs out or you are all defeated. Each chapter tells part of a bigger story and each chapter also offers unique experiences and options.

The game is played on artistically rendered oversized modular tiles that depict either large rooms of the castle, or the tunnels between the walls or under the floor. The castle is riddled with mouse tunnels from ages of mice infestations. This is similar to a dungeon crawl but also a little different as you will see.

No person plays the bad guy, all players cooperate with each other. The bad guys are automated and follow a set of comprehensive attack and movement guidelines and also have special abilities.

Disclaimer: Both Matt and I are really good friends with the designer. Jerry is actually one of my favorite people on the planet.

Matt's played it, too, whereas I've just seen the rulebook and cards and whatnot. It looks to be the next Killer App. The execution is truly brilliant and WAY different than anything I've seen out there.