Mouse Guarding

Mouse Guard is, unsurprisingly, set in the world of David Petersen's delightful Mouse Guard comic book series. What follows is, at best, something of an early review, or at least, some random thoughts.

Let's start with a gripe, because while there is one, it should be said that I am enjoying this game and looking forward to learning it more. I want to finish on a positive note, so let's get this out there now.

My gripe with Mouse Guard is how the rules are presented. At times I felt like I was trying to piece the rules together like a puzzle: You think you are reading the rules for how skill tests work, but wait a hundred pages and there's another layer or three, and actually the rules for how this leads to advancement are to be found in another elsewhere, don't ask me to be specific about where... Yes, this is where we define the thing, but the rules about the thing are in a different chapter, or maybe you've read them already, or have you (mysterious wink)? 

The index is not entirely useful in dealing with this issue, mostly because the rules are spread out like seasoning on a hot chip from the middle of the bag. Trying to find something specific feels like trying to single out the squeak of a mouse in the midst of an enthusiastic orchestra.

All that said, the rules are interesting, and I think once we have a better grasp of how everything stitches together, it will run smoothly. The core of the game system asks the players to roll a number of D6, counting successes to meet or beat either a difficulty level, or an opposing roll. From this stand point the system is relatively simple and easy to implement. Combat (or other forms of confrontation) is particularly interesting, with participating players rolling for their collective 'health', choosing an approach they want to take (attack, defend, feint, maneuver), and then trying to wear down the opposition before they themselves are worn down. We haven't played enough to give a fair analysis, but I like it, and I want to keep playing to learn how the semi-rock-paper-scissors choice to approaches can be leveraged by clever play.

The element I am most keen to come to grips with is the way in which the game tries to mechanise a lot of narrative elements. Mouse Guard asks the players to lean into doing things like using their traits against themselves, pitting their goals against their beliefs and so on. It feels like there are multiple levers here a player can manipulate to gain benefits and develop their characters, at the same time as creating a layered story. I really like how these narrative elements are sewn into the fabric of the rules, and setting comes through strongly in how goals, beliefs, instincts, and traits can be used and set against each other or the actions of the character. They can be a great benefit, but they can hinder the character, and when that happens growth occurs. 

I enjoy narrative style games, and this game, like the more recently published Blades in the Dark, seeks to bring this to the fore by creating a scaffold of rules and sub-systems that enable and encourage the story of the characters' internal struggles, victories, and growth. I really do enjoy reading and playing systems where the designers have been deliberate and purposeful in the mechanisms they create to help engender a style of play or reflect a setting or theme through their game. In many RPGs narrative elements, tropes, or themes rise as a sort of emergent property of the play group; an expected natural consequence of the setting or genre. In Mouse Guard these elements are there for the players to lean into mechanically, and can be of great benefit, or if set against the character's intentions, can lead to growth. I like that.

Lastly, and by no means less significantly, is the setting. David Petersen's Mouse Guard is a stunningly illustrated comic book series. Loyalty, duty, honour, betrayal, and sacrifice are all strong themes in the comics, and are lifted into the Mouse Guard role playing game by the clever implementation of the Burning Wheel system. Small heroes struggling in a world where danger is bigger than they are, is one of the things I love about anthropomorphic stories like Mouse Guard, and the comic books capture this well. 

Did I mention the art is amazing, and beautiful, and amazing, I think I did, but it deserves to be said again!