I'm having a good couple days. I just had my birthday, and a few days before that, I clocked 500,000 hits on Oldenhammer-in-Toronto. This old blerg has come a long way since my first tentative posts about the Golden Age of Citadel Miniatures and acne. Thanks to all you readers and friends (many of whom have been with me for years now). And thanks also to the mysterious bots from Israel and Russia, who seem to become possessed of a frenzied desire to tap on my site in the thousands every few months or so.
This week's project is the heroes from Mice and Mystics by Plaid Hat Games. For those of you who have not encountered this delightful game, it's a cooperative dungeon-crawl where 1-4 players control a band of mice heroes. The play combines a rich story, an absorbing setting and a simple but challenging set of rules. Over the course of the campaign, your characters accrue new skills and struggle to obtain (and hold on to!) valuable artifacts (like a sewing needle rapier or a shield made from a button). Although there's a homey fairy-tale quality to the game, it's spiced up with exciting combat and real peril... for example, when I played the full campaign, all my mice drowned in the final climactic catastrophe.
For those of you who are looking for something simpler than Descent and with better solo-play than Advanced Heroquest, I can't recommend this game highly enough. Of course, the figures are merely board-game quality, being made out of bendy plastic. As a result, my paint-job was pretty fast loose. Well... they could be worse... they could be my speed-painted miniatures from Mansions of Madness (shudder).
Well, without further ado, here are the six heroes...
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| Prince Collin the Leader |
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| Filch the Scamp |
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| Nez the Tinkerer |
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| Tilda the Healer |
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| Maginos the Mystic |
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| Lily the Archer |
I suppose animal heroes will soon be all the fashion, now that Osprey has just published a promising skirmish game called Burrows and Badgers. It's like The Wind in the Willows, but with spiked clubs.
Well, in any case, next week we'll take a look at some of the monsters from Mice and Mystics. Thanks for stopping by!
Wee, sleeket, cowran, tim’rous beastie,
O, what a panic’s in thy breastie!
-- "To a Mouse" by Robert Burns (1785)
Oh those are very nice. I'm a big fan of Mouse Guard, and these would fit nicely, I'll have to check out Mice and Mystics. Well done.
ReplyDeleteI never got into Mouse Guard, but now that I have all these armed and dangerous rodents already painted, I guess I should check it out.
DeleteCongratulations on your milestones. Excellent stuff, on bendy plastic no less. I hadn't heard of Mice and Mystics - it's rather timely as my eldest has just bought home one of Brian Jaques Redwall novels - with vignettes by Gary Chalk - who did the artwork for Badgers and Burrows. If it sticks I might go the Splintered Light route, as I've liked their Woodland Warriors range for ages, but a tighter, more campaign driven game like Mice and Mystics has an appeal as well, especially if the figures brush up as nicely as these speedpaints.
ReplyDeleteIf you're playing with kids, I think Mice and Mystics is a good fit. It seems to me to be one of those rare games with true cross-generational appeal.
DeleteReally nice mice! (lucky you about the bots from Israel: on my blog, I have only the russian ones)
ReplyDeleteSomeday I would like to understand the strange ecology of the web.
DeleteLovely paint jobs!
ReplyDeleteThanks SW!
DeleteBelated birthday wishes mate.
ReplyDeleteSo many critter-based games around right now. Rather charming to see I think.
Love the little minis and your "quick" paint jobs always look better than my "long" paint jobs, so hush.
Thanks for the birthday wishes, Dai!
DeleteI really am looking forward to seeing what you do with Gangs of Rome...
The Grandaughter's fell in love with these so off to Amazon I go in the morning.
ReplyDeleteYou are a good grandfather, Phil! I wish you and the tots lots of good play. Look out for that crow.
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ReplyDeleteNice minis and great job on the paintjob! These little mice really are stylish.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that! By your moniker, I think you know your rodents!
DeleteExcellent; I believe also there are actual proper miniatures companies who make these sort of figures if you wanted to expand on or replace the bendy plastic versions.
ReplyDeleteReaper's "mousling" line are pretty good...
DeleteI really like the look of the minis coming out for Burrows and Badgers.
DeleteI can highly recommend Burrows and Badgers, not only is it a beautiful hardcover book with gorgeous artwork, it is also a nice little ruleset.
ReplyDeleteYour miniatures look once again wonderful. A quick and clean paintjob perhaps, but it makes them shine.
There's a great article in the last Wargames Illustrated by the author of Burrows and Badgers. He's pretty thoughtful, so it's a good insight into creative game design.
DeleteAwesome work Matthew!
ReplyDeleteCheers MK!
DeletePainting a bunch of individual figures, without a unit color scheme, to a table top standard this good is incredibly impressive. I'm always amazed to see it happen. I've never played Mice and Mystics, but two of our friends showed it off to us once and I thought it looked like a lot of fun. Hopefully someday I'll get a chance.
ReplyDeleteAre you going to have a crack at the monsters next? :D
DeleteYes! The monsters are coming next week!
DeleteI hope you do get a chance to play it.
The look pretty damn good for board game figures. Reminds me that I have a bunch of Mousling Space Marines, just to mess with people.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see some Mouse Space Marines storm into the story for Mice and Mystics. They'd mess up the castle right proper.
DeleteFirst of all...happy birthday! You must be Taurus like myself
ReplyDeleteAnd congrats on 1/2 a million hits! Well deserved.
The figures look great and the game sounds fun! I’ve been sorely tempted. By such figures myself after reading Redwall to the kids...
I have to give Redwall a shot. From everything that I've heard, if you (or your kids) like one, they will like the other too.
DeleteThe game is really marvellous, and I love seeing the minis painted in your style, they look truly gorgeous. Congratulations on the multiple milestones!
ReplyDeleteThanks Suber!
DeleteBelated Birthday wishes Matthew!! I must say that I am in awe of your painting, those are some beautiful mice.
ReplyDeletePatrick
Thanks Patrick! Looking forward to seeing you in Stratford soon, I hope.
DeleteWhen you look back on your speed-painted stuff and shudder... man i get the same thing. It's like everything has to be a respectable effort, or what's the point? Everytime you see the speed painted fig you just cringe...
ReplyDeleteAnyway nice mice! I look forward to the monsters. Also congrats on all those hits!
I really have mixed feelings about the speed painting. On the one hand, I look at those old Mansions of Madness things I did and I truly feel ashamed. And yet, it is fun to just let loose and throw your standards to the wind. It's liberating not to worry (at all) about quality. But too much of that liberation, and I would go mad.
DeleteLovely work Matthew! I agree, this is a brilliant game - full of character and great mechanics. If you haven't tried yet, give 'Tailfeathers' a whirl. It's an air-combat variant, based on the same storyline - beautiful figures (and better plastic for painting).
ReplyDeleteOK - I will check out Tailfeathers!
Deletewould you be interested in painting my set for $$$? email me.
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