The Mouse Guard Roleplaying Game is a tabletop

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

created by Luke Crane based on the

Mouse Guard A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

comics and his own

Burning Wheel ''The Burning Wheel'' is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game independently written and published by Luke Crane. The game uses a dice pool mechanic (using only standard six-sided dice) for task resolution and a character generation system that ...

system. Boom! Studios' imprint Archaia Entertainment released a second edition of the game on 3 November 2015.

The Game

The game itself has been released in two editions - a hardback in 2008 and a deluxe boxed set was brought out in 2011.

Setting

Mouse Guard is a pseudo-medieval setting about an order of

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

mouse A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

rangers. The setting itself was written by David Petersen in a series of

Eisner award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

winning comics. Many details of the setting such as "How does a mouse become a member of the Mouse Guard" were fleshed out specifically for the RPG.Petersen talks "Mouse Guard" Role-Playing Game
- Comic Book Resources, 5 May 2008

System

The game system is a simplified version of the

system, using standard six-sided

dice Dice (singular die or dice) are small, throwable objects with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. They are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, role-playing g ...

, with each result of a 4-6 being a success. Each character has an overriding belief, an immediate goal, and an

instinct Instinct is the inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behaviour, containing both innate (inborn) and learned elements. The simplest example of an instinctive behaviour is a fixed action pattern (FAP), in which a v ...

that guides them, all with mechanical weight.

Reception

Critical reception was strong, with the Mouse Guard Roleplaying Game winning numerous industry awards. It won the 2008 Origins Award for best roleplaying game2008 Origins Award winners
and numerous Indie RPG awards,Indie RPG Awards 2008 Game of the Year
/ref>Indie RPG Awards 2008 Best Production
/ref>2008 Indie RPG Awards Best Support
/ref> as well as being silver winner for three ENnies2009 ENnie Awards
/ref> and shortlisted for the 2009 Diana Jones Award.Diana Jones Award 2009 Nominees
/ref> Tor.com called it "a fantastic game which challenges players imagination and creativity".Mouse Guard Roleplaying Game
- Tor.com 6 August 2009 The 2011 Box Set was called "easily the most beautiful RPG I have ever laid eyes on" by '' Wired''.The Mouse Guard RPG Box Set: An In-depth Review
- Wired Magazine, 13 December 2011

References

{{Reflist ENnies winners Furry role-playing games Origins Award winners Role-playing games based on comics