If cute, woodland critters, engaging in Game of Thrones violence and politics is something up your alley, then you need Squarriors in your life. The graphic novel is the brainchild of Team Ash (Ashley Witter and Ash Maczko) and already has its own rabid cult following. Introducing the post-apocalyptic world that the Tin Kin tribe (adorable mice and squirrels) live in after a crisis wiped out humanity as the rulers on this ball of rock. The series is brutal and hard-hitting in its writing, and features the most insane artistic visuals around.
Add in various tribes of critters, politics, and iconic leaders from all sides… the story lends itself well to an actual game. Which leads us to the reason you might hear a Squarriors battle-cry in the TCG section of a convention. The team at Cold War has ported the fantastic comic into a new tradeable, competitive card game. The game is already completed, built, designed and tested, and they launched a Kickstarter which funded in two days. It’s still going to hit stretch goals and allowing people to get collectibles now before it hits stores.
The card game twists the standard CCG genre with a few noteworthy and unique additions. Each game I’ve played tells its own story of you building your tribe, exploration, conquest, betrayal and survival (for the victory). Unlike most card games, random decking, bad land draws, and insane top decking draws aren’t part of Squarriors. Instead all of your tribe and strategy cards start in play or in your hand, and even cards in your discard pile have chain effects. The result is a game that focuses on player strategy and cunning (you are small rodents after all), rather than chance.
Victory, is ultimately determined by control and destruction of domains, and they have a few ways to skin the cat (Wormwood is a hell beast though, so good luck). Your little mice can try stealth assassination attacks on important figures, or maybe a rousing speech to crust your opponents morale and influence. It’s possible to manipulate key figures from an opposing tribe to join your side, and when all of that fails—just send over your army of armed squirrels to salt the earth with your enemies blood. Once you’ve established dominance over your broken opponent, your tribe’s survival is ensured. For now.
The one aspect of the game I haven’t seen in action, is a larger multi-player game, since it scales to allow group games rather than one-on-one. Which can change the game. Since a normal game between two vets can take 30-60 minutes, the multi-player ones are bound to take longer. Which is fine since a party of five all playing for control seems like a night long endeavor with friends and food.
If you are interested in exploring the world of Squarriors, the graphic novel and comics can be found in stores, or you can hit their website.
Have you demoed or play Squarriors at a con yet? Or are you a rabid fan of the graphic novel? Let us know in the comments about your experiences with the game or what tribe is your favorite?
Image Credits: Squarriors