Mausritter Review

It’s a hard life being a mouse adventurer. Not only are you very small and the world is very big, many toothed, and extremely dangerous, but you’ve only got so many inventory slots. Welcome to the be-whiskered world of Maustritter, originally published by Losing Games, now available in an excellent if limited boxed edition from Games Omnivorous.

It’s a roleplaying game with something of the OSR about it, things can get tough quickly, and there’s a definite focus on thinking fast rather than hoping your optimised stats will see you through. Using a clever system of inventory tokens that fit on to character sheets, introducing the core concepts to new players is fast. Want to track durability? Don’t worry, there’s a place to mark off a use of your lantern. When players get scared, hungry or poisoned, the might be given a token of that effect, which has to be carried as everything else does. It’s a delightful idea to have characters carry around their burdens, and very quickly disabuses players of the notion that they really need to bring everything with them.

Short, snappy and deadly dealing with sugar cultists and cursed in the included Honey In The Rafters soon puts you in mind of classic OSR dying-a-lot games. Yet Mausritter does want you to survive – you can raise warbands and even build villages. It’s a kinder game than a lot of Games Omnivorous’s output, and for that it invites you to build your own Redwall inspired world.

Beyond this, it’s a great introduction to roleplaying for new players, and alternative systems to seasoned players. There’s something amusing about having your players move through semi-domestic situations, where the scale and danger of what’s around them is undercut by their inherent normality. The game can contain this humour as well as the very real threat of a semi-mystic tabby from down the road, and for that, it should be enthusiastically applauded with tiny paws. 

Christopher John Eggett

PLAY IT? YES

Designer: Isaac Williams

Publisher: Games Omnivorous

Pages:  49

Age: 12+

Price: £29

This review originally appeared in Issue 51 of Tabletop Gaming. Pick up the latest issue of the UK's fastest-growing gaming magazine in print or digital here or subscribe to make sure you never miss another issue.

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