Mouse Guard: Swords & Strongholds

About this board game

Mouse Guard: Swords & Strongholds is a light strategy game for two players that plays in about 30 minutes. Set in the world of the Mouse Guard comics and roleplaying game, it places rival mouse patrols on a 6-by-8 grid and challenges each player to outmaneuver the other.

Each player controls four mice, arranging them on the two ranks closest to their side of the board. On a turn, move one mouse into an open space directly up, down, left, or right, then choose whether to play a card targeting that mouse. The deck contains Sword, Stronghold, and Diplomacy cards, with ten of each type.

• Sword: Move in an L shape and push mice along your movement path, potentially capturing them by forcing them off the board or into corners around a Stronghold.
• Stronghold: Leap off the grid onto an adjacent square, restricting nearby movement and creating a powerful defensive position.
• Diplomacy: Interact with the nearest enemy mouse by forcing it out of a Stronghold or switching places with it.

When you hold one card of each type, you can play all three for a Rescue, returning one captured mouse to an open setup position. After resolving your turn, draw until you have three cards, reshuffling the discard pile when necessary.

Positioning is crucial: mice can be pushed, displaced, captured, or returned to the fight. In Mouse Guard: Swords & Strongholds, victory comes from building a Stronghold in an enemy corner or capturing every opposing mouse.