My family and I have taken to playing a game of Sentinels of the Multiverse each weekend. Being roleplayers my wife and I decided to turn each session of the game into part of an ongoing storyline. Thought I'd share them here.
The Players: Myself (dad), my wife (mom), and my children (7yo daughter and 11 yo son).
FIGHT FOR FREEDOM Issue #1: Unity
Upon returning home after a day out shopping in the local scrapyards, Unity discovers that Omnitron has integrated itself with Freedom Tower and has trapped the Freedom Five in a stasis beam! To free the world's premiere superhero team she must recruit a rag-tag group of heroes to infiltrate the tower and destroy Omnitron. Luckily, the Midwest Sentinels are in town to cheer on Idealist as she competes in a nation-wide science fair while Parse and KNYFE are both in attendance at a forum on cybersecurity in a post-human world. Can these seven heroes save the Freedom Five?
Conditions: One player must choose Unity. All other players must choose heroes who are not members of the Freedom Five.
Heroes: Unity (daughter), Parse (son), the Sentinels (dad), and KNYFE (mom)
Villain: Omnitron
Environment: Freedom Tower
ANALYSIS: This was a fun game to play. I got a strong combination of cards so Doctor Medico kept everyone's HP up to near full levels. Parse and KNYFE were a brutal combination and, in the end, my daughter got enough golems out to make Unity a devestating force. Good first issue.
FIGHT FOR FREEDOM Issue #2: Prime Wardens
Unity and her rag-tag band of heroes defeated Omnitron but something went wrong. A power surge turned the stasis field holding the Freedom Five into a transdimensional teleportation field! The Freedom Five vanished before Unity's eyes and now they could be anywhere in time and space! Unfortunately, the technology Unity needs to locate and retrieve the Freedom Five was destroyed during the battle. While the Sentinels, Parse, and KNYFE stay on call in case trouble strikes, Unity sends out other heroes to retrieve the information and tech she needs to save her friends. The Prime Wardens are directed to the Block, where they must interrogate the Time-Crazed Prisoner. Unity believe somewhere in his crazed ramblings is a clue to just where and when the Freedom Five have been teleported. Of course, nothing can ever be so simple. As the Prime Wardens arrive at the Block, the forces of Grand Warlord Voss arrive to rescue their leader from human confinement. Can the Prime Wardens defeat Voss's forces, stop a prison riot, and learn the information Unity needs to find the Freedom Five?
Conditions: All players must choose a memebr of the Prime Wardens.
Heroes: Argent Adept (mom), Tempest (dad), Fanatic (daughter), Captain Cosmic (son)
Villain: Grand Warlord Voss
Environment: The Block
ANALYSIS: This was my wife's third attempt to figure out Argent Adept and she finally mastered him, keeping us healed and giving us damage boosts. Captain Cosmic did his job, splitting his buffs between Tempest and Fanatic. Voss couldn't get minions out before we'd send them back to the trash. We were wary of the environment, especially the massive damage that Char and the Time-Crazed Prisoner could do but with two damage dealers and two boosters we knocked out most inmates before they could actually do damage.
FIGHT FOR FREEDOM Issue #3: Dark Watch
While the Prime Wardens searched for clues to the Freedom Five's location the Dark Watch was given a different assignment: find one of Baron Blade's mobile defense platforms and retrieve the flux capacitor located deep inside its engine core. With Baron Blade in prison and his organization barely operational the job seemed easy enough. Unfortunately, as soon as the Dark Watch snuck onboard they ran into problems in the form of the invisible hunter, Ambuscade. Now, the defenders of Rook City must contend with the world's most dangerous hunter and the Baron's minions as they fight their way through the Condtplatform.
Conditions: All players must choose a member of the Dark Watch.
Heroes: Expatriette (daughter), Mister Fixer (son), Setback (dad), Nightmist (mom)
Villain: Ambuscade
Environment: Mobile Defense Platform
ANALYSIS: This was my first time playing Setback and I was nervous. I ended up going down to 5 HP, mostly due to self-inflicted injuries. My wife played Nightmist well and was especially valuable as a deck controller. The kids did a good job at chipping away at Ambuscade's arsenal of gadgets and weapons. As is usual with Ambuscade, he had the upper hand for a while until and flipped to invisible stalker mode twice. In the end, I had an unlucky pool of 18 points and two copies of the card that lets Setback do extra damage for every 3 points there is in the pool. Ambuscade has a hard time standing up to 15 points of damage in a single punch. Or, you know, when Setback slips on a slippery deck, falls on Ambuscade, and knocks him down into the reactor core. Whoops!
I'll update this as we continue the storyline. Next we have to travel into the bowels of Omnitron IV to retrieve a cold fusion power core.
This is delightful! I'm so keen to see more.
Australian living in Toronto. I make a lot of games. http://about.peterchayward.com
Thank you! My family's having a blast and Sentinels has helped teach both my kids a bit about tactics, thinking through problems, and thinking ahead.
FIGHT FOR FREEDOM Issue #4: Scholar and the Naturalist
The coordinates and the flux capacitor retrieved by the Prime Wardens and Dark Watch would be of little use without a power source strong enough to punch a hole through time and space. To find the Freedom Five, the heroes need a power core from inside the semi-sentient robotics factory known as Omnitron IV. Scholar and the Naturalist are dispatched to retrieve the power core but discover that Gloomweaver's Cult also seeks the cosmically charged battery, hoping to use it to enhance their ritual for summoning the nightmare walker! Soon the battle is joined by Chrono Ranger, who appears out of nowhere to collect a few bounties, and Guise... who also appears from more or less nowhere and seems to be wearing a Santa costume for some reason. Can these four heroes prevent the summoning of Gloomweaver and retrieve the power core needed to help rescue the Freedom Five?
Conditions: All players must choose choose a non-affiliated hero who hasn't yet been played in the series.
Heroes: Santa Guise (daughter), Chrono Ranger (son), Naturalist (dad), Scholar (mom)
Villain: Gloomweaver
Environment: Omnitron IV
ANALYSIS: This was the first time Scholar and Naturalist were played at our table. My wife's got a good head for strategy driven characters (she loves Absolute Zero) so he was a natural fit for her. Naturalist spent most of his time in gazelle form, healing up. The ongoing that allowed him to negate all damage done to hero targets by the environment came in handy! We let Omnitron IV build up its defenses and just hammer away at the cult. My daughter did a great job with Guise. She really loves throwing her hands up in the air and shouting 'WOO!' to gain another card play. All in all, a great adventure.
FIGHT FOR FREEDOM Issue #5: Unity and Omnitron-X
With the coordinates, the flux capacitor, and a cosmically charged power core the heroes are ready to locate the Freedom Five and rescue them! Unity builds plugs the flux capacitor into her BFF, Omnitron-X, and charged him to the maximum using the power core. The only problem? Omnitron-X could only transport a limited number of heroes. It was decided Unity and the Midwest Sentinels would go and so the heroes surrounded the sentient robot, holding hands, as it charged up the flux capacitor and prepared to travel through time and space. At the last second, Setback, who was watching in the wings, stumbled and fell into the group. The sudden addition of another hero threw off the calculations and they all catapulted through time and space to the wrong location. The heroes emerged in Silver Gulch, 1883. There was no time to worry about finding the Freedom Five or even getting home, though. Somehow, they weren't the only beings out of time in the old west town. A plague rat was there, terrorizing the populace.
Conditions: One player must pick Unity. One player must pick Omnitron-X. The other two heroes can be picked from any character previously played during the series.
Heroes: Sentinels (daughter), Setback (son), Termi-Nation Unity (dad),Omnitron X (mom)
Villain: Plague Rat
Environment: Silver Gulch
ANALYSIS: This was our hardest fight yet! Plague Rat's irreducable damage combined with infections drained out health quickly. My daughter spent most of her time using Doctor Medico's powers to keep her heroes alive. Luckily, she drew an ongoing that let her bounce damage back to Plague Rat. That helped. It took time for my wife to get good cards out for Omnitron-X due to some bad draws and I couldn't keep Unity's golems out for long before they were destroyed. Luckily, my son proved to be the MVP of the game. I'm proud of him. He used Setback in a very tactical way. He did everything he could to build up his unlucky pool. Finally, he unleashed around 15 points of damage (enhanced by the explosives wagon) and hurt Plague Rat enough for Omnitron-X to finish the job. Of course, he took himself out too but had thought ahead enough to put out the card that resurrects him with a number of HP equal to his unlucky pool. We were all pretty banged up but we defeated the rat.
Sounds like an amazing way to do family game night! Thanks for sharing with us.
Anyone can game alone, but it is much more fun to game with friends.
Chrono
I really have to second PeterCHayward. These truly are wonderful. I'd love to have a group where I felt like I could construct more of a storyline to connect the games and make them more meaningful! Keep them coming!
BLM
I can't wait til my kid(s) are old enough to play! (Currently there is just 1 kid 1 year old) but I am really looking forward to these sorts of game nights! Thanks for the fun run-throughs
@Chrono, Maynes32 & skoticus: Thanks! My wife and I have been surprised at how well this has worked for family game time. We don't get tired of the game and the kids love the ongoing storylines. My 7 yo gets a little bored at times but she loves the characters and it helps her practice her reading skills and her counting skills (we make her figure out her own damage totals and HP totals). My 11 yo is learning how to think ahead and handle frustration (he's got issues with not losing well and anger management that come as a result of ADHD). I'll keep posting. Next game, we're going to find out what happened to the F5.
These continue to be amaaaaaaazing!
Australian living in Toronto. I make a lot of games. http://about.peterchayward.com
I just got the game to play with my board game meetup group. We may try something like this as well. First I gotta get the rest of the expansions when they are restocked.
Really cool.
My 7 yr. old Daughter likes the game, but we don't get to play much, my son s 3 and likes to climb up and try to destroy all my cards. He loves the cards and asks about them, but he isn't gentle and has bent several in half.
@PeterCHayword: Thanks! I'm so pleased you like them.
@Radman: It really adds to the game if you can make it a story and not just card plays!
@phantakippy: My kids are tough on the cards. They don't get bent or torn up but some of them are worn at the edges. My son and daughter both enjoy just sorting through the cards and reading the text. We had an interesting time describing the events of "Trust Fund" to our 7 yo.
Word.
Australian living in Toronto. I make a lot of games. http://about.peterchayward.com
We finished up the "Fight for Freedom" mini-series this weekend!
FIGHT FOR FREEDOM Issue #6: The Freedom Five
With Unity and her fellow heroes desperately searching for the world's premiere superheroes, the question has to be asked... where ARE the Freedom Five? To what random location in time and space did the power surge in Omnitron's stasis beam send them to? Wonder no further, true believers! Look to the future, just one alternate dimension away from our own. In that horrible, desolate landscape known as the Final Wasteland, the Freedom Five struggle to survive and find a way home. Luckily, hope appears on the horizon. The heroes have tangled with Captain Maria Helena Teresa Fafila Servanda Jimena Mansuara Paterna Domenga Gelvira Placia Sendina Belita Eufemia Columba Gontina Aldonza Mafalda Cristina Tegrida de Falcon and the crew of the La Paradoja Magnifica before but maybe, this time, she'll be open to negotation?
Conditions: All members of the Freedom Five must be played.
Heroes: Wraith (daughter), Tachyon (son), Termi-Nation Absolute Zero (dad), Termni-Nation Bunker (dad), Legacy (mom)
Villain: La Capitan
Environment: Final Wasteland
ANALYSIS: This was our first five hero game. I played two to ensure we had the full Freedom Five in the fight. I'll admit I was worried going into this. La Capitan is listed as a difficulty 2 villain but my own experiences in the digital game point to her being much tougher if she gets a good number of crew out. Fortunately, that didn't happen. Thanks in part to the whims of the draw and in part to my daughter's dogged persistence in using Wraith's infrared eyepiece, the only crew member who ever came out is Mable. We decided that Wraith, being the sneaky clever sort, snuck onboard and managed to spike the hatch to the lower decks, preventing La Capitan's crew from joining the fight. The time-traveling pirate queen flipped to her damage reduction side once during the battle but we were able to flip her back within three turns. Legacy proved key here, keeping our head above water with healing and playing cards to limit La Capitan's options. The environment wasn't as helpful as it could have been, since so few villain targets were out but between Bunker, Wraith, and Tachyon it wasn't a problem. In the end, the fight proved much easier than anticipated.
FIGHT FOR FREEDOM Aftermath: Nightmist and Parse
During the battle with La Capitan, the Paradoja Magnifica was accidentally sent hurtling through time to the old west, where Plague Rat, who had been kept captive in the ship's brig, escaped (see Fight for Freedom #5 for Plague Rat's battle against Unity, Omnitron-X, the Sentinels, and Setback in Silver Gultch!). In the end, Unity was reuinited with the Freedom Five and the heroes all returned home through the time portal created using Baron Blade's flux capacitor and Omnitron-IV's power core. Of course, in the chaos, the Paradoja Magnifica escaped into the timestream...
Back in Megalopolis, the Freedom Five have to deal with the problems caused by their absence but for Wraith, there are still nagging questions. How did Omnitron conquer Freedom Tower so easily? The tower's defenses should have prevented it! Unable to investigate herself due to the upsurge of criminal activity in Rook City that occured while she was gone, Wraith asks Nightmist and Parse to look into the matter in her stead. With unwitting (and unwanted) help from Setback, the occult detective and analyzing archer will discover a secret that will shake the hero world to its very core. WHO IS MISS INFORMATION?
Conditions: All heroes are open.
Heroes: Setback (daughter), Sentinels (son), Parse (dad), Nightmist (mom)
Villain: Miss Information
Environment: Megalopolis
ANALYSIS: As with La Capitan, I was worried about Miss Information. She can be a tough and frustrating opponent. I had trouble keeping cards in Parse's hand and the Sentinels got hit early on with the Isolated Hero card (having four character cards makes them particulary vulnerable to all "most cards in play" effects), making it impossible for Doctor Medico to play the role of super-healer. We decided that the Sentinels weren't originally part of Nightmist and Parse's investigation but, rather, were being targeted by Miss Information for manipulative destruction in another part of the city. Twice, my son showed gaming brilliance. First, he used Wraith's power to ensure that Miss Information played clue cards faster, which was awesome. Second, when Miss Information played a second Isolated Hero on Nightmist, my son pointed out that the card prevented Nightmist from affecting other heroes in any way... including damaging them with the Oblivion spell - and she had two in her hand. In two rounds she had decimated pretty much everything and made it possible for us to achieve victory.
Afterwards, we decided Setback had found the final clue (which turned out to be Miss Information's costume) accidentally. "Guys, is this a clue?" "No." "Is this a clue?" "No!" "Is this a clue?" "NO.... wait. Where did you get that?". The kids got a giggle out of that.
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And that's it for Fight for Freedom! My family had a wonderful time. Right now, I'm trying to decide on our next mini-series. I think we've proven we can handle tougher heroes, so I might include some more complexity 3 villains and weave a more complex plotline. Everyone is enjoying not just playing a game but creating a story.
Nice!
I've got to see about setting up something like ths with my gaming group. Love this kind of thing.
Would you mind me using one or two of your story ideas as a springboard for our games?
Keep us posted on how the multiverse is doing!
@Trajector: Thanks!
@Phantom5613: Of course I don't mind. Hmm. Should I write up the mini-series as a campaign in some way?
That is really awesome. That sounds like something that would be so much fun to play.
I'm adoring this, great stuff this is really cool.
Totally! That would be awesome of you if you did! :D