Teeny Tusslers
Can a piece of rock bring about the biggest chaos imaginable?
It’s not a magical gem or a relic of power. An ordinary, tad shiny, piece of rock…
And yes, it does wreak havoc! Thanks to the feisty little goblins who fight over the pettiest things you can imagine.
And for your information, you’re commanding their Chief! And as the Chief of Chief Goblin himself, it’s up to you to get your scrappy team of goblins to do their bare bit, and solve this crisis once and for all. Till the next crisis arrives…
For glory! For the rock that has no use whatsoever, we go to war!
Entry: Before playing the game
First Impressions
Do you ever feel like you’re having a series of frustrating days?
I was going through something like that a couple of weeks ago. I was officially labeled irritatingly cranky by my spouse, and it was justified. Anything ticked me off. Felt like the whole universe was waiting to watch me explode. Even doomscrolling tested my patience, and that says something…
And then came scrolling my way something pretty interesting on my home feed; a PNP about goblins who get angry at literally anything. Feeling like I’d found my long-lost cousins, I reached out to Curry, the designer of Teeny Tusslers. And with just over a week left before its campaign, I got my hands on this mini game!
I couldn’t help but wonder: will this game help me vent, or will I officially become a goblin and wreak havoc on the five people I have in my life? Only one way to find out!
Aside from my relatability with the goblins, there were a couple of factors that enticed me towards the game:
1. Hook Box! Yes, this might sound silly, but I’ve played tons of PNPs, and this is the first time I’ve received one with a printable box. And it’s incredible. I don’t need to find yet another empty box to store the game components, so that’s one less thing to tick me off. Yay!
2. The artwork of the game, designed by Curry himself, really stood out to me. The cards and the hook box perfectly carry the game’s theme. I also loved how the cards align with each other once set up for play; a neat little touch.
A bit on the game
Teeny Tusslers is a quick and chaotic print-and-play where you lead a squad of short-tempered goblins constantly finding new reasons to get mad. The solo pattern movement puzzler revolves around managing your goblin’s rage while trying to outlast your opponent in a series of mini clashes for the ultimate prize: the shiny rock.
Pick one of the 6 grumpy goblin chiefs (who have their own quirks and abilities) who’ll command the goblins. Each of these goblins has its unique movement patterns and shifting personalities that are bound to influence your decisions.
All you need
Print out the 18 cards and the hook box, totaling 7 pages. If you take the route of sleeving them up, then you can print them on any paper you prefer, but if you want to glue both sides of the cards, then opt for art card/cardstock. Preferably over 130gsm.
Once that’s sorted, grab 3 D6 dice, one mini-meeple or pawn, 6 tokens to allocate the goblins on the Conflict Cards, and one unique token for the Chief Goblin. You’re ready.
The game involves no writing, so save yourself from the glare of lamination.
While building the game, I noticed there are variants of the same type of cards. My inner game designer immediately whispered the word “replayable” to me. Hoping my instinct is right!
Entry: After playing the game.
Findings
Life feels different after spending a week with goblins. I might be forever stuck in a limbo, flipping between feeling relaxed venting with my goblin crew, while getting ticked off for picking up their habit of getting mad at everything!
My current state aside, I present you my findings:
A game of negotiation
Other than managing the rage of my dear goblins, the game is packed with plenty of opportunities for you to negotiate your resources well. Otherwise, there’s no going forward.
Be it making the most out of the Chief Goblin’s stats, utilizing the varying movement patterns of the goblins to ensure the conflict for the round is well handled, avoiding troubles/snatching advantages on the Conflict Card, or planning the branching path for each round- there’s no leaving things to luck in Teeny Tusslers.
The deeper you go in this game, the better you have to negotiate your resources, because it keeps throwing new options at you. Whether it’s unlocking new movement patterns for the goblins, managing their moods, or preparing for the final battle, each round takes on a unique shape that you can only handle by allocating your resources wisely.
Solid integration
Not every game manages to integrate themes with its game mechanics, and that’s alright. It’s a tough fusion to master. But it’s certainly not a headache for Curry!
The game felt beautifully chaotic, as it should! After all, it’s about a bunch of unpredictable, impulsive goblins. Each one has their own personality and reasons to be angry, so getting them to do anything takes real effort, and the game captures that perfectly.
With so many moving pieces, it can feel like a brain workout at first. But after a couple of rounds, you realize it’s not as overwhelming as it seemed. This isn’t chaos spiraling out of control. It’s controlled chaos at its finest.
Game mechanics aside, the puzzle part of the game is quite an adventure. Placing small tokens to figure out how to solve conflicts, flipping Personality Cards to reveal the latest on what’s bothering the goblins, flipping Conflict Cards through to the final battle, where you rotate them for perfect alignment, etc. A stimulating game indeed!
Replayable?
Hmm, let’s see…
You have 6 Goblin Chiefs to choose from, 36 unique moods of goblins with 12 unique ways to move about, and 6 Conflict Cards with varying patterns and branching paths. And I think you know my answer by now.
So far, I got to play the game around 12 times, and no two experiences felt the same. I lost most of the time, but that made me all the more curious about how to do things differently.
As a game designer, I also feel it’s expandable. New goblin chiefs, more goblin personalities and more variations to the Conflict Cards can extend this game to a series of its own.
Curry, take a hint!
Are you ready to tussle?
I’ve reviewed my fair share of PNP games over the past year or more. I usually end by directing you to the game’s landing page. This time, though, I’d like to do a little more.
A lot of effort goes into making a game, followed by the courage to launch a crowdfunding campaign. I’ve always admired indie designers who pour everything into their creations, and Curry is certainly one of them. It would mean a lot if you could check out the Kickstarter page and back it only if it feels like your kind of game. I truly believe it deserves more attention than it’s getting right now.
Only 15 days remain before the campaign ends. Do your thing!
Recommended items
Game Overview
Publisher: Curilla Games
Designer: Curry
Artist: Curry
Number of players: 1
Difficulty level: Medium
Rounds of gameplay needed to learn: 1 to 2 rounds
Game duration: 20 minutes
Available on: Kickstarter
Theme: Pattern Movement Puzzler | Control a squad of unpredictable goblins
Number of pages and color: 7 (color print)
Assembling difficulty level: Medium, prepping the 18 cards
Lamination: Not required
Additional elements required: 3 D6 dice, one mini-meeple or pawn, 6 tokens to allocate the goblins on the Conflict Cards, and 1 unique token for the Chief Goblin.
Time to learn: Within 20 minutes
Travel-friendly: 9/10
Shelving friendly: 10/10
Rating from PnP Time: 9/10
Tasliman is a board game developer based in Bangladesh, with the dream of exploring the world of games and introducing it to anyone new to it. He is the founder of Kraftz, a brand that develops board games commercially, as well as with reputed entities like BRAC and The Gates Foundation.
