Mice and Mystics: Lost Chapter – Cat's Cradle Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Chapter Objective
• Victory Condition
• Defeat Condition
• Chapter Setup
  • Chapter End
  • Party Setup
  • Encounter Deck Setup
  • Room Tile Setup
• Special Chapter Rules
  • Crumbles
• Room Tiles
  • Tunnel Entrance
  • Sewer
  • Crystal Tunnels
  • Drain Pipe
  • Pipes
  • Guardroom
  • Alchemist Chamber
• Components

Chapter Objective

Protect Crumbles from danger while you chase him through the abandoned castle.

Victory Condition

Catch Crumbles before he is captured (loses all of his cheese) and either defeat the menace in the guardroom, or discover the source of the eerie music and clear the alchemist chamber.

Defeat Condition

If Crumbles loses all of his cheese, or if the hourglass marker reaches the chapter end marker on the chapter track, the mice lose this chapter.

Chapter Setup

Chapter End

Place the chapter end marker on page 6 of the chapter track.

Party Setup

Select 4 mice to be in the party for this chapter. The party must include at least 1 tinkerer or scamp.

Encounter Deck Setup

To build the encounter deck, shuffle and place all standard encounter cards face down onto the encounter area on the story control board. Difficult encounter cards are not used in this chapter.

Room Tile Setup

Place the following 4 tiles as shown: Tunnel Entrance, Sewers, Sewer Pipe, and Crystal Tunnels. Place the Crumbles token and the 4 mice being used in this chapter on the start space marked below: Place 3 rat warriors and 1 elite rat warrior on the Tunnel Entrance tile normally (see 'Placing Minions on the Board' on page 14 of the rulebook). Also place a mousetrap token on each mousetrap space.

Layout note: the printed setup names the second tile "Sewer Pipe"; the tiles in the set are "The Sewer" (tile 6) and "The Sewer Drain Pipe" (tile 16), and the setup diagram shows the Sewer and Sewer Drain Pipe tiles, so the setup is transcribed as printed.

The white mouse head icon represents the start space.

Special Chapter Rules

Crumbles

Crumbles is an inquisitive, headstrong little toddler mouse. He will make a great adventurer someday. He is represented on the board by the Crumbles token and on the initiative track with the Crumbles initiative card. Below are some rules for how to move and interact with Crumbles:

Crumbles and Initiative: Whenever determining initiative, the Crumbles initiative card is always placed in the number 1 space of the initiative track and then initiative is determined normally starting with the 2 space. The Crumbles initiative card cannot be moved from the number 1 space for any reason.

Crumbles and Cheese: Crumbles starts the chapter with 3 cheese tokens on his initiative card. If crumbles ever loses all of his cheese, the mice have been defeated. On its turn a mouse on the same space as Crumbles can share cheese with Crumbles using a share action. Cheese shared with Crumbles is placed on Crumbles initiative card. Crumbles cannot have more than 6 cheese tokens on his card at any time.

Moving Crumbles: When Crumbles takes a turn, he will move but cannot attack. Crumbles always moves along the shortest path toward the source of the music. Each tile will explain where the music can be heard emanating from. To move Crumbles, roll an action die. Crumbles will move that number of spaces toward the source of the music. Crumbles cannot cross red dividing lines, but crosses yellow lines without penalty. Crumbles ignores mouse traps. Crumbles must stop when entering a space that has 1 or more minions on it (Note: If a minion is knocked down, Crumbles does not have to stop when entering its space). When Crumbles moves off of a tile through an exit while following the music, place the Crumbles token aside. When Crumbles moves onto a flip space set the Crumbles token aside. he has moved through that flip space. The next time the Mice use an explore action on that same exit, place the Crumbles token on the space the mice explore to then proceed. The mice cannot use an explore action while Crumbles is on their tile.

Minions and Crumbles: Non-ranged minions move toward Crumbles just like any other mouse. If a minion ends its movement on a space with Crumbles, remove 1 cheese from Crumbles' initiative card and add it to the minion wheel. Minions do not attack Crumbles. Crumbles does not count toward space limits and can share a space even with large minions.

Crumbles and Water: Crumbles cannot move against the current and must stop when moving into a water space. At the end of Crumbles' turn, if he is on a water space with no other mice, he will be swept downstream one space just like a mouse. If a mouse is swept downstream while sharing a space with Crumbles, the toddler will also get swept downstream as well. If Crumbles is swept off the board by water, the chapter ends and the mice are automatically defeated. Crumbles cannot climb out of water on his own. He must be carried out by a mouse (See 'Picking Up Crumbles' below).

Picking Up Crumbles: A mouse that shares a space with Crumbles can pick Crumbles up and carry him. After that Mouse finishes its move, it will put Crumbles back down. Crumbles hates to be carried. Each time a mouse picks Crumbles up, he will cry out to be put back down, roll a die. If you roll a cheese symbol you have successfully calmed Crumbles for now. If you do not roll a cheese symbol place a cheese on the minion cheese wheel.

Room Tiles

The numbers below are the printed markers on each tile. Each marker's text is transcribed as printed. Story Moment blocks are omitted.

Tunnel Entrance

• 1. Special Search: Cheese Cache. (Note: This gives the mice some much needed cheese.)
• 2. Special Surge: Elite Rat Warrior.
• 3. Special Rule: Music emanates from here. Crumbles will move toward this exit.

Cheese Cache (search card, Fortune): Play immediately. Each mouse on the same tile as the mouse that drew this card receives 1 cheese.

Sewer

• 1. [Story Moment omitted.]
• 2. Special Search (in water spaces): Fishhook and Thread. (Note: This allows mice to get to high places quickly.)
• 3. Special Rule: Leaving the Sewers: Before a mouse can use an explore action on an exit area to leave the Sewers tile, all other mice must be on the same side of the water as the exploring mouse.
• 4. Special Rule: Leaving the Sewers Tile by Water: If Crumbles is swept off the sewer tile by water, instead of an automatic defeat, the mice may follow Crumbles downstream into the Drain Pipe tile. Once all mice have moved off the Sewer by way of the water, place Crumbles and all the mice on the closest available water space on the Drain Pipe tile and continue by revealing an encounter card as if an explore action had been used. If there were any minions on the sewers when the last mouse is swept off the tile, remove those minion figures from the board and remove their initiative cards from the initiative track.
• 5. Special Rule: Music emanates from here. Crumbles will move toward this exit.

Fishhook and Thread (party item, no requirements): Upon drawing this card, add the fishhook and thread token to the party stash. See page XX of the rulebook for details on how to use the fishhook and thread.

The source text reads "page XX of the rulebook"; the page reference is left as printed.

Crystal Tunnels

• 1. [Story Moment omitted.]
• 2. Special Setup: Place 1 rat warrior on each of these spaces.
• 3. Special Rule: Mindless Rats: The rats on this tile are mindless rats. Until Crumbles leaves this tile, the mindless rats will not move or attack. When a mindless rat is defeated, instead of removing that rat figure, it becomes knocked down. (see page 17 of the rulebook for details on being knocked down.) At the beginning of each rat turn, roll 1 action die for each knocked down rat. If a cheese symbol is rolled, stand that rat back up. On any other result, remove that rat as usual. Mindless rats do not have the aggressive ability. When defending against an attack, mindless rats roll one less die in defense.
• 4. Special Rule: Dangerous Pickaxes: If Crumbles moves into a space with a mindless rat that is not knocked down, roll an action die to see if his pickaxe is on the upswing or downswing. If a cheese symbol is rolled, the pickaxe is swinging down, scaring Crumbles and causing him to squeak. Remove 1 cheese token from Crumble's initiative card and place it on the minion cheese wheel.
• 5. Special Surge: Shard Blast! All knocked down mindless rats explode into a million dangerous shards. One at a time for each knocked down mindless rat, roll 2 action dice as an attack. Any mouse on the same or adjacent space as an exploding mindless rat must defend against this attack and cannot add any bonuses for armor. Then remove all knocked down mindless rats and move the hourglass marker on the chapter track as usual.
• 6. Special Rule: Music emanates from here. Crumbles will move toward this flip space. Once Crumbles leaves this tile, the mindless rats will now move and attack the mice on their turn and the Dangerous Pickaxes special rule no longer applies.

Drain Pipe

• 1. Special Setup: Place 8 roaches normally.
• 2. Special Search: Dinner Fork. (Note: This item allows mice to mousapult to hard to reach areas. It also can be used with the grape to create a powerful weapon.)
• 3. Special Surge: Slippery Edge. If a surge happens on this tile, move the hourglass marker as usual. Then move each mouse (including Crumbles) that is on a space adjacent to a water space, 1 space directly into the water.
• 4. Special Rule: Music emanates from here. Crumbles will move toward this flip space. If Crumbles successfully leaves the tile by this flip space, move the chapter end marker 1 space further on the chapter track.

Dinner Fork (party item, no requirements): Upon drawing this card, add the dinner fork token to the party stash. See page XX of the rulebook for details on how to use the dinner fork.

Pipes

• 1. Special Search: Rest Spot. (Note: The rest spot allows the mice to heal.)
• 2. Special Rule: Music emanates from here. Crumbles will move toward this exit.
• 3. Special Rule: Entering the Guardroom from the Pipes Tile: A mouse can use an explore action to move from the Pipes tile to the Guardroom tile even though there is no matching color exit. To move from the Pipes to the Guardroom, place the pipe overlay token on the Guardroom tile in the empty space adjacent to the western exit. Then place the mice on the pipe overlay. Treat the pipe overlay as a special area space.

Rest Spot (search card, Fortune): Play immediately. If there are no minions on the board, you may remove all wound markers from each mouse and place 1 cheese on the minion wheel.

Guardroom

• 1. [Story Moment omitted.]
• 2. Special Setup: Instead of drawing an encounter card as usual, place the Brodie token on the tile in this space. The mice must defeat Brodie.
• 3. Special Rule: Mindless Brodie: This is not the Brodie the mice remember. He has been changed somehow. Mindless Brodie rolls one less defense on both initiative cards. When one of Mindless Brodie's cards would be removed from the initiative track, instead flip that card over. The next time that card would take a turn, roll an action die. On a cheese symbol flip the card over face up and continue with its turn. If no cheese symbol is rolled, remove that card from the initiative track as usual.
• 4. Special Rule: Crumbles: There is no music to be heard on this tile. Each time Crumbles moves, he will move toward Brodie. Crumbles will also move toward a piece of cheese. Mice can leave a piece of cheese in a space using a share action. When Crumbles moves, he will move toward the closest cheese. If Crumbles ends his move on a cheese, place that cheese on the Crumbles initiative card.
• 5. Special Rule: Helmet: If Crumbles is on the helmet space, he cannot be harmed by Brodie and does not lose a piece of cheese from Brodie moving into his space.
• 6. Special Surge: Brodie Coughs Up Dust: The mice no longer have any line of sight for ranged attacks and must now attack mindless Brodie from the same or adjacent spaces.
• 7. [Story Moment omitted.]

Alchemist Chamber

• 1. [Story Moment omitted.]
• 2. Special Setup: Instead of drawing an encounter card, when the mice explore into the alchemist chamber, place 1 mindless rat on the music box. Place 3 other mindless rats and 3 roaches normally.
• 3. Special Rule: Turning the Crank: As long as there is a mindless rat on the music box that isn't knocked down, the music will emanate from the table special area. The mindless rat posted here will not move, and will only attack if a mouse is on the table. If the mindless rat on the music box is removed from play, the next closest mindless rat on this tile will spend its next turns attempting to move onto the music box to continue the music. If the music is stopped, Crumbles will not move on his turn.
• 4. Special Surge: Shard Blast! All knocked down mindless rats explode into a million dangerous shards. One at a time for each knocked down mindless rat, roll 2 action dice as an attack. Any mouse on the same or adjacent space as an exploding mindless rat must defend against this attack and cannot add any bonuses for armor. Then remove all knocked down mindless rats and move the hourglass marker on the chapter track as usual.
• 5. [Story Moment omitted.]

Components

Crumbles initiative card: See the Cat's Cradle chapter description for rules on moving Crumbles.