Roll Player Adventures with Ribby Pixiecrunch (Mr. Toad)
Set out on a journey across lands to unravel mysteries and experience stories in a campaign of Roll Player Adventures.
A recent arrival reminded me that it had been several years since I last played through a full campaign of a story-driven adventure. Well, multiple adventures actually, with Roll Player Adventures! These interconnected stories place a character in the center of the action, where factions follow their own agendas and everything isn’t always as it seems. Back to Ulos!
Spoiler Alert
The following includes moderate spoilers for the first 4 adventures. Nothing is particularly detailed at a glance, yet there are cards and maps that are easily visible. Some of the storyline is also touched upon, which may not be enough to ruin much, but gives away a little bit. If you haven’t played yet, this might be a good post to skip over to preserve the surprises!
Game Overview
Game Name: Roll Player Adventures
Publication Year: 2021
Designers: Keith Matejka, P. A. Ryan, & J. W. Ryan
Artists: Ariosa, Fei, Fedorova, Mammoliti, Petter, & Ribeiro
Publisher: Thunderworks Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Across 12 different adventures, a character experiences a campaign full of moments that often have long-term effects. Favor with factions changes the course of some outcomes, and the vast amount of cards offers all kinds of discoveries to make. There is much to see and experience!
First Play
December 27, 2021
Complexity
2
Latest Play
January 25, 2026
Expansions
4
Setup Time
10 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
16
Play Time
1 Hour
High Score
N/A
Game Area
46" x 32"
Low Score
N/A
The Luckiest of Cards
Lately, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the animated movie and series, The Wind in the Willows. Mr. Toad! He’s become a favorite, and I probably laugh way too much at his antics.
In this universe, there is a species known as the frogkin. A large deck of pre-generated characters gives a lot of options. But I shuffled and chose randomly, holding out hope…
My delight at drawing Ribby Pixiecrunch was extreme. Ha! I immediately knew how he would sound and probably act.
I’ll also preface this with saying I don’t play this game as it’s intended… I’m just here for the storytelling, which I love.
Riding Into Adventure
Ribby was in fine form as he took on the persona of Mr. Toad right here, rolling in on a motorcar. See him driving?!
This is often how I personalize my solo games to have more fun, but I played through this campaign years ago. I enjoyed it, but the dice puzzles and mechanics exhausted me.
Am I playing correctly? No. I follow the stories and make important decisions, but I ignore skill checks and combat. The narrative is what draws me in, and remains the focus.
Besides, I’m fairly certain Mr. Toad would just do whatever he wanted to anyway. Exceptionally thematic! Ha ha!
Long-Term Titles
Each adventure is like a chapter in an ongoing narrative, and the important moments come with title cards. These collect over the course of play, becoming memories.
Future adventures often call back to these, providing different paths depending on what happened in the past.
I loved moving about the map, using items in locations and even uncovering new map cards. Lots of surprises!
The moral choices felt pretty straightforward in this first adventure, although I remember them getting murkier later on. At least I felt good about Ribby’s initial decisions!
From Hills to the Sea
The second adventure was wonderful, probably because it felt like the game opened up. There was more to discover, and the map felt joyful and colorful compared to Black Lake.
I used the backstory expansion, and Ribby came across some of his first entries! One was quite memorable and felt like a lovely way to add a quirky, fun side story to the mix.
Mysteries started to take shape, particularly with a faction I didn’t get too far with during my previous campaign.
All of it made sense in the context of Ribby, and I laughed quite a lot at his problems with using the wrong items!
House Rules and the Idea of Just Having Fun
Leaving out main elements of a game, particularly related to the mechanics, may sound like an odd thing to do. Why even play?! I intended to begin with the skill checks and combat dice puzzles… Yet one look at the rules reminded me of what I didn’t enjoy years ago. That’s completely subjective, though, and I don’t recommend cutting out these elements.
This made me think more about my stance on house rules. Often, I believe a game should be enjoyed as-is: The design is that way for a reason, after all! With this experience, though, I can see plenty of reasons to play as desired. I’m not out here saying that my way is better than the original design. It’s probably much, much worse! But for my own fun? It works.
This also ties into what it means to enjoy time spent in this hobby. Forcing myself to play a game by the rules rarely leads to a good time, barring those instances when I misinterpreted something during my first play. By focusing on the story, I gave myself time to create these ridiculous scenes with my Calico Critters. What else could I ask for?! Ha ha!
Actual Reenactment
Did I mention how much fun I was having? Ha ha! My Calico Critters showed up and there was the perfect opportunity to pay homage to the memories of this second adventure.
Note the boat… “Borrowed” after singing a grand song on the beach. The pie? Reminiscent of a definite disaster. The ball? Quite close to the actual item found in this region!
And don’t overlook that spoon, which was part of Ribby’s backstory. Just such a fun time to experience the world!
I had to prepare for the next adventure, though, and I wondered what trouble Ribby would rustle up next.
Down to Undercity
I will say that the third adventure certainly nails its setting and atmosphere very well. There is a chilly, frightening air to it, made even clearer by the shadowy map of Undercity.
But interestingly, I remembered this adventure vividly. I knew where to go and what to do, and I usually don’t remember these sorts of details in campaign games.
However, I wasn’t a big fan of this setting. Ribby didn’t have any stand-out moments to laugh at. It was… Rather scary.
Then again, maybe that’s the idea: Get out of Undercity as quickly as possible! It was nice to put this map behind Ribby.
Humorous Surprises
Maybe that was what threw me off with Undercity: Most of the other adventures I experienced so far were filled with little bits of humor that made me laugh out loud.
In the fourth adventure, a little snooping around with some items led me to this poem, which I couldn’t stop laughing at!
This humor might not work for everyone, but I love it. Yet there are very serious moments in the stories that feel jarring, as if I’m on a lighthearted romp, and then… Death.
Maybe the dice puzzles help break this up a little more, although I didn’t miss the mechanics as I read on!
Another Reenactment
Ribby encountered a set of gates leading to the castle, and it was pretty apparent how he would have made it through there… Just like Mr. Toad, another motorcar disaster! Ha!
This part of the story felt like it started to tie things together, while still introducing more mysteries.
Again, I felt like it was all familiar from my first campaign, although that wasn’t a negative here. I didn’t remember the exact details, but the overarching ideas seemed known.
Ribby’s channeling of Mr. Toad was pretty amazing, though! I had a wonderful time and was ready for the next chapter.
Session Overview
Play Number: 13-16
Main Expansion: Nefras’s Judgment
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Adventures 1, 2, 3, & 4
Outcome: Complete
These titles felt more meaningful as Ribby became more of a central character in the story itself. I had a lot of fun! Despite my very unconventional way of playing, I enjoyed finding a way to enjoy the story. Traveling across the maps was awesome, and I still can’t believe I managed to randomly draw a frogkin character! Long live Mr. Toad!
%
10 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
3
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
7
Originality
Design & Theme
6
Quality
Components & Rules
8
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
7
+ Pros (Positives)
- Each adventure offers a unique chapter in an ongoing campaign with interesting moments and important decisions.
- Unraveling the mysteries of the world and learning more about the different factions is a lot of fun.
- Title cards create long-term connections, often opening up different paths and calling back to earlier choices.
- The writing is excellent in most respects, offering funny moments and ways that make a character feel connected.
- Flipping over a new discovery card is a lot of fun, as there is a sense of wonder and surprise with every card.
- Exploring a map is a great time, especially with possible card overlays and an appreciation of the little artistic details.
– Cons (Negatives)
- There are a lot of cards and books, so the box is rather heavy and difficult to move from a shelf to a table.
- Although the dice puzzles are neat, they can break the immersion and feel more like a chore than a fun mechanic.
- Humor lightens the mood and is quite enjoyable, but serious scenes often pop up unexpectedly and can be jarring.
- Following backstory moments is fun, but the enormous book is seldom used and feels extra large for what it offers.
Victory Conditions
Complete the Adventure
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Complete Adventures 1-10.
Complete the Adventure Finale.
Complete Sidequest 1.
Continue the Conversation
Have you played through the full campaign of Roll Player Adventures? Are there any story moments that stand out for you? As expected, this remains on my table so I can experience the full story. You give me the tiniest opportunity to pause a campaign, and I’ll forget all about it! Can’t wait to see what’s coming up next for Ribby Pixiecrunch with these adventures!
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