The Siblings Trouble and the Wonders of Storytelling
Craft an exciting story from the wonders just beyond the known borders of the backyard with The Siblings Trouble.
For a long time, I’ve dipped my toes in the world of solo RPGs and even brought some stories to my board games. Yet I didn’t realize I had an unplayed game that was all about crafting these tales in a short span of time… Hello, The Siblings Trouble! At last, I opened the box to see what kind of adventures and tales might be possible. Oh, the possibilities!
Disclaimer
To be fully transparent, I’m currently the sales and operations manager at Pencil First Games! I received this copy for free, and everything presented here is my own personal opinion. There is an expanded deluxe edition in the works that I’m helping out with. Exciting! Again, though, just want to be clear and up-front about my connections with this one.
Game Overview
Game Name: The Siblings Trouble
Publication Year: 2016
Designers: A. Ashcraft, E. Baraf, and K. Robinson
Artists: A. Dix, K. Jett, J. Robinson, and M. Schubert
Publisher: Pencil First Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game (Cooperative)
Anywhere from 2-4 siblings set out on an adventure that can take place in various locales. A deck of cards combines elements from both the everyday and fantastical. There are mechanics to overcome challenges, treasures to collect, and the overarching story leading up to the boss!
First Play
December 4, 2021
Complexity
1
Latest Play
July 18, 2023
Expansions
0
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
2
Play Time
30 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
18" x 16"
Low Score
N/A
Looking for Adventure
Although playing with a single character for solo isn’t possible, it makes sense to have at least 2 siblings present!
There are 4 possible characters, each with male or female options and plenty of diversity. Their names are also the best: Adventure, Danger, Mayhem, and Mischief!
With these amazing shoes, Adventure was bound to be chosen. She also came prepared with a random treasure card, which just so happened to be a spray bottle.
She knew all the dangers of gardening and how water could be both a tool and weapon. Common knowledge!
Adding a Little Mayhem
Adventure wasn’t on her own, though. Her younger brother, Mayhem, was always plotting some sort of excursion to explore something unknown or new.
They had years of experience getting into all sorts of trouble. Like the weekend trying to turn the rose petals blue. They turned alright; Right down to the roots!
Mayhem stared at the shiny stone he found in his bedside drawer that morning. There was something so familiar…
“Race you to the forest!” Adventure chortled from outside. Mayhem took off, flying out the screen door after her.
A Revelation
“Wait a minute,” Mayhem scratched his head. “I had a dream last night about time. Time standing still? Being stuck in time?” His eyes widened as he looked at his sister.
“This is a time loop!” He swung his arms around. “If we leave this cave now, we’ll never get out. Don’t you see?!”
Adventure scrunched her nose, non-plussed and wholly unconvinced of this wild spectacle she knew too well.
Mayhem continued, “OK! It has to do with this creature that’s controlling time with the darkness. And we need light… A flashlight! Did you bring one? You did, right?”
Unleashing the Unknown
A shiny cylinder was just inside the entrance. Mayhem turned it over in his hands as the words came into view. “It’s a time capsule! Wonder from where?” He mused. Adventure leaned in, adjusting her glasses. “More like, from when?”
In agonizingly slow motion, Mayhem unscrewed the silver top while his sister shook vexedly at the pace. Just as the top opened, she lunged for it. It flew off into the darkness, clanging and clattering against unseen objects. Mayhem froze with his mouth open, then narrowed his eyes at Adventure. “Do you even know how to control yourself? Like, really?!”
She rose up in her uncannily haughty manner, readjusting her glasses. “You can’t tie your shoes. Besides, there’s enough light to find it. Let’s go!” Adventure bounded off into the dimness ahead while Mayhem paused to check his shoelaces. He chased after her, enjoying the echoing thuds of their footsteps. Darkness crept close, though.
“Mayhem, can you see anything?” He heard the words in the low light. It wasn’t pitch black, though. Mayhem thudded into a solid object. “That’s me, genius.” Adventure’s face was hidden, but her expression was as clear as day. “Let’s keep going and find that time capsule you dropped!” She grabbed his hand and led the way while Mayhem sighed.
They found their way, little by little. “Finally, an opening!” Mayhem announced as the fog lifted and they could see a chamber beyond. “But that’s where we came from!” Both of their mouths hung open as they looked at one another. “Maybe we went through the entire hill and ended up on the other side,” Mayhem hypothesized in his scientific voice.
Adventure slowly shook her head and pointed at the ground. “No way. Those are our footprints. And those. And those.” She wrinkled her brow as she saw row after row of prints, some so crumbled they were ancient. “Did we open time?!”
Further Through Time
Adventure clapped her hands, secretly amused by the cave’s echo. “Mayhem, I don’t plan. I don’t pack. I don’t carry things you should have. This is just a cave.”
“Oh, yeah? Then what’s that light down the tunnel that wasn’t there before?” They approached, drawn like bugs.
It was the smell that assaulted them worse than Aunt Sophia’s fuzzy sweaters. Garbage everywhere!
And movement. They froze as objects expertly landed before them. Adventure stooped to pick up the tiniest item. “A penny. From… 1928?! Are we really lost in time?”
A Spidery Treasure
Hissing from the other side of the garbage piles silenced all discussion as an enormous spider scuttled towards them. “Quick, Adventure, get out of the way!”
Mayhem pushed his sister to safety as he drew the arachnid away. His eyes caught sight of the thick webs hanging down. A few mental calculations later…
The spider skittered in his wake, not realizing it was getting caught up in its own web until it was utterly stuck!
“Alright!” Mayhem rushed back in triumph to find Adventure crawling out of a rather smelly garbage pile.
Out of the Garbage and Into Weirdness
Peeling a dead banana off her shoulder, Adventure calmly straightened herself. She brushed off her irreparably stained shorts and rummaged around to find her missing boot. Her sticky fingers readjusted her smudged glasses before she turned to Mayhem. “ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?” She roared, reaching into the garbage for something to throw.
“Wait, wait, wait!” Mayhem cried out. “Look what you’re holding before you throw it at me! What is that?” His attempt at deflection actually worked as his sister paused to check out the heavy doodad. It had knobs, gears, pulleys, and all sorts of gadgets with no clear system. They both looked at it closely, amazed at the find.
“Were you really going to throw that at me?” There was an accusation in his tone. Adventure handed it to her brother with a smirk. “Of course not. I only thought it was a really dead banana, like that time we tried to cook!” He laughed at the memory and made the mistake of turning his back. Something slimy and squishy oozed down his back.
From Weird to Strange
“Gross!” Mayhem cried, wriggling away. He whirled around, ready to throw something else. But the spider was fighting the web fiercely and looked ready to escape.
Adventure changed her tune immediately, dropping another handful. “Let’s get out of here, and fast!”
Hand-in-hand again, the pair trotted further down the twisting cave. They only slowed down when they noticed things had gone upside-down, as far as they could tell.
“Hey, aren’t those your marbles?” Mayhem shook his head, picking up the strange spheres that almost glowed.
Stuck and Unstuck
He examined the small bag of swirling colors. “How strange. These look almost alive,” Mayhem was both perplexed and amazed. And also distracted.
“Watch out!” Adventure’s warning was too late. Her brother tripped on his loose shoelaces and fell into an enormous hole that was impossible to miss. Well, almost.
Down and down he tumbled onto something soft and cushiony. He rubbed a scraped elbow and peered up.
The darkness was almost complete here, but Mayhem spied a rope ladder near the top ledge. “Adventure!”
Escape from Darkness Right Into Shadow
Her spectacled face appeared. “Whoa, that’s deep! How did you not break everything?” He tried to stand on the uneven surface that shifted beneath his weight. “There’s something soft down here, but forget that. Get me out of here! See if you can lower that rope ladder down to me.” He gestured wildly, forgetting that he was swallowed up in darkness.
For her part, Adventure reached and stretched as far as she possibly could. Not even her fingertips came anywhere close to the loop that held it in place. Angrily, she stood up and announced, “It’s just too far! I can’t get to it! I just can’t.”
Mayhem didn’t let his hope falter. He could see the loop and with the right mathematical calculations… “Stand back!” He pulled out the new bow and arrow he found in the garbage, certain it would come in handy. The single shot had to hit its mark. A bead of sweat crept down the side of his face as he aimed, felt the fire of aching muscles, and let it go.
The ladder tumbled right down to Mayhem’s feet and he wasted no time scrambling up it. Adventure grabbed her brother from the top and pulled him onto the ground, holding on much too tightly. But neither one of them minded.
“What’s that, moving in the dark?” Adventure whispered and pointed at a nearby alcove. There was most certainly a shadow in the darkness. Then the glint of a pair of eyes. And an unmistakable roar. Mayhem gasped, “It’s the creature!”
Shiny and Precious
It lunged from the darkness, keeping to the shadows but moving uncomfortably close. “Use the light against it!”
Mayhem leapt at its ankles, holding it fast in place as it tried to grab him with gnarled, knobbly hands. Adventure realized her brother tossed something. The shiny stone!
He yelled as the creature started spinning about, dangerously close to grabbing him. “Quick! Use it!”
Adventure held the stone high above her where a small beam of light filtered in from the cave’s ceiling. It hit the stone, turning into a dazzling array of prismatic colors.
The Road Back Home
As soon as the light touched the troll’s face, for Adventure knew just how to aim light, it started to age. Wrinkles appeared, its hair turned white, and it began to shrink.
Mayhem scrambled away just in time! The troll exploded into a cloud of dust just as the shiny stone turned into a blinding white blob. Then, it was gone. Just gone.
“We did it!” Mayhem leapt into the air, grabbing his sister in a fit of joy to dance in circles. “Now, let’s go home.”
They carefully retraced their steps, but all they saw before them was a normal cave. And beyond, home sweet home.
Session Overview
Play Number: 1
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game (Cooperative)
Outcome: Win
Oh, what fun! This story played out a little differently in real-time, and there were even some parts I left out. All in just 30 minutes and with a fairly small number of cards sen here! This is the sort of lighter RPG I would love to explore on a regular basis. Adventure and Mayhem already have a little rapport going and there are so many things to explore. What about those marbles? And the 1928 penny? I absolutely loved this session and will be back for more!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
6
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
7
Originality
Design & Theme
10
Quality
Components & Rules
8
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
9
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
9
+ Pros (Positives)
- Every piece of card artwork is amazing with evocative images that are designed to help tell a fun story.
- There is a nice balance of fairly simple mechanics and open-ended storytelling, which is often hard to achieve.
- An adventure only uses a small portion of the available cards so there is plenty of variety across the 4 locations.
- Characters come with names that give them personalities, and each is very diverse with male and female options.
- From beginning to end, there is an exciting sense of exploration and discovery reminiscent of childhood days.
- The custom dice are high quality and feature different odds for each character, making them even more unique.
– Cons (Negatives)
- The rulebook is laid out in a way that makes the mechanics overly confusing, especially for the first play.
- Aside from the chance to keep a treasure card, there aren’t any compelling mechanical reasons to play again.
- Resorting the different cards during cleanup can take a little extra time to be ready to create another adventure.
- As a heavily card-focused game, the quality of the cardstock is a bit disappointing and some cards show warping.
Victory Conditions
Defeat the Boss
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Complete at least 1 play at the Abandoned Junkyard.
Complete at least 1 play at the Hillside Caves.
Continue the Conversation
Have you ever played The Siblings Trouble? It’s a bit difficult to find at the moment, but I know I’ll personally be looking forward to the expanded deluxe edition in the future! Do you have a favorite character or treasure? The story potential here is awesome and I can’t wait to return to play again. Maybe next time will feature Danger and Mischief!
Wow, this has me conflicted. The art, I like. And yes, I’m a scuker for pretty games. What bothers me is “Aside from the chance to keep a treasure card, there aren’t any compelling mechanical reasons to play again.” Sounds a bit like a CYOA, where once you’re through with it, there is no reason to try again. Of course I realize, that this is not a CYOA.
I don’t understand the “Aside from the chance to keep a treasure card”-part though. Could you elaborate?
Also as a last question (you see, I’m interested): No reason to play again and yet “I can’t wait to return to play again.” How so? 🙂
Good question! For me, it’s the story potential that makes me want to play again but the mechanics are built a little more for a single adventure. In other RPGs, you often have character progression or chapters that build off of each other. Here, the only connection is the ability to keep a treasure card for the next story, rather than randomly drawing at the start.
Is that enough to deter me from the game? Not really. I think there’s some room for improvement in the creation of linked stories, or even a campaign. But we’ll see: That expanded deluxe edition I mentioned is in the works and a little ways off, so who knows what might be in store!
What has me excited is the ability to craft a fun story like this in just about 30 minutes. Not easy to do with RPGs! It’s quick-paced from beginning to end, but plenty of fun. I’ve also only seen a small portion of the cards and look forward to seeing how different combinations work out!