Tales of Mischief, Danger, and More in The Siblings Trouble
Go on an exciting adventure as a group of siblings to discover all sorts of encounters and treasures with The Siblings Trouble.
Although I’ve been part of the team working on a new edition of The Siblings Trouble, I wanted to go back to the original just once more! I played this one a few years ago when I was curious to see if it would be possible to play solo with a couple of characters. That experience was quick and memorable, and I hoped I could create another great story!
Disclaimer
I work for the publisher and received this copy for free a few years ago. Additionally, I’m part of the team bringing The Siblings Trouble: Expanded Deluxe Edition to Kickstarter on July 25th. Just want to make that all very clear! I still personally love the storytelling, and all of the opinions presented here and my own and don’t represent the publisher.
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)
With a small adventure deck in a location, encounters and events pop up to drive the story forward. Most of the narrative is reminiscent of childhood with lots of mystery and intrigue. The story is the focal point, yet a final showdown with the boss makes the ending very exciting!
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
Making Some Mischief
All of the characters represent a group of siblings or friends with some of the best names! I simply couldn’t resist bringing Mischief on this adventure. That face!
Her starting treasure turned out to be a water hose, which felt pretty perfect. I suppose it would be nice to cool off during a summer adventure, but on the other hand…
You just know Mischief used this to play tricks on others! She was entirely prepared for a lot of fun. And mud? Ha!
Even though I’ve been looking at this artwork for months, I liked having the chance to dive in and tell my own story.
Adding Some Danger
Much like I was drawn to Mischief, Danger felt like the perfect addition to this adventure! He was ready to distract from any tricks with some dangerous antics.
In a moment of irony, his starting treasure was a book safe. As in… Danger vs. safe. Ha ha! I could picture him packing this up with some very questionable items.
My only other decision was to choose a location, build a small deck of about 13 cards, and set out to have fun.
Although it’s not explicitly a solo game and works well with a group, I still enjoy playing with 2 siblings!
A Strange Trade…
After making their way into an abandoned junkyard and finding a set of very interesting, tiny sneaker tracks, Mischief and Danger met up with an unexpected poet.
His desk was made of mangled car parts, discarded metal sheets, and all manner of leftovers. There were gadgets everywhere, and he seemed amenable to trading items.
While he wrote a rather terrible rhyming poem, Danger was all too happy to trade safety for literal fire!
Mischief figured he might need some water to clean his desk, and the skeleton key looked quite intriguing.
The Big Secret
It wasn’t until the siblings walked deeper into the junkyard that Danger remembered waking up to the neighbors’ dogs in the middle of the previous night…
A bit of discarded sandwich crusts brought back the alarming memory of a dilapidated wooden wagon being dragged through the rain on the cracked sidewalk.
He only caught a glimpse, but he knew he saw some sort of giant robot careening it around the corner!
Mischief was incredulous and didn’t believe the last part: Sandwiches. That wagon was holding soggy sandwiches!
Into the Shadows
The first part of the adventure was all about setting the stage and understanding what was going on… Mischief didn’t believe anything her brother had to tell her.
However, it was the slimy river of ooze that had her questioning what was up with this abandoned junkyard!
She needed a little assistance as she knocked over wooden planks and moldy garbage to create a makeshift bridge.
They made it across safely! Excited by their success, they delved deeper into the mangled stacks of the past. This was the coolest place they had ever been able to explore!
Even More Slime
Remember Mischief’s brand new skeleton key? Yeah, that promptly was lost on her person. Danger could only smirk at the fact that her outfit was more dangerous than him!
Disgruntled and distracted, she raced ahead and managed to walk under an overhang that was most definitely leaking even more slime. It glooped down right on her!
Ugh: Disgusting! Mischief turned around and around, trying to free herself from the sticky mess.
But then, the duo found themselves in the middle of a small patch of tended ground. A garden? In a junkyard?
Around the Bend
Goodness! The seemingly pleasant area was guarded by a tangle of mechanical tentacles. They grasped at the air and nearly caught Danger, but both siblings were quick to act.
Danger lit up the area with his torch and spotted a weakness in the joints. Mischief had a bamboo broom that she was already adept at wielding, which she did!
They also came across a creature that put the junkyard dog stereotype to shame. Never fear: It was scared off.
Inside a locked chest, Mischief used her rediscovered key to reveal an interesting find: An old handheld game!
Facing the Boss!
Before Mischief could be carried off by an errant mechanical tentacle and lost in the sea of garbage, Danger struck first and drew the attention of the final boss!
The enormous robot had all sorts of treasures around it as it violently smashed metal and sheared old cars in half.
In a pretty awesome moment, the siblings figured out that there was a wireless receiver on the robot and the handheld game could be used to control it.
Such a battle! At last, Mischief managed to input the secret cheat code and make the robot imitate Tetris shapes!
Why Play an Older Edition of the Game Now?
I know all about the additional content coming out with the expanded deluxe edition, and have a prototype copy I could use. But I’ve been so focused on the full experience that I wanted to go back to the original and see what’s changed. Most of the updates include added variety, so it’s not like I missed out on including new elements. Nothing is missing.
But I did notice the typos that I battled against, along with a couple of minor text edits here and there. The heart of this game is its storytelling powers, and I’m always thrilled to play it myself or with a group! My love of storytelling games is well-known, and this one feels like it brings back the magic to the everyday, much like with childhood memories.
I remember the nights looking out into a dark backyard to imagine all sorts of creatures living out there, or the way I could almost convince myself something wasn’t exactly what it seemed to be. Just like Sarah from Labyrinth, every now and then, for no reason at all, I need those silly, nonsensical moments of make believe stories. Don’t we all?
An Exciting Romp
Believe it or not, I glossed over some fun plot points that came up during this adventure! Mischief was nearly swallowed up in the darkness, saved by Danger’s torch.
It looked like there was the potential for people to be transformed into robots… Likely miniaturized. I had to file that idea to play out in another adventure!
A small robot drawn to magnets became a brief companion who was the key to defeating the tentacles.
And the lost skeleton key? Discovered when Mischief tossed her sweatshirt and found a secret shirt pocket!
Making a Hard Choice
As the adventure came to a close, Mischief and Danger each had the chance to save a treasure for another day.
The torch was perfect! However, would his parents actually let him keep fire at home? Sadly, it had to be left behind. Perhaps the mysterious poet would find it again.
All of those soggy sandwiches were actually being recycled by the robot, and at the very end, a compartment opened up to reveal the most delicious PB&J sandwich ever!
Danger decided that was a much better memento of this adventure… And free snacks are hard to turn down. Ha!
Session Overview
Play Number: 2
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game (Cooperative)
Outcome: Win
Mischief and Danger sealed up the abandoned junkyard with the rusty nails they had found and removed their tracks with the bamboo broom. The small robot who turned into a friend would be left to watch over the area, hopefully discovering more interesting things with its tiny magnet. This was a place both siblings could come back to for adventures that would last a lifetime… And now they had a place to grab free, fresh sandwiches, too!
%
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)
- Setup is very quick, involving a little bit of shuffling and a handful of decisions about characters and the location.
- Gameplay moves along and focuses on telling the story, which isn’t bogged down by a lot of mechanics.
- There is a lot of variety to be found even in the same location, as only a portion of the cards are used each time.
- Play time hovers around 30 minutes and presents some fun story moments limited only by the imagination.
- Realistic elements set the stage to bring the everyday to life in exciting ways reminiscent of childhood.
- Each sibling takes on a central role at different parts of the story to tie them into the adventure in different ways.
– Cons (Negatives)
- There are a couple of murky rules, but these become pretty clear after playing through a handful of rounds.
- A good story depends on the player, which means tying together unrelated cards can be a little tricky at times.
- Having the ability to re-roll an epic fail is great, yet bad luck can mean the trouble dice really are troublesome.
- Star tokens are occasionally hard to keep track of when moving the story along and quickly rolling the dice.
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
What do you like about The Siblings Trouble? Are there any other cooperative storytelling games you enjoy? I love the simplicity of these adventures and how I can narrate out loud to myself for 30 minutes with stories that remind me of what it was like to be a kid… So much awe and magic in seemingly ordinary everyday characters, places, and things!
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