Critters and Catastrophes

“The local forest is under threat by The Logging Corporation. Only you and your team of heroes stand in their way. The catch? You’re all woodland critters. The denizens of the forest are counting on you.”

Critters and Catastrophes is a fun and simple game where students are asked to take on the role of forest animals. The game uses a slimmed down version of the Powered by the Apocalypse rules. Students will choose an animal, a special ability, and pick numbers for their three stats: Fast, Fierce, and Folk.

The critters and communicate with each other, but not with the human loggers. As a result the heroes must choose an alternate route to diplomacy, with many options laid out in the game itself. They’ll attempt to accomplish their goals by rolling 2d6 adding a stat and trying to get a 7+. That means that succeed, but if the roll is less than 10 then there is also a complication.

The game focuses on the impact of the logging industry and the very real ways in which people fight against deforestation. There are several charts for randomization that allow for it to be run multiple times for the same group of students. It is light enough that after a 5 minute explanation and 15 minutes making characters you could play.

Critters and Catastrophes was written by Dr. Carlos Mauricio Peredo and Molly Peredo and can be found on their website.