NCSUCodeMonkey
Explorer
I'm running the third game in a series late next month and I'm trying to find some gimmicks for the game. First, a quick background:
The series is Underoo Avengers, in which the players are a group of eight-year-old super heroes who fight crime, uphold justice, and get home before dinner. I'm using a blend of Grimm from Fantasy Flight Games (this is not Grimm Tales, but Grimm--a setting for twisted fairy tales) and ENWorld's own Four Color to Fantasy toolkit. Characters include Lily, the adopted Native American Bully with super strength and damage reduction, Art, the exchange student Jock from Britain with his flaming crickett ball attack, and the Dorf, an Outcast with a glum attitude and paralyzing Super Secret Ninja Strike. Needless to say, the games have been a boatload of fun.
Each game has taken place in a whacky location such as the toy factory owned by the Dentist and a Carnival overtaken by Brain Sucking Aliens from Outer Space. So far, these settings have been a defining part of the series so I'm looking to strike gold with my next one. Any ideas are greatly appreciated. Right now I'm considering a grocery store or shrinking the PCs (I mean, who can deny the fun of having a shrink ray?).
The other defining part about the games is that they are chock full of puzzles, riddles, minigames, etc. So far I've been using a very simple formula, although I'm more than willing to change it up if anyone has some cool ideas:
At least one "acting" game. So far this has consisted of: The PCs creating their own play and then acting it out (Spider-Man fought a dragon in the first game), telling jokes to help out a bad jester, and using the game Nanofictionary to create a puppet show.
At least one "construction" puzzle. I've got a box of k'nex, play-dough, tape, straws, etc. The party puts together (in real time at the table) some machine to solve a problem. So far I've had them build a self propelled car, a catapult, and a boat.
At least one "puzzle" puzzle: Mazes, riddles, Legend of Zelda-ish puzzles, anything can fit in this category. Last time it was a house of mirrors in which they had to make a laser beam strike four points on the wall (with a real laser and miniature house of mirrors as a prop link).
There's plenty of combat as well, but usually the setting takes care of the monsters. E.g. an armymen swarm for the toy factory and teddy bear prizes for the carnival link.
So far the main purpose of the plot has been to link together combats and puzzles. It would probably fall flat on its face as a weekly game, but I only ever run the series at game days and gaming stores.
So what I'm looking for now is a great idea for the next setting (anybody like the grocery store or shrinking ideas?) and I need gimmicks! What kind of minigames, puzzles, roleplaying situations, etc. have you used in your games?
NCSUCodeMonkey
The series is Underoo Avengers, in which the players are a group of eight-year-old super heroes who fight crime, uphold justice, and get home before dinner. I'm using a blend of Grimm from Fantasy Flight Games (this is not Grimm Tales, but Grimm--a setting for twisted fairy tales) and ENWorld's own Four Color to Fantasy toolkit. Characters include Lily, the adopted Native American Bully with super strength and damage reduction, Art, the exchange student Jock from Britain with his flaming crickett ball attack, and the Dorf, an Outcast with a glum attitude and paralyzing Super Secret Ninja Strike. Needless to say, the games have been a boatload of fun.
Each game has taken place in a whacky location such as the toy factory owned by the Dentist and a Carnival overtaken by Brain Sucking Aliens from Outer Space. So far, these settings have been a defining part of the series so I'm looking to strike gold with my next one. Any ideas are greatly appreciated. Right now I'm considering a grocery store or shrinking the PCs (I mean, who can deny the fun of having a shrink ray?).
The other defining part about the games is that they are chock full of puzzles, riddles, minigames, etc. So far I've been using a very simple formula, although I'm more than willing to change it up if anyone has some cool ideas:
At least one "acting" game. So far this has consisted of: The PCs creating their own play and then acting it out (Spider-Man fought a dragon in the first game), telling jokes to help out a bad jester, and using the game Nanofictionary to create a puppet show.
At least one "construction" puzzle. I've got a box of k'nex, play-dough, tape, straws, etc. The party puts together (in real time at the table) some machine to solve a problem. So far I've had them build a self propelled car, a catapult, and a boat.
At least one "puzzle" puzzle: Mazes, riddles, Legend of Zelda-ish puzzles, anything can fit in this category. Last time it was a house of mirrors in which they had to make a laser beam strike four points on the wall (with a real laser and miniature house of mirrors as a prop link).
There's plenty of combat as well, but usually the setting takes care of the monsters. E.g. an armymen swarm for the toy factory and teddy bear prizes for the carnival link.
So far the main purpose of the plot has been to link together combats and puzzles. It would probably fall flat on its face as a weekly game, but I only ever run the series at game days and gaming stores.
So what I'm looking for now is a great idea for the next setting (anybody like the grocery store or shrinking ideas?) and I need gimmicks! What kind of minigames, puzzles, roleplaying situations, etc. have you used in your games?
NCSUCodeMonkey
I like the idea of a treasure map, and pirates, cannot forget the pirates. 
