Wipfel & Wagemut

Your Squirrel

Every squirrel has three stats:

• Paw – strength, climbing, grabbing, carrying.
• Dash – speed, jumping, gliding, dodging.
• Wits – cleverness, courage, charm and a little tree-magic.

When you build your squirrel, you hand out +2 once, +1 once and 0 once across the three stats. On top of that you get:

• Puff 4 – your breath and stamina. When it drops to 0, you are “out of puff” (see below). Nobody dies in this game.
• One Knack – a little special trick (list further down).
• Baggage – 2 paws (in your hands), 2 cheek pouches (small stuff), 2 bundles (on your back). Full is full.

The Daring Roll

Whenever something is exciting, risky or uncertain, you roll:

The storyteller decides which stat is added: leaping over the brook → Dash, heaving off the lid → Paw, talking the grumpy owl around → Wits. If it’s easy or safe, you don’t roll at all. In good conditions you roll 3 d6 and keep the best two (advantage); for especially hard tasks the worst two (disadvantage).

Danger, Fights & “Out of Puff”

There is no separate combat system – a fight or a flight is also a Daring Roll, and your Puff is the stake: “Yes, but …” costs 1 Puff, a Mishap 1–2. Opponents have Puff too; once they are “out of puff”, they are chased off, tied up or talked round – not dead. Villains are outwitted, not killed.

If you yourself hit 0 Puff, you drop out for a moment. A friend pulls you back up with one action (1 Puff), and a rest gives everyone their full Puff back.

Acorns: Treasure and Growth

Acorns are money and experience at once. Brave deeds earn 1–3 acorns. You can spend them (at the hedgehog trader) – or plant them to grow:

Planting happens at the end of an adventure – and the acorn “blossoms by next time”: the improvement takes effect from the next game night on. So everyone already looks forward to the next episode.

Knacks (special tricks)

• Glide – sail safely from branch to branch or down into the depths.
• Nutcracker – your teeth crack (almost) anything: nuts, knots, little locks.
• Quickdash – once per scene, one extra lightning-fast move.
• Rally – give a friend 1 Puff back with a single word.
• Leaf-Camo – among leaves and bark you are nearly invisible.
• Tree-Whisper – a little magic: ask twigs, leaves and roots for small favours.

The Knacks in Action

This is what the six Knacks look like when a squirrel uses them:

The Seasons – how adventures become a series

The year is your clock and serves up new adventures all by itself:

• Spring – everything wakes up: little explorations, first tests of courage.
• Summer – far out into the garden, the meadow and all the way to the House of the Giants.
• Autumn – the harvest: gather enough acorns for winter, against thieves and time pressure.
• Winter – huddle together in the warm den; the planted acorns grow.

Adventures through the Seasons

Each season has its own adventures, colours and dangers. Here’s an idea to get started with each – winter challenges you the most.

🌱 Spring – “The First Green”

After the long winter the garden wakes up, buds and shoots everywhere, and for the very first time you’re allowed out all on your own. But the brook has swollen overnight, and in the middle of the wet grass a lost baby bird is peeping for help.

• Cross the rushing spring brook without wet paws (Dash).
• Calm the frightened chick and carry it back to its nest (Wits).
• Reward: the grateful mother blackbird shows you a secret shortcut through the garden from now on.

Spring is mild: lots to discover, first tests of courage, hardly any real danger – a gentle start.

Play The Great Spring Awakening or download the PDF – a full spring adventure with 15 stations.

☀️ Summer – “The Journey to the House of the Giants”

Summer lures you far afield. A rumour is going round: by the House of the Giants grows a bush with the sweetest berries in the world. But the way there is long, hot and full of wonders.

• Cross the wide, sun-baked meadow and spend your Puff wisely.
• Slip past the curious cat and the buzzing swarm of bees (Dash or Wits).
• Reward: a backpack full of sweet berries – and a great summer feast back home.

Summer is the time of great journeys: heat, long roads and new friends instead of cold.

🍂 Autumn – “The Great Gathering”

Autumn paints the leaves, and in Wipfelweiler the great gathering begins: every acorn counts, for winter is near. But you’re not the only hungry ones – martens and thieving magpies are about too, and the first frost is on its way.

• In a set time (e.g. 5 rounds) gather as many acorns as you can.
• A race for the fat oak with the most fruit (Dash / Paw).
• Bring the supplies to the den before the marten finds them (Leaf-Camo).

Autumn brings time pressure and competition: an exciting harvest game against the clock.

❄️ Winter – “The Long, Cold Night”

Winter is the hardest time. Supplies run low, a snowstorm has half-buried the den, and outside a hungry marten prowls through the white forest. Now you must find food, stay warm and see one another safely through the night.

• Find an acorn buried back in autumn again, under the snow (Wits / a good nose).
• Fetch dry moss and twigs for a warm nest without freezing (Puff).
• Escape the hungry marten or outfox him – without a fight, of course (Dash / Wits).

But don’t worry: winter passes too. Those who stick together, share cleverly and cheer each other on will make it through the cold night – and in spring the planted acorns blossom.

One World, Three Levels (grows with your child)

The same world, the same squirrels – only the rules grow along. That’s how “Wipfel & Wagemut” stays exciting from preschooler to teenager.

Level 0 – Sprout (up to about 5)

With no character sheet at all and just a single die: “Describe what you do and roll – on 4 or more it works.” The storyteller lovingly guides the story, and at every fork there are exactly two simple choices. Short scenes, lots of pictures, always a happy ending.

Level 1 – Wagemut (about 6–9)

Exactly the game above: three stats, Puff, one Knack and the Daring Roll (2 d6). The comfort zone – the detailed Starter Adventure further down serves as a ready-made template.

Level 2 – Treetop Knight (from about 10)

For the older ones it gets trickier and freer:

• Free choice: instead of fixed forks, the group decides for itself what to do next – the storyteller responds flexibly.
• More rules: conditions (wet, tired, disheartened …), extra Knacks and real tree-magic come in.
• Bigger campaigns: adventures across several game nights and whole season-long arcs.
• Sheets grow along: the character sheets from Level 1 are simply reused and extended with new attributes (spells, titles, gear) – nobody starts from scratch.

How an adventure is built

An adventure is a chain of little stories: each scene describes a place or an event, is read aloud, and ends with two choices. Each choice leads to the next scene – so the children build their own story, chapter by chapter, up to the big finale. What that looks like in practice is shown by the Starter Adventure with its six scenes.

Ready-made Example Squirrels

Create your own characters

Set up a free account, create your play group and fill in a personal character sheet for each child – saved online and available right at the game table. You can even upload a picture for each character.

Create account or log in

Starter Adventure: “The Stolen Winter Acorn”

A cheeky magpie has carried Wipfelweiler’s gleaming Winter Acorn off to her nest on the old chimney. Across six scenes the young squirrels bring it back – over the great pond, past the dozing cat and high up to the nest. For Level 1, with branching one-of-two choices.

Open the adventure or download the PDF

Why this game is special

• No death, no loser. “Out of puff” instead of dying – parents can play it with children without a worry.
• Progress that invites you back. Plant acorns and let them blossom by next time.
• Seasons as a series engine – there’s always a next adventure.
• One world, three rule levels – grows from preschooler to teenager.
• German first. Warm, clear terms rather than translation as an afterthought.

Draft 0.1 – feedback and playing along expressly welcome.