by Jeremy Bushnell and Jonathan Leistiko
Disclaimer:
Marshmallow Peeps are a registered trademark of Just Born, Inc., based in Bethlehem, PA, (which is of special significance to Sharon, our Editorial Director).
In any case, we don’t have any affiliation with Just Born, and readers of this site should not mistakenly assume that we’ve been endorsed by them. Because that would be trademark infringement. Cheers!
To seize 80% of the supply centers in a playing field, or to be the last player remaining in the game.
Each player needs the following supplies:
You will also need one additional copy of the Peep War Hex Map, to serve as a piece of Neutral Territory.
Building the Territory
Take the piece of Neutral Territory and place it in the center of the playing area.
Place a Hex in the playing area. The first Hex you place must share one side with the Neutral Territory and starts your territory. Once all players have placed a hex, repeat the process to place your second and third hexes. The second and third Hex you place must share at least one side with a Hex already in your territory.
Establishing Supply Centers
Place a Supply Center (half of a plastic egg, or some other token) in your Territory. Supply Centers may only be placed in the central cell of a hex (put it over the circular area in the central cell). Once all players have placed a Supply Center, repeat the process to place your remaining Supply Center.
Place one of your Troop jellybeans and one of your Peeps in each cell in your territory that contains a Supply Center.
Place one Supply Center in the Neutral Territory’s central cell.
General rules governing play
If you have a Peep or at least one Troop in a cell that contains a Supply Center, that Supply Center is considered to be under your control.
You may have up to one Peep and up to six Troops in play for each Supply Center under your control. If you have more Peeps or Troops in play at the beginning of your turn than you can support with your Supply Center(s), you must remove Peeps and Troops from play until you reach a number which you can support. If, at the beginning of your turn, you have no Supply Centers under your control, you are out of the game.
If, at the beginning of your turn, you control three Troops or less and no Peeps, or only one Peep and no Troops, you are out of the game.
You may not have more than five of your Troops or one of your Peeps in a single cell. You may, however, have five Troops and a Peep in a cell.
Taking Your Turn
One turn consists of three phases: Movement, Combat Resolution, and Production.
Movement
You may move each of your Troops and each of your Peeps from a cell into an adjacent cell. A Peep War hex has a central cell (with a circle in it) surrounded by six border cells. You may move all, some, or none of your pieces.
Moving pieces into a cell inhabited by another player’s pieces triggers Combat. Complete all of your moves before Resolving these Combat(s).
If you move all of your pieces out of a cell containing a Supply Center, that Supply Center is no longer considered to be under your control.
Combat Resolution
If, at the end of the Movement phase, any cells contain pieces belonging to two different players, Combat occurs in that cell. If no cells contain pieces belonging to two different players, move on to the Production phase.
Combats are resolved one at a time.
To resolve Combat:
Production
If you have at least one Troop and a Peep in the same cell as a Supply Center, you may place one additional Troop bean in that cell. During each Production phase, you may produce one bean from each Supply Center manned by a Troop and a Peep.
If you have at least three Troops in the same cell as a Supply Center, you may convert them to Peep Growth Jelly. Remove the Troops from play and place a Peep in that cell. (Remember that two Peeps may never occupy the same cell.) Supply Centers that generate Peeps in this fashion may not also produce Troops during the same Production phase.
You cannot produce Troops or Peeps if this would cause you to have more Troops or Peeps than the Supply Centers that are currently under your control can support.
At the end of your Production Phase, your turn is over. Play passes to the left.
If you are the last player in the game, or if you control 80% of the Supply Centers in play, you win. When calculating the number of Supply Centers required to win, round fractions up.
While attending the 2001 GAMA Trade Show in Las Vegas, Jeremy succumbed to the temptation to pick up some Marshmallow Peeps. Later, while enjoying the selection of wonderful miniature-based wargames, he quipped that he was going to make a miniature-based wargame using the Peeps as war beasts. This idea may have remained an amusing throwaway if not for the intervention of Jon, who quickly cooked up a preliminary set of rules.
Collaboration on the game was conducted through a series of phone calls between the Austin and Chicago offices, and playtesting commenced Easter weekend in Chicago.