I’m new to MG, and I’m dying to try to 1. grasp the rules, and 2. find a group to play with!!! More often than not, I’ll be forced to play with just one player… That seems to be how things are gonna roll for me as a full-time dad and musician.
Teamwork seems essential to the mechanic as well as the overall feel of the game. Given that, does anyone have any thoughts about a single player game? Has anyone run one and had good results? Should I consider an NPC, perhaps an experienced guardmouse?
I haven’t run a one-on-one Mouse Guard game, but you’re correct that teamwork is one of the game’s conceits. There could be a standing non-player character that’s either the player’s mentor or trainee (depending on what rank of guardmouse he or she chooses), but make sure it’s the player who takes the lead on obstacles and conflicts most of the time.
The relationship characters also make for good recurring NPCs. Try running one of the missions in the book with the provided characters in a one-on-one fashion and see how it goes.