#Bugcatching28 v0.

3
By Footoftape
A comfy non combat tabletop game about catching bugs!
Inspired by #Applepicking28, #Herding28, #Fishing28, Squealin’ and #DogWalk28

Setting/theme:
You and your friends are all witch apprentices, with all the teaching going on you are running out
of potion ingredients fast! Your task for the morning is to go fetch some bugs and lil critters to
restock the witches supplies, but you must be home before lunch or you’ll miss out!

This is just one example of the setting. Maybe you’re robots on a far off planet retrieving
specimens to study. Could be that you’re hungry goblins looking for a snack. Maybe you’re
giants terrorizing the local village? It’s really up to you how it’s themed as long as you’re having
fun!

What you need:

● 3-4 player miniatures/tokens depending how many players there are (base sizes 20/25mm)
● 10 Bug tokens (20/25mm bases)
● A Roughly 15”x15” square play space(can play on larger if you want!)
● Some D6s, a D10 (Dice)
● Scatter die or some way of randomizing direction.
● A bug nest(45mm base)
● Measuring stick of some kind in inches.
● Some scatter terrain: fallen logs, trees, walls etc.Can make it as dense or sparse as you want!

Set up:
● Each player starts in a corner of the play area up to 2” away from the edge.
● Place the bug nest roughly in the middle.
● Roll a d10 to see how many bugs spawn
● Each bug starts up to 3 inches from the nest. Players take turns placing them.
● Players take turns placing scatter terrain.

I recommend trying to play with as many players as you can. If it’s just yourself, use all 4
miniatures and see how many buggies you can catch! 2 players? No problem, take two each. 3
players? Just use 3 miniatures.
 Gameplay:
There are two phases, player turns and the bugs turn. All players will go first then the bugs.

Deciding which player goes first:

The last person to have a good interaction with a bug starts the game, otherwise each player rolls a d6.
The highest roll goes first, then clockwise around the board. If there is a tie, roll off between those players.

Terrain:
All terrain pieces including the bug nest are impassable by players, due to them not wanting to disturb the
bugs too much.
Bugs may move freely through terrain as they are much much smaller creatures. Bugs may not end up on
top of terrain, if their movement ends them on top, place them beside the piece of terrain.

Scatter dice:
If at any point when using a scatter die a “hit” was rolled during bug movement of any kind, the bug will
stay where it is.

Player turn:
Players may make up to two actions per turn. Actions can be any combination of the following:

● Movement:
Your character may move up to 6” in any direction. How far you move matters:
1-2” you are considered sneaking you get +2 to your capture rolls.
3-4” you are moving quietly, no bonus to capture rolls.
5-6” you are stomping around making lots of noise, all bugs within 3” of where you finish your
movement will scatter d6” that player also has -1 to capture rolls.
All movement is measured from the middle of the base.
● Capturing bugs:
You will need to be in base to base contact with a bug to capture it. This can happen before or
after movement.
Roll a d6, you will need a 4 or higher to capture the bug. If you miss the bug scatters d3” away. If
you roll a 1 the bug scatters d6”. If you’re in base to base contact with two bugs you may attempt
to capture the bugs using both your actions, roll for each bug separately. You may only carry up to
3 bugs in your net at a time.
If you have more than one bug in your net when you attempt to catch another one there is a
chance for them to escape. When rolling to capture, if you roll a 1-2 one of your previously caught
bugs will jump out d3” from that player, use a scatter die to determine which direction.
● Placing bugs in your carrier:
Your net or hands might get a bit full carrying all those bugs around, so you’ll need to place them
into your bug carrying container. You may spend one action to empty your net into the carrier.
 Bug Turn:
After all players have had a turn the bugs get to do their thing. To make this turn easier and quicker, have
all players help out the best they can.

● Bug Movement:
At the start of the bug round all bugs on the play area will move. Any bug that is within 4” of a
player will move d3” away the player closest to them, all bugs beyond 4” will scatter d3”.
It’s best to move the bugs furthest away from the player first to help cut down on colliding.
Any time a bug finishes its movement on top of another bug, place the bug next to the one it’s
overlapping. If at any point a bug moves outside of the play area add it back to the nest to spawn.
● Bug Spawning:
After all bug movement is done, roll a d10 to determine how many new bugs jump out of their
nest. Place these bugs on the opposite side of the nest from the closest player.
If there are no bugs left to spawn, you can skip this part.

Ending the game:

The game lasts 10 full rounds or until all the bugs are captured. The player with the most bugs at
the end wins and goes home with all their new little critters.

Extra rules:
The extra rules are made just for a bit of fun and if you’d like to add them to your games of
BugCatching28 go right ahead! Add as many or as little as you want, could prove even more of a
challenge to catch those lil critters.

Stinky vapors:
The bug nest is spewing out clouds of some nasty smelly vapors. The bugs are completely used to it, but
when you get too close you feel light headed and woozy.
Rules:
● All player characters that are within 6” of the bugs nest are affected by the smell.
● All bug capture rolls are at -1
● Every time a player wishes to use the move action roll a d6, this will be their movement for that
turn using the same numbers for movement in the move action section (if you roll a 2 you’re
considered sneaking etc)
● Players also must move the full distance.
The Swarm:
As you and your friends approach the known location of the nest you start to hear a loud cacophony of
buzzing and chirping coming from ahead, as you peak your heads through the bushes you see bugs
everywhere!
Rules:
● You are now playing with 20 bugs instead of 10.
● When setting up the bugs at the start of the game roll 2d10 and place them like normal.
● When bugs spawn on their turn roll a d10 like normal and add two extra bugs if possible.

The Pesky bird:

It’s early in the morning and the birds have woken up and are looking for their breakfast.
Rules:
After the bugs turn but before the players turn, a pesky bird will attempt to swoop down and steal a bug
from the play area.
● The bird will target the closest bug to a player. If there are multiple bugs the same distance, roll
off to determine which one is the target.
● Roll a d6, on a 4+ the pesky bird and swooped in and snatched the bug off the play area

Spiders!
You notice some big hairy spiders crawling around the bug nest, they’re gross, fuzzy and don’t look too
friendly.
Rules:
Before the game starts replace d6 bugs with spiders, can mark your current bug tokens or if you have
some similar sized spider minis use them!
● Spiders will spawn like normal bugs and act on the bugs' turn.
● Spiders will act before any other bug
● Spiders will move towards the closest player d3”
● If a spider or player ends their turn within 4” of each other the player will be spooked and move
using the scatter die d6”, if a “hit” is rolled the player stays in place. If a player reaches the board
edge they stop.