Everyday I'm Tussling (Patreon)

Townsfolk Tussle arrived in Europe recently and I've spent a fair bit of time playing through it because it has that sweet spot mix of constructing builds from semi-random options vs. bosses with a set of rules that are fast enough to operate that it's easy to want to run another game. It's made a really nice break from the world; and as such I wanted to share my notes, thoughts and strategies learned from playing quite a bit. Specifically today we're going to look at the townsfolk with a bit of a deep dive into each one – looking at what they're designed to do, what will help them grow in the early rounds and who they synergise with.

There isn't enough depth in Townsfolk Tussle to touch on this subject too often, but as it is part of the Cooperative AI Boss Battling sub-genre of the Boss Battling family it is the kind of thing that I cover on this patreon, especially now that boss battlers; both card and miniature based, are growing in number. But for now, we'll just dabble in the occasional article here and there.

Make up of a Townsfolk

Before we go into each of the individual townsfolk, I'm going to explain what we'll be looking at; and the baseline townsfolk that we'll be comparing each of them too. I'm going to break down each townsfolk into the following components:

• Stats (Health, Movement, Moxie, Accuracy)
• Abilities
• Starting Gear
• Alternate Starting Gear (How it changes their initial focus)

I'm keeping the alternate starting gear for each townsfolk in its own section without pictures in order to reduce spoilers for those of you who have not unlocked these yet. You should be able to skip past the couple of paragraphs each one represents if you don't want the surprise spoiled.

While it's hard to put an exact numerical value on the abilities most townsfolk have I was able to at least get some simple data out of the general statistics that they share, so we'll take a look at all of that now:

Health

Health for a townsfolk is a very discrete number, the mean is 3.71 and both the median and mode are 4. In short, outside of Henlo and Georgie, all of the townsfolk start with 4 health. Which gives us a range of 3-4.

This is quite understandable, and in fact Georgie technically has 4 health also because of his Stale Cake. You cannot really start a townsfolk with 2 health because some of the Ruffians would take them out in a single hit, and higher health is a very powerful thing to get from the start.

Movement

Movement has a bit more variation; the mean is 4.14 and both the median and mode are 4. The vast majority of townsfolk move 4 spaces, a very common number for movement in this kind of grid based game – only Henlo and Quintus have 5 and Yancy is the sole member with 3. Which gives us a range of 3 to 5 movement. The more movement one has, the more powerful it is because of how a high movement townsfolk can go interact with terrain more quickly. 3 Movement on the other hand is a pretty big downside, but Yancy's design mitigates that issue somewhat.

Moxie

The mean moxie is 2.57 and both the median and mode are 2. The range here is 2 to 4, but it is quite rare that a townsfolk gets to go higher than 2. In addition, all townsfolk with an ability that costs moxie tend to be designed to have one less moxie than they need to be able to do everything in a turn. For example Georgie can't use his weapon and his Quick trotter because while he has 4 moxie, that weapon and ability require 5 moxie total.

Accuracy

Accuracy has the widest range of all the Townsfolks statistics. While the mean is -0.43, the range goes from -2 all the way up to 2. The Median and Mode are both -1 and the mean is pulled away from that because of the significant outliers. Norman has a massive +2 accuracy and sweet ol' Granny Melba has -2. Of course, in practice Granny's accuracy also trends to positive due to her ranged design and long sightedness, but we'll discuss that more in her specific design.

Total points

Finally before we look at the typical townsfolk statline; a quick look at the total points each townsfolk has, because it's quite interesting:

• Blopsy Twins – 10
• Georgie Irongut – 10 (technically 11)
• Granny Melba – 8
• Henlo Bulwark – 9 (technically 10 or 11)
• Norman Fishboy – 12
• Qunitus Binch – 11
• Yancy Plover – 10

What we can tell from this is part of the balancing act in designing a townsfolk includes weighting for their abilities (as it should), also Granny Melba's 8 point value varies a lot because at maximum range with the Rooty Tooter she actually ends up with +3 accuracy (effectively making her an 11 point starting character).

The Average Townsfolk

So, if theoretically you were going to design a custom townsfolk for the game. You'd start with the following baseline statistics:

• Health: 4
• Movement: 4
• Moxie: 2
• Accuracy: -1

You'd also stick within the current ranges we've seen above – moving outside of the establish ranges is something that you'd have to take a lot of caution in doing, extremes tend to create abusable designs. We can see that in order for Georgie to get 4 moxie he's been given less starting health (meaning he's always at risk of being one or two shot early on) and Henlo has paid for her healing ability with less starting health also (Though they both are low risk designs as they have an additional health tucked away elsewhere in their design).

With all of this done, we now have an established baseline we can compare the townsfolk to. I'm going to do them in alphabetical order!

Blopsy Twins

Statistics:

• Health: Average
• Movement: Average
• Moxie: Good
• Accuracy: Average

Summary & Archetype:

The Blopsy Twins' archetype is that of a pure controlling support character. They are designed to spend stats in order to help control/predict the Ruffian's actions and provide damage buffs for the other townsfolk. Statistically their most impressive area is moxie, 3 moxie with no abilities that use moxie means they are able to wield a 2 moxie and a 1 moxie weapon if they want to move out of the role of a self harming support, but they are also very well designed within that role thanks to their gear.

On the battlefield the Blopsy's main role is to stick near the ruffian where as many townsfolk as possible can benefit from their Boasting Bullhorn, they are otherwise a bit of a damage sponge, because their abilities mean they reduce their effectiveness the longer the fight goes on. They get progressively weaker as time passes, so they may as well spend their health to ensure that others do not get harmed. This means they occupy a similar front line role to Yancy, but express it in a different way.

The Blopsy's work at their very best in larger group sizes, this is because the Boasting Bullhorn works on every single other townsfolk's turn as long as they can get adjacent to the Blopsy twins for their first attack. This is something you should be encouraging as much as possible as the Blopsy player.

Abilities:

Mind Reader is an exceptionally strong ability in this genre, the ability to look at the top card of an AI deck and bury it to the bottom if you desire is fantastic, the information this provides is absolutely invaluable. Done early it allows the townsfolk to ensure that the amount of damage that the ruffian deals hits the target who can take it, done late in the beating order it can help shove away something that might knock out one of the townsfolk unexpectedly (though that's a gamble, the card which follows could be the same, or worse). The reduction in stats for the Blopsy Twins is a bit of a difficult thing to deal with, but their gear helps keep them relevant even if they have bottomed out almost all of their stats. You'd start by reducing moxie by 1, then accuracy would go next, and after that you're probably juggling between the three stats, with moxie being the last you reduce to 1 because without a 1 mox Peddlar weapon, it means you can't attack.

Performer is a fantastic discount and the Blopsy Twins should be making sure that other Townsfolk do not take any instruments without first checking if the Blopsy's want it. There are the following instruments in each slot (base 177 card deck, not including the extra unlocks):

• Accessory: 1
• Head: 3
• 1 handed: 5
• 2 handed: 1
• Chest: 2
• Leg: 1
• Special: 0

This is a list that's worth internalising if you like to play the Blopsy's a lot, because if you see the accessory or leg slot gear this is your one chance to get your hands on something for that slot. Likewise, you can only pass on Chest gear once.

It's not essential that you get instruments into every single slot though, the Blopsy twins just get a discount on their price and can't lose them under any circumstances. You might settle for other powerful things instead.

Gear:

The Traveler's Shiv is a pretty weak starting weapon and something you'll be seeking to replace with any superior 1 handed item as soon as one becomes available. A lower Moxie weapon means you have more moxie to spend on Mind Reading.

The Boasting Bullhorn on the other hand is something that you'll not be seeking to replace except for in smaller group sizes. As discussed above, this bullhorn can represent a huge amount of additional damage – potentially up to 4 damage extra per round if you have the maximum amount of townsfolk all scoring hits. It also remains effective even if you've reduced your accuracy and moxie to minimum.

Finally the Crystal Ball is a compensation item for you reducing your stats and it rewards you for being very aggressive with your statistical reduction. You can get a total of 4 counters onto this card with your baseline stats, and this means 3 guaranteed hits (4 if you can get a 1 mox weapon).

Alternate Gear:

The alternative gear for Blopsy Twins is quite a bit weaker than the original set, your starting weapon is statistically identical to the shiv, but it compensates for that by giving you 1 coin each time you Mind Reader. This means you should be aggressively Mind Reading every single turn in order to push your finances up enough to let you purchase a lot of good 1-handed low moxie weapons.

The other piece of gear, Tag Team, allows the Blopsy Twins to carry up to 4 1-handed weapons by letting them equip them to the accessory and leg slots rather than have the normal gear there. This is a bit of an odd thing, because the Blopsy Twins are designed to become worse and worse at fighting throughout the tussle. As such, unless you're going to turn them into a whirling tornado of blades (and ignore Mind Reader) you're going to be seeking the 1-handed gear that are not weapons. There are, sadly, just 5 of these – so often you'll end up instead not being able to make good use of Tag Team. As such, I consider the original gear for the Blopsy Twins to be the stronger choice.

Georgie Irongut

• Health: Low
• Movement: Average
• Moxie: Very High
• Accuracy: Average

Georgie is a bit of an oddball piece, he's mostly a close range brawler/bruiser type but he can't really suck up the hits as well as other close range fighters and he has no form of control over the Ruffian (where as Yancy and The Blopsy Twins excel at that). Most of Georgie's playstyle involves finding consumables and weaving their use in between hits from his weapon. He is a very flexible fighter as a consequence and can be pivoted into being a ranged character with great ease due to his ability to kite Ruffians.

Abilities:

Leftovers is the core piece which you'll pivot Georgie's build around, it means that when Georgie uses consumable items he won't discard them. Because of this, Georgie should be seeking to purchase as many consumables as possible. There are the following consumables in the gear deck:

• Accessory: 10
• Chest: 1

What this means is Georgie's main play style is going to involve swapping out accessories after using them. So early on he'll be activating accessories for their offensive uses before switching to a combination of defensive accessories and attacking. So you're going to want to prioritise a piece of gear that gives +1 Mox.

It is also important to note that most accessories are cheap, so there is a lot of competition for them, especially from a Quintus player who might grab some consumable you would make better use of. Remind people in the purchasing phase just how strong consumables are for you.

Quick Trotter on the other hand lets Georgie spend Moxie to move rapidly about the battlefield; as such Georgie can be a solid terrain activation player because he can get to where he's needed quite quickly. It's not an ability you'll use a lot, but it can be powerful in the right showdown.

Starting Gear:

Georgie's starting gear is very simple, it's a powerful 2-handed 2 damage weapon and +1 Health (giving him effectively 4 Health). Early on your role is to just hit hard and repeatedly, you'd only go on terrain duties if Quintus or Henlo are not part of the group. If you get an extra Moxie it's possible to attack and then Quick Trotter away, but this is not a super strong action unless you're trying to preserve Health.

Alternative Gear:

Georgie's alternative gear changes his play style while also weakening him a bit early on. But before we delve into it, I'd just like to point out that Georgie's special Town Event Unique Gear is ridiculously powerful because it is effectively +2 Health. What Georgie gets from his alternative starting gear is a weak chest slot item that provides a bonus when consuming and the Dinner Fork. The Dinner Fork is the reason you'd play this alternative start – because not having a consumable +1 Health from the beginning is a huge downside for Georgie. The Dinner Fork gives Georgie an awkward to use, but relatively accurate attack. You are going to want to purchase a weapon as soon as possible in order to use that other 2 Moxie you have.

Granny Melba

• Health: Average
• Movement: Average
• Moxie: Average
• Accuracy: Variable (Very Low in Melee)

Granny is a pure ranged damage dealer, simple as. She should aim to be the furthest from the Ruffian because that is where her effectiveness increases. As such, she's another candidate for terrain activation duties – she's about as good as Quintus in this roll, Henlo remains the best one for the job initially, but not every team has a healer hen.

Granny's extreme focus on being at distance means she's typically better in larger Townsfolk groups as there are more bodies to keep the Ruffian distracted and at distance. In smaller groups she'll find herself being rushed down by the Ruffian too often to be really effective.

Abilities:

Ol' Gran Gran's Farsighted ability is a straightforward stat boost as long as she's at a good range and it's one of the reasons why she's such a strong pick for a group of townsfolk. She sits at long range and dishes out damage by the bucket load. She's going to want to purchase as many ranged weapons as possible because of this, which ones exactly will determine her exact playstyle, but typically a good set up is to run two powerful 1-handed ranged weapons. You'll want to avoid melee weapons as much as possible, that -2 accuracy is a hard pill to swallow when up close. (This also means Granny struggles in smaller groups and is prone to being a terrible 'last Gran standing). You will probably want to supplement her high range with as much movement as possible.

Lover's Discount means that Granny should be discouraged from purchasing cheap gear from the Peddlar, invest in anything that costs 7 or more and leave the rest for townsfolk who thrive on accessories/cheap bargains - like Georgie or Quintus. The more often you use the discount throughout the game, the better your returns will be.

Starting Gear:

The Rooty Tooter is a powerful and reliable weapon that you're going to keep using for a long time unless you get two solid alternative ranged weapons. It is important to recognise that this weapon, while very accurate and damaging, is near the peak of options for Granny unless she gets some extra Mox. Many powerful ranged weapons require 3 moxie to use, so securing an extra moxie (or two) should be a priority for a Melba player, then you should pivot towards movement.

Granny's Cane on the other hand is just a terrible weapon that you'll use on the turns your Rooty Tooter is reloading. Granny only hits on a 7+ with this weapon, so while it's something to attack with, often you'd be better off interacting with terrain. So try and get Granny in a position where on her reload turns she can do other things that'll help. There is room for Gran Gran to be Healer Gran on her off-turns, if you can find a healing one handed item. That's a decent niche for her and also pretty thematic.

Alternative Gear:

Granny's Alternative Gear is a better package than her starting one. The Tossing Baton is admittedly, slightly worse than the Rooty Tooter due to its shorter range and lower damage, but it makes up for it with effectively the same level of accuracy and lower mox cost. In the end the two weapons end up being a wash. So the nod goes to the Bulging Corset, which allows Granny to turn health loss into additional damage on the ruffian. It requires a successful hit, but often Granny's more accurate than any other townsfolk, so that's fine.

Henlo Bullwark

• Health: Low (technically Above Average)
• Movement: High
• Moxie: Average
• Accuracy: Average

Henlo is a healer/terrain activation character at heart; she's typically going to be using her high movement to ensure that she can dash in, deliver a heal, and then get out behind the front line. This means that extra movement, more moxie and a ranged weapon are all desirable for Henlo.

Abilities:

Pinch Provisions is the defining characteristic of Henlo's play style. She is able to turn 2 moxie into +1 health, giving the front line of the townsfolk a huge amount of durability. Anyone who's played a lot of games that have healing supports will be able to tell you, this is an incredibly valuable ability. However, because Henlo needs to be adjacent to use this ability, she's often in a very dangerous place and can get clipped by Area of Effect attacks or even focused directly by the Ruffian. She cannot heal herself, so each time she gets harmed is a dramatic hit for the group. Everyone should be throwing themselves in the way of any harm pointed at Henlo, she can replenish their health, not her own.

As such, Yancy is one of Henlo's best Fightin' partners because his taunt 'Frantic Fighter' can keep the Ruffian less focused on her and more on him. In return she can keep Yancy topped up so he's able to soak more hits. A classic Tank/Healer combo. She also synergises incredible well with the Blopsy Twins when they're playing the role of the target dummy. Special mention to her Town Event unique item here, it makes her healing incredibly flexible.

Headless Chicken is that respawn, get out of trouble, once per fight ability which seems to represent Henlo panicking (not being decapitated, it's OK she just ducked her head inside her chest, like a turtle) and then running to safety. It means that when she's on 1 Health for the first time, she's actually able to soak a hit of any level and still survive. Then she gets to scurry off and end up in safety. This means you don't have to worry as much about getting extra health for her, it's nice, but it's better on other Townsfolk where Henlo can top it back up.

Starting Gear:

Henlo's weapon, the Wheat Sickle is a decidedly average weapon, it's not great in her hands, so you typically won't be using it too often without getting to 3 Moxie. Otherwise it's an emergency weapon for when Henlo ends up one of the last survivors, or the Ruffian is close to defeat.

Farmer's Overalls plays into Henlo's other strength, her high movement. If Henlo is on the field; she should be one of the main players to interact with terrain that gives bonuses for high dice rolls. She's also very good at getting herself out of trouble by using the Hidey Haystack thanks to that additional bonus on the roll. It's not something you'll use all the time, but it can keep her from taking hits that she can't afford.

Alternative Gear:

Henlo's alternative gear changes her role in the group quite significantly. Her new starting weapon is a decent ranged weapon, so she can dish out damage more often. But her other item not only means she's not so good at interacting with terrain, but it also disables her healing. Instead she becomes a buffing support, able to give other Townsfolk extra movement, moxie or accuracy as they need (in exchange for a donation if they have any coins spare). In order to use this as effectively as possible, players need to accept that Henlo's going to hoover up any spare change they have, so they should spend as much as possible each buying phase.

In return Henlo should try and use the extra money she generates by Pinching Provisions into getting useful items that allow her to continue to support others and remain at a range. She is however, absolutely weaker in this alternative form than her normal one.

Norman Fishboy

• Health: Average
• Movement: Average
• Moxie: Average
• Accuracy: Extremely High

Norman is as close to a bog standard B tier Townsfolk as you can possibly get. His only real focus is in the use of melee weapons and using terrain to harm the ruffian. As such, more than any other townsfolk, his value is variable depending on what the terrain of the fight looks like. This is really very much the Townsfolk for the player who wants as to just develop in whatever direction the gear takes them, he's very flexible.

Abilities:

Lengthy Limbs is a very simple ability, +2 range to all melee weapons, which means that he's a medium distance fighter, but also it means that he can always use his Strange Attraction ability if he wants to. This second ability is the big one for Norman, it allows him to manipulate the position of the Ruffian and get them close to harmful terrain such as the Bee Hive or Dynamite. This ability becomes really good when you get your hands on his Town Event specific special gear (though it's always chance if you get this item). But most of Norman's strategies involve clever positioning to pull the Ruffian to an optimal position. As such, he's great with the Blopsy Twins, who can provide more information for Norman's player to work with and he's also great with anything that gives him more movement.

Interestingly Strange Attraction works on ranged weapons also, so you don't need to focus on Melee weapons if you don't want to, you can instead use a long ranged weapon and kite the Ruffian away from your fellow Townsfolk in order to cancel abilities. Norman also appreciates extra health because he's often the target for the Ruffian's attack after he's drawn them in.

Starting Gear:

Reliable Rod is a weak 2-handed weapon that mainly exists to let Norman work at range 4. You definintly want to replace this with two 1-handed weapons when you have the opportunity because the baseline 6+ accuracy is a little lower than you'd want.

Fishy Cap is either amazing, because there's water on the level, or it does nothing. You'll want to get a new Head Gear card and only switch this one in when the fight's terrain is right for the job.

Alternative Gear:

Norman's alternative gear is really good, but it's terrible in a group with Georgie, because he's now competing for the same gear type. What you have is essentially a weapon that can get longer and longer in range (I'd always discard the starting consumable to buff this weapon's range if it has lasted to near the end of the first Tussle) and at high ranges it can do some incredible things. Norman will be able to stay super safe while dealing a lot of damage. It is, in essence, a 1 trick loadout, but it's a very good trick that gets insane if you get the Sneaky Bait Town Event item.

Quintus Binch

• Health: Average
• Movement: High
• Moxie: Average
• Accuracy: Above Average

Qunitus is a rogue by archetype, and he's probably the most selfish and self contained character in the game. This doesn't mean he can't help a team, one of his abilities is very good at getting other Townsfolk out of (or into) trouble. But for the most part his role on in the Fight is to interact with terrain and deal damage.

Quintus has very poor synergy with Georgie because both of them are seeking to grab and rotate cheap items, Georgie is better at this because he keeps them after use. Quintus instead steals then and uses them asap. So typically you want to avoid having Quintus and Georgie in the same group if you have a small team. They can work together, but at times you may be stuck with the hard decision of having to not steal something so Georgie can get more options.

Abilities:

Petty Theft has one of the strongest synergies in the game; in combination with Yancy you can steal a cheap item from the Peddlar's shop and then pay Yancy 5 coins to turn it into a weapon. This means that you get stronger, Yancy gets more buying power, and everyone wins. This is one of the powerful early buying phase moves and you should also be considering doing it every buying phase. You really want an additional 1 moxie weapon, this is a great way to try and get it.

Trickster is a decent ability that can be used to pull a Ranged or Support Townsfolk out of trouble quickly. Quintus will often be quite far away from the fight early on because he's using his movement to go activate terrain (Unless Henlo is already on the job) and that means he can switch them out nice and safe. He can also do this before moving, which means he can get away from the Ruffian himself. As such +1 Moxie on Quintus is great, because it'll let him Trickster and Attack in the same turn.

Starting Gear:

The Rubber Bat is a decent, basic weapon that Quintus will tend to make use of for most of the session. You'll likely pair it with another 1-Handed weapon and eventually replace it, but it's fine.

Stolen Candy on the other hand is pretty bad due to its single use, it's best that you use it early on to get somewhere important and then work on getting an alternative accessory – cycling through consumables is a solid plan if Georgie isn't in the group, because you can often steal them instead of paying.

Alternative Gear:

Quintus's alternative gear is very interesting, his Muggers Bat is strictly worse than the Rubber Bat, but its goal is to generate a lot of wealth in the first fight or two and then be converted into coins. The really interesting item is the Bloody Badge, that gives you the ability to dive bomb the Ruffian by swapping with another Townsfolk when they're adjacent to the Ruffian. Get +2 Mox and a couple of 1-Handed weapons and Quintus can deal out serious damage.

Yancy Plover

• Health: Average
• Movement: Low
• Moxie: High
• Accuracy: High

If there was any Townsfolk who could be called the centrepiece of the group, it would be Yancy Plover. Yancy is an archetypical Tank category Townsfolk with the ability to draw attention and mitigate hits. His naturally low movement is not so much of an issue in many Fights because he can pull a Scorpion and shout 'G't over 'ere' in the beautiful Scottish brogue that I picture him having (I'm pretty sure he's actually a Southern/Texas accented anvil, but it's cuter to imagine him as Groundskeeper Willie).

Abilities:

Frantic Fighter is a classic “Taunt” ability, it is used to keep the attention of the Ruffian onto Yancy instead of other, possibly weaker Townsfolk. The main issue it has is that in order to use it and attack in the same turn, Yancy needs either a 1 Mox weapon or an additional +1 Moxie. It's second drawback is that it does nothing against Area of Effect attacks except compensate you with +1 Movement. Something that Yancy doesn't need too much of overall.

Blacksmith is deceptively one of the most powerful abilities in the game, it's strongest usage is alongside Quintus who can turn free items into potentially expensive weapons for himself. But it's also a great way for any Townsfolk to turn a leftover/unwanted item into something new while also keeping the finances in the group's collective pocket. This ability becomes amazing if you get his Town Event gear.

Starting Gear:

Ol' Smacky is slightly better than most starting weapons – it shares the same (2/5+/1) Profile that many of the others have, but it also scores additional damage on Critical Hits (approximately 10% of the time). It's main issue is that Mox cost, which is why, if you don't get +1 Moxie, you'll often end up replacing it.

The Smithy's Apron on the other hand is Yancy's Bread and Butter, it allows him to soak a huge hit once per Fight and not take any damage. This combines well with Yancy's natural taunting ability and it's something that you want to duplicate, so keep an eye out for any shields that turn up in the Peddler's offerings. I'd actually take as many shields as possible with Yancy, and swap them out so I can negate hit after hit. That'll buy a huge amount of time for the other Townsfolk to deal damage, especially if Standard Gear Henlo is on the team.

Alternative Gear:

Yancy's alternative gear gives gains on the weapon front, but the other item isn't as good as his Apron. It's a bit different and it means that he'll lean on Henlo even more. The weapon has a 1 mox attack cost, it also has an additional ability in that it can help other Townsfolk position around – cementing Yancy's role as the leader of the group. His Accessory also leans into his taunting ability, giving the entire group information about the Ruffian's next action. However, without healing, he's only going to be able to do that a limited number of times, so alternative Yancy really needs Standard Henlo to keep him going if you're going to lean into it.

Group Compositions.

Expect a few light spoilers here because in some cases the synergies change when a given Townsfolk has their alternative gear. I'm going to try and keep it vague as to the specifics, but you might want to skip over this portion if you've not unlocked the alternative options yet.

When building you want to pay attention to the typical structure of a winning group, you'll want a tank/frontline fighter who sits between the damage dealers and the ruffian. If possible you'll then also want a healer for that fighter (or an alternative frontline character who can take hits)

A few of the Townsfolk have direct Synergies and we'll list them first:

• Henlo → Yancy (Healing)
• Quintus → Yancy (Shopping combo)
• Granny Melba → Quintus (Quintus can keep Granny safe at a distance)
• Henlo/Alternative Henlo → Blopsy Twins (Help them tank or repair their stat losses)
• Norman → Granny Melba (Keep the ruffian away from Granny)
• Norman → Blopsy Twins (Keep the ruffian near the Blopsy Twins)
• Alternative Henlo → Granny Melba, Georgie (Can give them the Moxie and Accuracy they need to sing)

Also a few of the Townsfolk can have very similar roles, so they probably won't appear in the same group if it's a smaller number of players. In particular the Blopsy Twins and Yancy perform a very similar function, being on the frontline and getting hit by the Ruffian while doing controlling stuff. The Townsfolk who tend to occupy the same space are:

• Yancy & The Blopsy Twins – Frontline fighters
• Georgie & Quintus – Competition over consumable usage
• Granny Melba & Norman Fishboy – Both solid Ranged attackers, but they can co-exist because Norman is able to use melee stuff as well and he can keep the Ruffian away from Gran Gran quite well. So really it's down to play style.
• Norman Fishboy & The Blopsy Twins – Norman often gets himself into the front line, meaning that the Ruffian is more likely to hit him than the Blopsy's. His repositioning can also mess up the Blopsy's attempts to use their Horn buff. However, it is optional, so this is another clash that's dependant on play styles.

As such, here are some of my favourite core trios to build teams around:

Yancy, Henlo & Quintus

Quintus provides the main damage dealing in this trio with his ability to get cheap weapons during the Buying Phase.Yancy keeps the attention on himself as much as possible and Henlo keeps Yancy's health topped up. This team welcomes the addition of Granny Melba or Norman as a Forth and of course the Blopsy Twins make an amazing fifth member.

Georgie/Yancy, Norman & Granny Melba

This team aims to alternate between Georgie and Norman as the targets for the Ruffian while Granny Melba brings the pain down from a distance. Henlo is of course the best forth member because she does something that no other Townsfolk can do, heal – which is a big help for Georgie and Norman in particular. It is worth noting that Georgie with his extra Town Event cake has so much self healing that he doesn't often need Henlo's help.

Granny Melba, Norman & Georgie

As a team focused around dealing as much damage as possible as quickly as they can, this group often lives and dies on their dice rolls (more so than normal). There's a lot of fun to be had here due to the extreme offensive design of these characters, each of which is capable of dealing 2 damage per hit. However, they have a very finite amount of health to spend – so they'll need to supplement that with clever positioning/kiting and defensive gear. This group lives on a razor's edge, but it's a great one for people who don't want to bother with having a tank sit there and get punched.

Alternative Blopsy Twins, Alternative Henlo & Quintus

The Blopsy Twins here are greatly supported by Henlo's ability to add more stats for them to mind read away and Quintus can help position them in range for attacking – which lets them dump all of their movement into Mind Reading. This group needs to rotate taking hits as much as possible. So, a good forth is another front line character who can take hits when the Blopsy Twins start flagging – so Yancy, Georgie or Norman are all solid additions.