Ahoy! Kitten
Ahoy! Kitten Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 60 fish tokens divided as follows: 18 red, 18 blue, 18 yellow, 6 white
- 1 bag
- 1 rulebook
- 5 ocean tiles
- 6 character tiles: Eysturoy (Green), Majestic (Blue), Fried Fish (Red), Poseiden (Yellow), Inventor (Black), Hook (Purple)
Objective
Gain the highest score by gathering fish tokens.
Setup
Dealing character tiles
Each player chooses a character tile and places it in front of themselves (three-cats side up). With fewer than 6 players, the unused character tiles are returned to the box.
Placing ocean tiles
Then, the ocean tiles are placed at the centre of the table in accordance with the chart below:
| Players | Ocean tiles |
|---|---|
| 3 players | 2 ocean tiles |
| 4 players | 3 ocean tiles |
| 5 players | 4 ocean tiles |
| 6 players | 5 ocean tiles |
*See the 2-player Variant below.
Distribution of fish tokens
Place all the fish tokens in the bag and select a player to have the task of distributing the fish tokens. That player draws fish tokens randomly from the bag and places 2 fish tokens on each ocean tile.
The game can now begin.
The First Round
Count and point: The players count to three together. On three, they simultaneously point at an ocean tile of their choice with their fingers (cats' claws!). Note: Cats' claws not included.
Single player pointing at an ocean: If there is only one player pointing at a given ocean tile, that player takes all of the fish tokens from that tile and places them on his or her character tile.
Multiple players pointing at an ocean: If two (or more) players point at the same ocean tile, nothing happens and the fish tokens remain where they are.
The round ends.
Example: The blue pirate (Ship Majestic) takes the tokens from the ocean. Elsewhere, no one takes any token as multiple players point at the same ocean tile.
Refilling Fish Tokens on Ocean Tiles
Distributing the tokens: The player responsible for distributing the tokens randomly draws fish and places them accordingly:
- 1 token is added to each ocean tile that still has at least 1 token.
- 2 tokens are placed on each empty ocean tile.
NOTE: This operation occurs between each round until all fish tokens in the bag have run out (which triggers the end of the game). If there are not enough fish tokens left in the bag to supply each ocean tile, the responsible player may distribute them according to his or her wish. Thus, some oceans may remain empty on the final refill action (triggering the end of the game).
From the Second Round and Beyond
Each new round is played as previously explained, but players now have two new options.
1. Filching Tokens
Instead of pointing at an ocean tile, a player can point at the character tile of another player.
Single player pointing at a character: If only one player points at a character tile, that player steals all the fish tokens on it and places them on his or her own character tile.
Multiple players pointing at a character: If two or more players point at the same character tile, none of them take the fish tokens there. The tokens remain on the tile.
Reminder: There is no play order! Players' actions are simultaneous.
Example 1: The blue pirate (Ship Majestic) takes the tokens from the yellow pirate (Ship Poseidon). The yellow pirate (Ship Poseidon) takes the tokens from the blue pirate (Ship Majestic).
Example 2: The blue pirate (Ship Majestic) takes the tokens from the green pirate (Ship Eysturoy). The yellow pirate (Ship Poseidon) takes the tokens from the blue pirate (Ship Majestic). The green pirate (Ship Eysturoy) takes the tokens from the ocean.
2. Protecting Tokens
Protect and claim: Instead of pointing at an ocean tile or at another character's tile, players can protect their fish tokens and claim them permanently. To do that, they cover their character tiles with their hands (cats' paws!).
Pointing at a protected tile: Important: If a player points at a character tile protected this way, that is too bad for them!
Example: The yellow pirate (Ship Poseidon) protects the tokens and claims them. The blue pirate (Ship Majestic) gains nothing at all!
The protected fish tokens are removed from the tile and placed next to the player. They have now been claimed and can no longer be stolen.
Forced break: Players who claimed their fish tokens must flip their character tiles over to the ship side. Thus, they will be suspended from the following round. When that round is over and a new round is to start, these players can flip their character tiles back to the cat side and resume playing.
Example: The yellow pirate (Ship Poseidon) is on break for this round. The blue pirate (Ship Majestic) takes tokens.
Game End
Score tallying: When the last fish token in the bag is drawn, it indicates that the game will come to an end after that round is finished. Tallying victory points (VPs) follows the final round. Each player gathers the fish tokens they have claimed and those placed on their character tiles.
- Each set of 3 tokens in three different colors is worth 5 VPs.
- The white tokens are each worth 2 VPs.
- Every colored token (which is spare from forming a set of 3 in three different colors) is worth 1 VP.
NOTE: The fish tokens remaining on the ocean tiles are excluded from the scoring.
The winner: The player who gains the most VPs wins. If there is a tie, the player having the most white tokens is the winner. If the tie is still unresolved, playing one more game would be a good idea!
Tips from the game designer: Players are allowed to talk before or during the counting up to three and come to an agreement on the oceans to point at. However, breaking one's word will not result in any adverse consequences. So, have fun!
2-Player Variant
| Components | No. of pieces |
|---|---|
| Ocean tiles | 3 |
| Character tiles | 4 |
| Fish tokens: Red, Yellow, Blue | 12 of each color |
| Fish tokens: White | 6 |
Each player is dealt 2 individual character tiles: the left paw (hand) will represent one of them, while the right paw will act for the other. The basic game rules apply, alongside a variation that the character played by a player's paw can steal tokens from another controlled by the other paw, but performing protection on behalf of the other character is disallowed. When the game ends, each player tallies VPs for the fish tokens in the left and right paws separately, and the lower score is the final score of the player.