Cat and the Tower Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Summary
• Contents
• Game Setup
• Gameplay
  • Action
• Placement Rules
  • Wall Tiles
  • Floor Tiles
  • Bending Tiles
  • Feline Friend Pieces
  • Toto Piece
  • Touching
  • On top of
• Clearing Goals
• Debris
  • Debris Rules
• End of Game
  • Victory
  • Defeat
• Going Higher
• Competitive Variant
  • Setup
  • Player Turns - Competitive Variant
  • End of Game (Competitive Variant)
• FAQ
• Credits

Summary

Cat and the Tower is a cooperative dexterity game where the players help Toto, a young black cat, reach the 10th floor of the tower. Players will take turns building the tower using floor and wall pieces, or clearing conditions to help Toto climb up. If Toto reaches the top of the tower, the players win the game!

Contents

• 24 Floor Tiles, numbered 1-24
• 1 Wooden Toto Piece
• 1 Black Cat Piece
• 16 Feline Friend Pieces (4 of each of the 4 colors)
• 54 Wall Tiles: 12 Bricks, 12 Angels, 12 Windows, 12 Arches, 6 Pillars
• 1 Wall Reference Card
• 20 Action Cards
• 5 Story Cards
• 5 Summary Cards
• 16 Goal Cards
• Competitive Mode Pieces: 4 Black Cat Pieces, 1 Ranking Card, 5 Paw Ranking Pieces

Game Setup

1. Start by placing the 1st Floor Tile and place Toto above the start symbol. Any floor or wall played into this area during the course of the game will be collectively referred to as the "Tower."
2. Place the 2nd through 24th Floor Tiles together off to the side near the Tower.
3. Organize and separate the Wall Tiles according to their type, and place them around the Wall Reference Card.
4. Organize and separate the Feline Friend Pieces by color near the Tower.
5. Find the two Action Cards and the two Goal Cards with the starting symbol in the top left and place them next to each other face-up. Separate the Action Cards and Goal Cards into two stacks and shuffle each deck. Place these face-down near the Tower to create both the Action Card Deck and the Goal Card Deck.
   • Be sure to leave room for each deck's Discard Pile as well!
6. Find the Story Card with the starting symbol in the top left and place it face-up nearby.
   • The remaining Story Cards will not be used right away and can be set off to the side.
7. Give a Summary Card to each player.
8. The last person to have pet a cat becomes the Starting Player.

Gameplay

All players take turns, in clockwise order, beginning with the starting player.

On their turn, each player will first perform one of the two available Actions, then check if an available Goal Condition has been met.

Action

1. Choose one of the two face up Action Cards.
2. Depending on the Action Card chosen, the player will attempt to either place additional Floor and Wall Tiles or place a Feline Friend on the Tower.
   • Each Floor Tile is numbered, so be sure to place them in the correct order starting with the 1st floor and then moving on to the 2nd and 3rd and so on.
   • Some Action Cards will feature different actions you can take on the left and right side. You must choose only one of these to perform.
   • Some Action Cards will challenge you to "Pet a Feline Friend." To successfully fulfill this Action, a player must slightly touch the appropriate Feline Friend Piece(s) with their finger. A slight touch is enough to complete the action.
3. After successfully performing a chosen action, the player discards that Action Card to the discard pile, face-up. Replace the discarded card with one from the Action Card Deck so there are once again two face-up Action Cards to choose from.

Next, the player should check if they have fulfilled any Goal Card Requirements (see Clearing Goals below).

Placement Rules

When placing an object on the Tower, players are allowed to use one or two hands and can make adjustments to the objects they are placing as long as they have not completed the action.

When placing the specific objects indicated on the selected Action Card, players must refrain from touching any object already on the Tower with any amount of force that would cause it to move!

Wall Tiles

Wall Tiles must be placed standing vertically from the top-most floor.

Floor Tiles

Floor Tiles must be placed onto the top-most wall tiles.

Bending Tiles

How you bend Wall Tiles can have a big impact on how structurally sound the Tower is! Distinguish between a Good Fold and a Bad Fold.

Feline Friend Pieces

Feline Friends can be placed anywhere on a floor of your choice, even on top of another Feline Friend!

Toto Piece

Toto must move a number of floors indicated by completed Goal Cards.

Toto and Feline Friends must be placed standing up (Good Kitty), not lying down (Bad Kitty).

Touching

As long as two Feline Friends are making contact with each other, even slightly, they are considered to be touching.

On top of

As long as the Feline Friends on top is balanced on the Friend Friend(s) below it and not touching the Floor Tile, it is considered "on top of."

Clearing Goals

1. Check the Conditions of both face-up Goal Cards against the current condition of the Tower and determine if either Clear Condition has been met. The Clear Conditions of any Goal Card can only be considered fulfilled when comparing with the Feline Friends on the floor directly above where Toto is currently placed.
   • Rules for Choosing Goal Cards: Even if you meet the requirements for both cards, you must choose only one to complete on your turn.
   • If a player currently cannot meet the requirements of either Goal Card, this step is skipped. That player's turn immediately ends and play moves to the next player on the left.
2. After completing a Goal Card, move Toto up the Tower equal to or less than the number of floors shown at the bottom of the Goal Card.
3. After completing a chosen Goal, move the Goal Card you completed to the discard pile, face-up. Replace the discarded card from the deck so that there are once again two face-up Goal Cards to choose from.

Play moves to the next player to the left.

Debris

Anytime a game component falls from where it was placed and falls completely onto the table it is considered to be "Debris."

If the fallen component is still touching a Floor Tile, be it the 1st Floor Tile or any other Floor Tile even slightly, it is not considered to have fallen from the Tower and is not "Debris" and can be placed again. As closely as possible, place the component back where it fell from.

Debris Rules

Any Component Placed on Your Turn — If any component a player is trying to place during their turn falls off the Tower, it is NOT considered to be Debris and they can continue to try placing it without penalty.

Toto — If Toto falls off the Tower, the current player must place him back on the floor he was on before their turn started. If the floor Toto was on has also fallen, return him to the next closest floor from his original position as possible.

Ex: Toto was on the 8th Floor, and both he and the 8th Floor fall off the Tower. The current player must now place him on the 7th Floor, which did not fall.

Wall Tile — If a Wall Tile that was placed before the current player's turn falls off the Tower and becomes Debris, place it off to the side and in view so it is easy to confirm how many components have fallen thus far. Play continues as normal if the Debris has not triggered a defeat. Note: Only Wall Tile Debris counts towards triggering defeat.

Floor Tile or Feline Friend — If a Floor Tile or Feline Friend falls from the Tower as debris, return them to the stock of unplaced components to the side. The component can be placed on a subsequent turn following normal rules.

End of Game

The game ends in group Victory or Defeat when one of the two following conditions are fulfilled:

Victory

Once Toto has been placed on the 10th Floor or higher, all players must count out loud for 5 seconds. If the Tower is still standing after those five seconds, all players have helped Toto successfully and won the game!

Flip the current Story Card and read the text together.

Defeat

The Tower collapses. The Tower is considered to have collapsed when 5 or more Wall Tiles have fallen from the Tower as Debris.

With the Tower destroyed beyond repair, the game ends in defeat for all players.

Going Higher

Helping Toto get to the top of the 10th Floor is just the first step of his quest to reunite with his mother. If the players want an even greater challenge, they can follow the rules below!

1. Once players have successfully helped Toto reach the 10th Floor, they can increase the challenge and resume the game. Place the 13th Floor Story Card on the table. Continue the game as before, but this time with the new requirement of getting Toto to the 13th Floor or above.
2. The player to the left of whoever played the last turn in the previous game is now the Starting Player.

Just as before, if the players manage to get Toto to the 13th Floor or above and successfully count to 5 without the Tower falling, they once again win the game! Flip over the 13th Floor Story Card and read the ending text on the back.

After clearing the 13th Floor challenge, the game can be continued with the 15th Floor Story Card. This can continue for the 17th Floor Story Card, and 20th Floor Story Card following the same rules above.

Keep in mind that if the Tower falls and the Defeat Condition is met, you must start your next game going back to the first 10th Floor challenge!

Competitive Variant

Players can play a competitive version of Cat and the Tower if they choose. Follow these "Competitive Variant" rules.

In the Competitive Variant, each player must help their Black Cat climb as high as possible on the Tower before it collapses.

Setup

1. Sort Floor Tiles, Wall Tiles, and Feline Friends as normal.
2. Each player chooses a Black Cat (red, orange, blue, purple, or yellow) and places it around the 1st Floor Tile, on the outside of the Tower.
3. Players place their Paw Ranking Pieces of the same color as their cat's scarf (red, orange, blue, purple, or yellow) on the starting position of the Competitive Ranking Card.
4. Separate the Action Cards and Goal Cards into two stacks and shuffle each deck. Place these face-down near the Tower to create both the Action Card Deck and the Goal Card Deck.
   • Be sure to leave room for each deck's Discard Pile as well!
5. Draw three Action Cards from the Action Card Deck and place them Face-up on the table.
6. Deal two Goal Cards face-down to each player from the Goal Card Deck. Players should look at their own Goal Cards, but do not show the cards to other players!

Player Turns - Competitive Variant

1. Play an Action Card (Mandatory) — Players follow a normal turn Action from standard play, except they can choose from three Action Cards instead of two.
2. Interact with Cats (Optional) — If the active player's Black Cat is on the same floor as at least one Feline Friend, they may move one of the Feline Friends to any subsequent floor above their Black Cat. Keep in mind, moving a Feline Friend above another player's Black Cat could help that player complete a Goal!
3. Complete or Refresh a Goal (Optional) — Completing a Goal remains the same as standard play.

Important: In the Competitive Variant, Feline Friends placed on any floor above the active player's Black Cat can be used to complete a Mission. This is different from standard play, where the Feline Friends have to be on the floor directly above Toto.

The active player advances their Paw Ranking Token on the Ranking Card according to their position on the Tower relative to the other player's Black Cats. In the case of a tie, place the active player's Paw Ranking Token on TOP of the other player's token.

Refresh a Goal Card: The player discards the Goal Card they just completed, face-up, and draws a new one from the Goal Card Deck.

End of Game (Competitive Variant)

The player who causes the Tower to fall immediately moves their Ranking Token to last place.

According to the Ranking on the Ranking Card, the player whose Black Cat climbed the highest during the game wins!

If 2 or more players are in the same position when the Tower collapses, the player whose Ranking Token is at the bottom of the stack wins the game as they arrived first!

This also applies in the rare event that all players reach the 24th floor without the Tower collapsing.

FAQ

This section is not required reading to play the game. However, it does provide answers on what to do in certain situations you may encounter while playing that are not covered in the basic rules explanation.

What happens if the Action or Goal Card Deck runs out of cards? During step 3 when either taking an Action or clearing a Goal, if you are unable to draw new cards to replace the old ones (because the deck is empty), shuffle all the cards from the appropriate deck face-down to create a refreshed deck. Then, draw the first card on top of the new deck and place it face-up in the appropriate area. The Action Card or Goal Card that was not chosen during your turn remains in place and is not shuffled with the other cards.

What happens if there are no Feline Friends of a specific color when told to place one? If all four tokens of the Feline Friend color featured on an Action Card you have chosen are already on the Tower, you may perform the Action by choosing to remove and re-place a Feline Friend of that color from their current location on the Tower.

What happens if a specific Wall Tile is no longer in stock when you have to place one? If one or both of the wall tiles shown on an Action Card you chose are no longer available, you may choose to use a different Wall Tile from those still available.

What if you're instructed to place Toto or your Black Cat (Competitive Variant) on a Floor that does not exist? If a Goal Card you complete instructs you to move Toto or your Black Cat up more Floors than the Tower you have built currently allows, place Toto or your Black Cat on the highest possible Floor instead.

What happens when there is a partial collapse? In rare cases, parts of the Tower may fall in ways that leave behind components that are still at the top of the Tower but their current positioning would make it difficult to proceed with game play as normal. In these cases, you may proceed with these left over components being considered debris. In this case, follow the usual rules and place Wall Tiles off to the side and return Floor Tiles and Feline Friends back to their stock area.

Can cards in the discard be checked? Yes, any player at any time can check the contents of both the Action and Goal Card discard piles as they please.

Credits

Game Design & Story: Masakazu Takizawa (Kogumakobo) Illustration & Graphic Design: Namiki (Arclight, Inc.) Lead Developer: Atsushi Hashimoto (Arclight, Inc.) Editing: Namiki, Kunihito Nozawa (Arclight, Inc.) Paper Component Design: Masakazu Takizawa (Kogumakobo) English Localization: Patrick Flanagan (Arclight, Inc.) • Robert Geistlinger • Dustin Wessel English Language Layout: Robert Geistlinger • Dustin Wessel English Language Graphic Design: Stevo Torres Competitive Variant: Created by Karen Nguyen & David Carmona - Unfriendly Games Special Thanks (In no particular order): Atsuhiro Koike, Kakeru Goto, Soma Aoyagi, Hiroaki Ikeda, Akihiro Kusano, Kensuke Suzuki, Ryoji Konno, Nanami Arakawa, Fumiya Watanabe, Daisuke Ono, Aiku Ogami, Nilgiri, Kaku, Tayayui, aya, Yabu, Kanna Kitano, Kazunari Yonemitsu, yas-o, Rui Kawasaki, Emi, Chelsea Leon Manufacturer English Edition: Boda Games Indonesia Original Publisher: Arclight, Inc. | Tokyo, Japan English Language Publisher: Arcane Wonders®, LLC. | 8070 Castleton Road, Indianapolis, IN 46250

This game is a work of fiction. Any relation to any real world people, groups, or events is purely coincidental.

© 2024-2025 Kogumakobo / Arclight, Inc. © 2025 Arcane Wonders®, LLC All Rights Reserved.