Cat Trick
Cat Trick Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 30 Number Cards (2 to 7 in 5 colors)
- 5 Cat Trick Cards (1→8 in 5 colors)
- 11 Super Cat Cards
Goal of the Game
Collect all 5 different kinds of toys (colors). But watch out: if you get too greedy and keep collecting the same toy again and again, you'll end up having to share them with everyone else.
Setup
- Set the Super Cat Cards aside and shuffle the remaining cards.
- Deal the cards depending on the number of players:
| Number of players | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of cards | 10 | 8 | 6 |
- Reveal the top card in the remaining pile and place it face-up on top. Its suit determines the trump; the number is irrelevant. Place the pile to the side so all players can see it. The rest of the deck is not used in this round.
- The player who petted a cat most recently starts.
How to Play
The starting player takes their turn first, then play continues clockwise. On your turn, you choose a card from your hand. You must play a card and are not allowed to pass. After you play a card, the player to your left takes their turn. They can also play any card from their hand. You don't have to follow the suit played by the starting player.
To win a trick, your card must either:
- have the highest number in the color of the starting player's card,
- match the trump color and have the highest value among all the trump cards played.
Cat Trick Card (1→8): Playing a 7 of the same color as the matching Cat Trick Card makes the 1 count as an 8 for this trick. If a 7 of any other color is revealed, it remains a 1.
Example: Zoe starts and reveals a pink 7. Mia plays a blue 4, Tom an orange 6, and Lily reveals her pink 1. It turns into an 8 because of the pink 7. Lily wins the trick.
Who Wins the Trick?
After all players have played a card from their hand, check who wins the trick. This player takes the revealed cards and places them face-up in front of them. They sort the cards by color and arrange them so everyone can easily see how many cards they have of each color. The player who won the trick starts the next trick.
Example: This is what Lily's collected cards look like after winning the trick in the example above.
Greedy or Needy?
If you have four or more cards of the same toy (color) in front of you, you lose those cards. Shuffle them secretly and deal one card face-down to each of the other players, starting with the person on your left. You don't get one. If there are any cards left over, discard them face-down next to the pile.
The players take the cards you dealt into their hands and can play them on their next turn.
Note: Usually, the winner is determined by the number of tricks won. In this trick-taking game, however, it's the type of cards collected that decides the winner.
End of a Round and Scoring
The round can end in 2 different ways:
- Collected toys: If a player has collected all 5 toys (colors) in front of them, the round ends immediately. This player wins this round and they receive a Super Cat Card, even if other players still have cards left in their hands. If you have collected all 5 toys, but by winning the last trick you now have 4 or more cards of the same toy, you must deal those cards to the other players. You have not finished the round and the game continues.
- Empty hand: If a player has no cards left in their hand, the player who has collected the most toys (colors) wins the round. If several players have collected the same number of toys, the player who has collected the most cards gets a Super Cat Card. If there is still a tie, all tied players get a Super Cat Card.
Start a new round. Shuffle the cards and deal them. The player who has collected the fewest cards starts the new round. If there's a tie, the youngest player goes first.
End of the Game
The game ends immediately when a player has collected 3 Super Cat Cards. In case of a tie, there is more than one winner.
FAQ
What is trick-taking? You reveal one card from your hand one after another, and you compare the strength of the cards played. The player with the strongest card wins the trick. You usually continue until you have no cards left in your hand.
What is the strongest card? The strongest card is the highest trump card, followed by all lower trump cards in descending order. The next strongest card is the highest card of the same suit as the one played by the starting player. If your card is neither a trump nor of the same suit as the starting player's card, you cannot win the trick.