Cattack! No.1 Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Caution
• Overview
• Setup <4-Player Game>
• How to Play
  • 1. Serve the ball
  • 2. Determine the start player
  • 3. Start the game
  • 4. Hit the Ball to the other side! Draw cards while your opponent team is passing the Ball!
  • 5. Hit the Ball to the other side by exactly 3 contacts to perform a Special Attack!
  • 6. Gaining a point makes a cat nap! It's a chance to attack!
  • 7. Start the next round!
• Gameplay Summary in 3 Lines
• 3-Player Game
• 2-Player Game
• FAQ: What shall I do if?

Components

• 2 Score cards
• 15 Blue Coach cards
• 15 Red Coach cards
• 4 Sleeping Cat cards
• 1 Court board
• 1 Ball chip
• 1 rulebook

Coach card composition (printed on the component list for each colour, 15 cards per colour): ↑, ↓, ←, →, ↗, ↖, ×2 — 2 cards; ←→, ↑↓, ↖↗ — 1 card. The Red Coach cards are not illustrated but are of the same composition as the Blue Coach cards.

Note on the composition line: the component list prints the seven symbols ↑, ↓, ←, →, ↗, ↖, ×2 against "2 cards", while the setup layout shows six 2-card groups and three 1-card groups per colour. Transcribed as printed.

Caution

• The game components may be accidentally ingested, so take care when playing with small children.
• Do not store in hot and humid places. Doing so may cause deterioration.
• Do not place it near a fire. Doing so may cause deformation or fire.

Overview

The cats play volleyball. As coaches, play your cards to instruct the cats.

In each team, two coaches play 1 card in turn to give instructions.

The first team to score 3 points wins.

For a 4-player game, see the next page! For a 3-player game, proceed to P.10! For a 2-player game, proceed to P.11!

It's basically a game to play in pairs...

Setup <4-Player Game>

1. Form two pairs as teams.
2. Set up the Court board.
   • Sit next to your partner.
   • Place the Court board at the center of the table.
   • Place Sleeping Cat cards beside the Court board.
3. Set up the Coach Cards.
   • Form draw piles of Red and Blue Coach cards. Each draw pile consists of 15 Coach cards.
   • Shuffle the cards to form the draw piles and place them beside each team.
   • Each player draws 3 cards from the draw piles as their hand.
   • Hold the cards so that only you can see what's in your hand.
4. Determine the server.
   • The player who has most recently seen a cat becomes the initial server. Otherwise, determine the initial server by rock-paper-scissors or in whatever way you like.
   • The Server holds the Ball chip.
   • In the second and later rounds, the Server is determined according to the spot where the Ball is served.

Setup: Summary in 3 lines

1. Form pairs, place the Court board on the table, and sit down.
2. Form two (Red and Blue Coach card) draw piles, shuffle them, and each player draws 3 cards from their team's draw pile.
3. Determine the Server, who receives the Ball chip.

Setup complete

• The following figure shows the layout where the setup is complete.

How to Play

Repeat the following steps 1 to 7.

During the game, you may discuss in pairs, but you must not show or suggest the cards in your hand to your partner. Telling it will also reveal your strategic plan to your opponent team.

If your draw pile runs out of cards, shuffle the discarded cards and form a draw pile again.

1. Serve the ball

The Server serves the ball to one of the cats in the opponent team's back row (the row of cats closer to the opponents).

Place the Ball chip on the spot where the Ball has been served and start the game. The start player is determined according to the area where the Ball is served.

However, note that you cannot serve the Ball to a spot where a cat is sleeping.

2. Determine the start player

The Coach who is closer to the spot where the Ball is served is the start player.

If the Ball is served to the spot in the center, the players of the team receiving the Ball discuss and decide which one of them handles it.

Now, start the game.

3. Start the game

• The start player Coach plays one of the cards from their hand to instruct where to hit the Ball.
• The cat hits the ball to the arrow's direction.
• Play one card in turn!
• If you hit the Ball to another spot on your side of the court, it is considered passing the Ball. Then, the other Coach of your team plays their card to give an instruction.
• Give instructions in turn and hit the Ball to the opponent's side of the court by 3 or less contacts.
• To check the number of cards that have been played, place them one by one on the Court areas numbered "1", "2", and "3" in ascending order.
• After hitting the Ball to the other side of the court, discard the cards you have played without drawing cards to replenish your hand.
• If you fail to hit the Ball to the other side within 3 contacts or if you toss the Ball out of the court, it is counted as a fault and your opponent team scores 1 point. → Proceed to 7.

How to use the "X2" card!

Play the "X2" card together with an Arrow card to double the Ball's traveling distance. By playing the "X2" card, you can hit the ball at once even to a cat in the back row of your opponent's team. But you can't hit the Ball by the "X2" card alone, so be careful about it!

Play the "X2" card together with an Arrow card to double the Ball's traveling distance.

4. Hit the Ball to the other side! Draw cards while your opponent team is passing the Ball!

• After hitting the Ball to the opponent team's side of the court, the opponent team determines their start player according to "2 Determine the start player".
• After determining the start player, the opponent performs "3 Start the game".
• Each time your opponent team passes the Ball between them, both players in your team can draw 1 card from your draw pile to replenish your hand (until you have 3 cards in your hand). Thus, you can prepare for your next move while your opponent team is handling the Ball.
  • Each time your opponent hits the Ball on their side, draw 1 card to replenish your hand. (Example: Blue team hits the Ball in the Blue side — each Red team member draws 1 card.)
  • Each time your opponent hits the Ball on their side, draw 1 card to replenish your hand (up to 3 cards). (Example: Blue team hits the Ball in the Blue side — each Red team member draws 1 card.)
• If your opponent team returns the Ball to your side by 1 contact, you must handle the Ball without replenishing your hand.
  • Cannot draw any card if the opponent immediately returns the Ball. (Example: Blue team hits the Ball to the Red side — Red team keeps playing without drawing any card.)

5. Hit the Ball to the other side by exactly 3 contacts to perform a Special Attack!

Hitting the Ball to the other side by exactly 3 contacts counts as a Special Attack. By the Special Attack, the following 2 effects are triggered.

• Draw a card from your opponent's hand to give an instruction! The Coach who has played the third card to perform a Special Attack draws a card from the hand of the opponent who is closer to the spot hit by the Ball. The opponent must immediately play the drawn card to handle the Ball. If you draw well, you might score by a single attack! If you spike the ball to the center, choose the opponent Coach to handle the Ball. If the opponent manages to return the Ball or pass it to their partner, the game continues.
  • ※If you draw the "X2" card in this occasion, the opponent fails to return the Ball and your team gains 1 point!
• While your opponent team is panicking, replenish your hand up to 3 cards! By performing a Special Attack, both players in your team can replenish your hand up to 3 cards. When you do not have many cards in your hand, you might as well take a chance and aim for a Special Attack.

Discuss in pairs!

You can discuss with your partner how to play the game. But don't discuss it in a way to help your partner guess the cards in your hand. Knowing your partner's hand makes the game less exciting! We recommend discussing matters like whether to spike or pass the Ball or aim for a Special Attack!

6. Gaining a point makes a cat nap! It's a chance to attack!

When a team gains a point, one of the cats in the back row of that team becomes off guard and takes a nap. The cats in the back row are lazy. The team which allowed its opponent to score will place a Sleeping Cat card to a spot in its opponent's back row.

If the Ball hits the spot occupied by a Sleeping Cat, that Ball counts as 1 point to the other team. However, the Ball hitting the spot occupied by a Sleeping Cat also surprises and wakes up that cat. Remove the Sleeping Cat card from that spot. If you allow your opponent team to score while one of your cats is sleeping, either by allowing the opponent to attack another spot or by failing to return the Ball, the sleeping cat continues sleeping. These cats have a lot of nerve.

A cat takes a nap each time one of the teams scores, so up to 2 cats in each team (4 cats in total) may fall asleep.

7. Start the next round!

After one of the teams scores a point, prepare for the next round as follows.

• Display the Score card "1" or "2".
• If your team allowed your opponent to score, place a Sleeping Cat card to one of the 3 spots in your opponent team's back row.
• When you do this, you may choose to discard part or all of the cards in your hand and then draw until you have 3 cards.
• One of the players in the team which just scored becomes the server. Discuss with your partner which of you serves the Ball.
• Return to step 7, and then repeat steps 1 to 7. The first team to gain 3 points wins.

Gameplay Summary in 3 Lines

1. One of the Coaches in the team to which the Ball is served plays the first card. After that, the players in that team play one of the cards from their hand in turn.
2. If you fail to hit the Ball to the opponent's side within 3 contacts (3 cards), your opponent teams scores 1 point. If you manage to hit the Ball to the other side by exactly 3 contacts, it counts as a Special Attack!
3. If a team gains a score, one of the cats in the back row of that team takes a nap. If the Ball is hit to that spot, the opponent team scores 1 point.

3-Player Game

Setup <3-Player Game>

• The game is played between a team of 2 players against a team of 1 player and non-player.

Court board setup

• The players sit face to face with two players on one side and one player on the other side.
• Place the Court board in the center of the table.
• Place the Sleeping Cat cards next to the Court board.

Coach cards setup

• Check the card composition. (See P.3.)
• Each team shuffles their Coach cards and forms a draw pile.
• Each player draws 3 cards as their hand.
• In the team with a non-player, place 2 cards face up as the non-player's hand.

Determine the server. (See P.3.)

Setup complete

• The following figure shows the layout whereby the setup is complete.

Changes for the 3-player game

• Basically, play the game according to the same procedure as that described in P.5 to P.9.
• For information about the movement of the non-player, see P. 11 "Changes for the 2-player game".

2-Player Game

Setup <2-Player Game>

• The game is played between two teams of 1 player and non-player.

Court board setup

• The players sit face to face.
• Place the Court board in the center of the table.

Place the Sleeping Cat cards next to the Court board.

Coach cards setup

• Check the card composition. (See P.3.)
• Each team shuffles their Coach cards and forms a draw pile.
• Each player draws 3 cards as their hand.
• In each team, place 2 cards face up as the non-player's hand.

Determine the server. (See P.3.)

Setup complete

• The figure shows the layout whereby the setup is complete.

Changes for the 2-player game

• Basically, play the game according to the same procedure as that described in P.5 to P.9.
• Your partner is a non-player, showing 2 cards drawn from the draw pile at all time.
• In your turn, play one of the cards from your hand or your non-player partner's hand.
• In your non-player partner's turn, play one of the cards from its hand or draw a card from the draw pile and play it.
• Always keep 2 cards face up on the table as the non-player's hand. When you play one of the cards from its hand, draw 1 card from the draw pile to replenish its hand.
• If you achieve a Special Attack at a non-player, draw a card from your opponent team's draw pile. You cannot choose one of the the non-player's face-up cards.
• If you achieve a Special Attack, you can replenish your hand to 3 cards, but the non-player's hand does not change.
• When you score 1 point and replenish your hand, you can discard one or both cards of the non-player's hand and replenish the hand.

FAQ: What shall I do if?

Q. The Ball came to my covered area, but I don't have any card left in my hand!

A. If you don't have any Coach card in your hand, you can't give instructions and you fail to hit the Ball! Your opponent team scores 1 point!

Q. An opponent performed a Special Attack and drew a card from my hand, but I managed to pass the Ball to my partner by that card! What will happen in such a case?

A. Since the card was drawn from your hand, it's considered that you've played it. Place that card to the position "1" on the Court board. Then, it's your partner's turn to play a card from their hand!

Q. I performed a Special Attack and drew a "X2" card from an opponent's hand.

A. The "X2" card alone is not enough to give an instruction, so it will be counted as a fault of your opponent team! Your team scores 1 point!

Q. I performed a Special Attack and drew a card from an opponent's hand, but the Ball immediately came back to our side by that card. Can we still replenish our hands to 3 cards?

A. Yes, you can! Your opponent team is already panicking by your Special Attack! Meanwhile, you can replenish your hand!

Q. When we discuss in a pair, can we point at the Court?

A. Pointing at the court somewhat suggests the cards in your hand! Other players knowing what's in your hand makes the game less exciting, so we recommend discussing matters like whether to pass the Ball or quickly attack!