Dead Cat: A Quantum Physics Card Game
Dead Cat: A Quantum Physics Card Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 20 Alive Cat Cards
- 5 Dead Cat Cards
- 5 Dice
- 15 Scoring Tokens
First Player
Before you set up the game, roll a die to determine who goes first.
Set Up
At the start of every round you have to prepare Schrodinger's box. Based on the number of players, take the following cards:
- 2 Players: 8 Alive Cats, 2 Dead Cats
- 3 Players: 12 Alive Cats, 3 Dead Cats
- 4 Players: 16 Alive Cats, 4 Dead Cats
- 5 Players: 20 Alive Cats, 5 Dead Cats
Shuffle the cards and remove as many cards from the deck as there are players without looking at them. Schrodinger's box is ready! Place it in easy reach for all players.
Now give each person a die which is then placed in front of them with the side showing the number one facing up. Place the cubes within easy reach.
Play
During your turn you have two options: A. You can sneak into the laboratory to peek into the box and make a bet; B. Announce that the cat is dead.
A. Take a Peek
Draw the first card of the box deck and take a look at it. Make sure nobody else sees it.
Place the card face down beside the box deck. This second deck represents the time that has already passed and is therefore known as the time deck.
Change your bet on how long the cat is already dead. You can change your die to any number, but you have to change it. Make sure everybody can see what you are betting. Your bet should be as close as possible to the dead cat in the time deck.
B. Announce Dead Cat
Say "Dead Cat" out loud to announce that you want to reveal if and when the cat died.
Take the top card of the time deck and reveal it. Continue doing that until you find a dead cat or until the cards run out. Count each of them while you reveal the cards. If you revealed a dead cat, the player whose bet was closest to the number of opened cards, wins the round. This includes the dead cat. If you did not reveal a dead cat the player with the highest bet wins.
Announce Dead Cat Example 1
Maria's die is showing a five when she is announcing that the cat is dead. John's on the other hand is showing four. Maria starts to reveal the top cards from the time deck and finds a dead cat after the third card. However, as John is betting four he is closer to the dead cat and wins.
Announce Dead Cat Example 2
Maria is betting five and John four when Maria announces that the cat is dead. This time Maria doesn't find the dead cat after revealing one card after the other from the time deck. The dead cat must still be in the box deck. She therefore wins as she has the higher number on her betting die.
The Box Deck Runs Out
If at any point a player draws the last card of the box deck they finish their turn by making a new bet. Proceed as if somebody announced that the cat is dead by revealing cards from the top of the time deck one after the other until you find the dead cat. Determine whose bet is next to the number of opened cards.
Scoring
After a player announces that the cat is dead (or if the box deck runs out of cards) determine the winning bet. This player takes one of the scoring cubes.
Tiebreaker
In the event of a tie between two players who have the same numbers on their dice, the person who shouted "Dead Cat" wins. If the tie involves two players who didn't call "Dead Cat" the player with the least points win. If there is a tie of points, then all involved players get a point.
If there is an indirect tie (for example if four cards were revealed and one player's die shows a three and the other ones show a five) the lower number wins.
Set Up a New Round
After scoring, reshuffle all cards and create a new box deck. All players turn their betting dice to the number one facing upwards. The player to the right of the previous starting player becomes the new starting player.
End of the Game
The first player to acquire their fourth scoring cube wins the game. If several players reach four cubes at the same time they win together. If you would like to use a tiebreaker, then put those players into boxes and whoever stays in longest is the final winner.