Hot Tin Roof Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Contents
• Preparation
• Game Play
  • 1. Sardine Can Ante
  • 2. Dumpster Dive
  • 3. Rooftop Racing
• End of Game

Overview

Move from rooftop to rooftop; build catwalks and shelters where you can to help connect your cat buddies and collect tasty tribute from your fellow felines. By bringing your cats together you will get yummy food. Collect the most sardine cans and fish and you become Top Cat!

A game for 3-4 players, ages 10 and up.

Contents

• 16 cat pawns: 2 shapes in 4 colors
• 12 shelters: 3 each in 4 colors
• 24 catwalks: 6 each in 4 colors
• 73 sardine cans
• 1 board
• 50 home tiles
• 14 fish
• 1 rules booklet

Preparation

1. Place the board in the center of the table. Shuffle the home tiles together and create a face-down draw area.
2. Place 3 home tiles face up under the indicated dumpsters.
3. Create a general supply for sardine can tiles.
4. Take 14 sardine can tiles and place them onto the 5 dumpsters (as indicated on the board), noting those designated for home tiles, the catwalk, and the shelter: 4 sardine cans go on each home tile section and 1 each on the catwalk and the shelter spaces.
5. Place a number of fish tiles in a line, by the side of the board, to make the fish market: 12 if you are playing with 3 players; 14 if you are playing with 4 players.
6. Each player takes the pieces of their color: 2 pairs of cats, 3 shelters, and 6 catwalks. Also, each player starts with 10 sardine cans each.

Game Play

The player with the longest whiskers goes first, or, in the case of a tie, whoever's breath smells most like fish.

The game is played in a series of turns. Each player takes a turn and then play passes to the left. When it is your turn you do the following in exactly this order:

1. Sardine Can Ante

You MUST pay 5 sardine cans from your player area and place 1 onto each of the 5 dumpsters.

You may always exchange 1 fish for 10 sardine cans (and vice versa but NOT from the fish market). If you cannot pay 5 sardine cans, your turn is IMMEDIATELY OVER and you receive 2 sardine cans from the general supply.

Note: After the first turn there will always be an empty dumpster before you start your turn.

Tip: It is recommended that you count out your 5 sardine cans before placing them in the dumpsters.

2. Dumpster Dive

If you have paid the sardine can ante, choose one of the 5 dumpsters, take all the cans in the chosen dumpster to your play area and perform the action corresponding to that dumpster. This is your food.

There are two kinds of actions:

A. Catwalk/Shelter: If you choose to build a shelter or a catwalk, take the corresponding piece from your reserve and place it on the board.

• If it is a catwalk, you must place it on a gap, bridging a connection.
• If it is a shelter, you must place it on a patio. If a cat is on this space, place the cat on top of the shelter. Cats do not have to give cans when leaving shelters (see below).

There is a limit of 1 catwalk per gap and 1 shelter per patio. If you have already placed your catwalks or shelters, you may perform the action by moving another catwalk or shelter you've previously placed to a new available location or leave them in place.

B. Home Tiles: If you choose 1 of the 3 home tiles available, place a pair of your identical cat pawns onto the patios indicated on that home tile. Then discard the home tile and refill the empty green dumpster with a new home tile drawn randomly from the supply. If both pairs of your cat pawns are on the board, you cannot choose a new home tile.

If you place a cat pawn on a shelter, you do not have to give that opponent any sardine cans (see below).

Example: White has chosen the Johnstons and Magins home tile. The homes are in alphabetical order and the cats on the tile indicate where their key homes are located on the board. White places one cat on the Johnstons' patio and a matching cat on the Magins' patio. White now discards the tile.

3. Rooftop Racing

You may move any or all of your cats from rooftop to rooftop along the moonlit routes (white lines). You must cross over a catwalk to get from one rooftop to another. Your cats may cross over as many catwalks as you wish. Each of your cats must be on a patio or shelter at the end of its movement.

Every time your cat crosses an opponent's catwalk, you must give that opponent 1 sardine can. Every time your cat enters an opponent's shelter, you must give that opponent 2 sardine cans. The catwalks/shelters are marked with their costs to use. If a matched pair of your cats (same shape and color) ever meet on the same patio, take them back into your player area and take a fish tile from the fish market beside the board (not the stock).

Tip: It is easier to keep track of what you are going to give other players if you place your sardine cans on all of the shelters and catwalks you cross as you plan your route.

Example: Orange wants to join her cats together. She is going to unite them at the Oscars' patio. She will have to give Brown 3 sardine cans: 1 for the catwalk and 2 for the shelter. She must also pay White 1 can for his catwalk. She pays nothing for using her own catwalk. She doesn't have to give anything for Blue's shelter because she is leaving it; cats only give when entering shelters. If she brought her cat from the Kims to the Newmans, then she would have to give Blue 2 sardine cans for entering his shelter in addition to the cost listed above.

End of Game

When a player takes the last fish from the fish market, the game ends immediately.

For each pair of your cats left on the board, you must choose one of the 2 options:

1. Give the bank 15 sardine cans (mandatory if no connected path is possible).
2. Join the cats following the normal rules and requirements of sardine cans. You receive no reward for bringing them together.

You win if you have the most food (sardine cans) at the end (1 fish is worth 10 sardine cans). In the case of a tie, the tied opponent left most of the player that triggered the end game wins. For those a bit more competitive, keep your home tiles; the player with the most home tiles wins ties.