Lucky Cat

Lucky Cat Rulebook

Table of Contents

1 lucky cat plushie
64 cat tiles
Kingdom Board: 1 castle-imaged piece, 3 locked-imaged pieces
6 dice
8 shop cards
56 coins
1 brown bank bag
26 red cubes
1 red cube bag
4 expansion tokens (the contents page prints "page 6"; the expansion tokens are printed on page 7)
8 special coins (the contents page prints "page 5"; the special coins are printed on page 7)

Setup

Cat Tile Setup

A. Place the lucky cat plushie in the center of the table within reach of everyone.

B. Spread the cat tiles around the lucky cat plushie with the numbers face-down.

★ For your first game, randomly assign one player as the Tax Collector. Refer to page 5 for Tax Collector details.

Kingdom Board Setup

Arrange the 4 pieces of the kingdom board in a place where everyone can see it:

C. First, set the castle-imaged piece. For 2-5 players, use the side with 4 red paw icons. For 6-8 players, use the side with 6 red paw icons.

D. Then complete the circle with the other three pieces, lock-side up. The order doesn't matter.

E. Finally, place 1 die above each lock. These 3 locked dice cannot be rolled until they are unlocked (Refer to page 5).

Player Setup

F. Each player picks a shop card. Fold it so it stands like a tent with the shop art outside, and place it in front of yourself. Refer page 8 for instructions for folding the cards.

B. Each player takes 2 random cat tiles. Reveal them. If the tiles have the same number, put 1 back and choose another until they are different.

G. Each player takes 2 coins. The remaining coins form a supply called the 'bank' and are placed into the brown bank bag.

I. Each player takes 2 red cubes. The remaining cubes form an unnamed supply and are placed into the red cube supply bag.

E. The player who fed a cat most recently takes the 3 unlocked dice and goes first. Put the dice in your 'unrolled dice area', the space between you and your shop card, away from the center of the table where dice are rolled.

Gameplay

Players begin with 3 unlocked dice and will unlock more as the game progresses.

Follow these steps on your turn:

Step 1. Roll

Roll the unlocked, unrolled dice into the center of the table.

Step 2. Reroll

Red cube: Reroll dice. You may pay 1 red cube to the kingdom to put any number of rolled dice back into your unrolled dice area.

If you have any unrolled dice go back to step 1 and roll.

If all your dice are rolled, proceed to the last step.

★ Limits: There is no limit to the number of rerolls aside from the cost of cubes.

★ No Double Dipping: You cannot reroll dice that you already used for dice actions this turn. They must be passed to the next player.

★ Remember: Cubes are paid to the kingdom and not returned to the cube supply bag. This helps unlock more dice! Refer to page 5 for details on rerolls.

Step 3. Dice Actions!

Finally, perform the dice actions. Refer to page 4 for each dice action.

★ You have a good Accountant: Do dice actions in any order.

★ Fluidity: After each dice action, give the die to the next player in clockwise order.

★ Really, No Double Dips: You can't reroll a die after you perform its dice actions.

★ Turnover: After all the dice actions are used, the next player starts their turn.

Winning

You win if you have 10 coins or 2 complete sets of cat tiles.

★ Sum: Count both visible and hidden coins to get your total coins.

★ Set: A complete cat set has the tiles labeled 1, 2, 3, and 4.

★ Chimera: A complete cat tile set may be mixed colors and designs.

★ Colors: Cat tile color and design does not matter, it's just for show.

★ Not Exact: Resources don't need to be exact to win. Having more than 10 coins or more tiles than needed for 2 sets doesn't hurt you.

★ Tie Breaker: If there is a tie, the current player wins if qualified. Otherwise, the next qualified player in turn order wins.

Optional Gameplay

Lucky Cat is designed to be customized to your favorite play style. Add any number of these optional modules to your game!

Advanced Rerolling: Top of page 6.
Relaxed Plushie Game Modes: Middle of page 6. (The page 6 heading is printed as "Option: PLUSHIE GAME MODES".)
Move Fast! Hit the Plushie Game Mode: Bottom of page 6.
Expansion Tokens & Coins: Top half of page 7.
Super Party Mode, for more than 8 players: Bottom of page 7.
Starting Resource Draft: Top of page 8.

Dice Actions

Perform the following dice actions for each symbol you rolled in any order.

Note that you cannot reroll a die after you perform its dice action!

Simple Dice Actions

Cats: Gain 1 cat tile. Reveal the tile to everyone.

Red Cube: Gain 1 red cube. Cubes are used to reroll dice.

Refer to page 3 for info about rerolling dice.

Refer to page 5 for info about paying cubes to the kingdom.

Economic Dice Actions

Coin: Gain 1 coin from the bank bag.

Welfare: The bank gives each other player 1 coin unless they have 3 or more coins (including coins they already gained this turn). You (the current player) neither receive nor pay any coins for this symbol.

1 Crown: You are taxed. Pay the kingdom any visible coins you have in excess of 2.

2+ Crowns: EVERY PLAYER is taxed. EVERYONE pays the kingdom any visible coins they have in excess of 2.

Refer to page 5 for more info on paying taxes.

Invest: Hide 1 of your coins under your shop. Push the coin from the visible area outside your shop to the hidden area under your shop.

★ Hidden money is NEVER taxed. Don't add your hidden money when counting your visible coins for taxes or welfare.

★ Hidden money counts toward your victory condition! For example: If you have 6 coins outside your shop and 4 under your shop (or any sum of 10 or more), you win!

★ Your resources are public knowledge unless they are hidden.

★ Bluffing about the amount of money you have hidden is encouraged.

Slide 1 coin per invest symbol under your shop, hiding it from the government.

Unlimited Resources. Resources (coins, cubes, and cat tiles) are not limited in 3-8 player games. In case any resource runs out, please use other available tokens as substitutes.

Remember: If you have 2 or fewer visible coins, you are poor and qualify for welfare. If you have more than 2 visible coins, you are not poor and qualify for taxes.

Taxes and Rerolls

The kingdom board, when full, gets cleared back into the central supply. Players gain resources from the central supply. Players pay resources to the kingdom board, never back into the bags.

Tax Collector: For your first game, assign one player to be the Tax Collector. They ensure that players put coins from taxes and cubes from rerolls on the kingdom board and not into the supply bags (a common mistake).

Kingdom Board: Each piece of the kingdom board has red paw icons on it. Whenever anyone pays coins for taxes or cubes for rerolls, place each resource paid on a different empty red paw icon. When all the paw icons are all full, do the three steps under Rebuild the Kingdom below.

Tax: You pay tax when you roll 1 crown or when someone else rolls 2 or more crowns. (The printed text reads "when or when you roll 1 crown"; it is read here as "when you roll 1 crown or when someone else rolls 2 or more crowns," matching the Dice Actions section.) When you pay tax, 2 of your visible coins are safe. Every other visible coin you have must be placed on a red paw icon on a face-up kingdom board piece.

For example:

With 0, 1, or 2 visible coins, you pay nothing.

With 5 visible coins, you pay 3 coins.

With 9 visible coins, you pay 7 coins.

Rerolling: To initiate a reroll, put a cube on an empty red paw icon on a face-up kingdom board piece. Select any number of dice that you haven't used for dice actions yet. Move them back to your unrolled dice area, ready to roll again this turn.

Thematically, you're bribing the king to receive a reroll in return.

Rebuild the Kingdom

When every red paw icon on the kingdom board has a coin or red cube:

Clear. Immediately return the coins and cubes from the kingdom board back into the supply bags.
Unlock 1 of the dice on a locked kingdom board piece.
Flip the locked kingdom board piece to the unlocked side.

More Red Paw Icons: As the kingdom is rebuilt, the red paw icons on all flipped kingdom board pieces must be filled in addition to red paw icons on the castle-imaged piece. It takes progressively more coins and cubes to unlock each die.

New Unlocked Dice: Immediately roll the die that was just unlocked.

Dice are Shared: The game starts with 3 unlocked dice to roll on your turn. As coins and cubes rebuild the kingdom, more dice are permanently unlocked for everyone. Unlocked dice are not owned by anyone. Pass each die to the next player in clockwise order as you perform its dice action.

When there are no dice to unlock: Every time the kingdom is completely full again, each player chooses and receives a free cat tile, coin, OR cube. Then clear the kingdom board.

Option: Advanced Rerolling

Option: Extra Agency Cubes: On your turn, you may gain 1 cube by passing 2 of your unrolled dice to the next player clockwise.

Option: Corruption: You may pay a cube to the kingdom on anyone's turn to make the current player reroll any number of dice.

★ Choices: The player paying the cube decides which dice get rerolled.

★ Timing: In cases where several players want to pay a cube, the current player selects who pays. Whoever pays decides which dice get rerolled.

★ Limit: As normal, there's no limit to the number of rerolls, costs aside.

Option: Harder Choices: To balance the power of cubes, especially if you use the above options, you can only reroll 1 or 2 dice per cube spent.

Option: Plushie Game Modes

You may use the cat plushie with one of these three options!

Lucky Blessing (2-3 players). On your turn, pay 1 cube to the kingdom and take the plushie. If you start your turn with the plushie, gain 1 random cat tile. Do not put the plushie back in the middle after — this blessing repeats every round you still have it.

Smuggler's Jackpot (2-8 players). The same as the Lucky Blessing, but every time you take the cat plushie, put 1 more random cat tile on the castle, up to 4 tiles! If you start your turn with the plushie, gain all the tiles on the castle and put the plushie back in the middle of the table. It's okay to hide the plushie, but you cannot lie about having it if someone asks you specifically.

Move Fast! (2-8 players). See below.

Move Fast! Hit the Plushie Game Mode

Alternative rules for dexterity game fans. Quickly read the dice and hit the plushie before other players for bonuses.

Step 1a. Roll

Roll the unrolled dice into the center of the table. If you have an odd amount of dice, roll 1 die. If you have an even amount of dice, roll 2 dice. Rolling like this keeps suspense the highest in the next step.

Step 1b. Move Fast

When a player rolls 2 cats or 2 crowns, everyone must try to hit the cat plushie.

After 2 or more cat symbols: The first player to hit the plushie immediately gains 2 bonus cat tiles.

After 2 or more crown symbols: Everyone, except the first player to hit the plushie, immediately pays a mass tax by paying all their visible coins in excess of 2 to the kingdom. Refer to page 5 for details on taxes.

Dead Dice: After resolving the effect, place the dice showing the 2 cats and 2 crowns back in the unrolled dice area to reroll.

Hands: When you're rolling, everyone keeps a hand near their face (like a lucky cat) until they need to hit the plushie. It's NOT OK to hover your hands too close to the cat plushie while the dice are rolled.

Penalty: If someone hits the plushie at the wrong time, they must discard 2 resources (coins, cubes, or cat tiles in any combination) back to the supply. The first person to make that mistake gets one warning (a free "oops" in which they don't lose anything). If a player does not have 2 resources, they are not allowed to hit the plushie.

Other Steps

Step 2, 3, and Winning are the same as page 3.

Option: Expansion Tokens & Coins

Once you master the basic game, you may play with new powers to unlock!

Randomly choose 2 of the 10 special powers to add to the game.

After setup, replace 2 locked dice with a token or set of special coins each. When all the red paw icons are full, the current player chooses to unlock the locked die or a locked token/set of coins. Only then, put unlocked tokens near the kingdom ready to use or put the unlocked special coins into the bank bag.

Note: You only use 4 dice in this version of the game, 1 locked and 3 unlocked at the beginning.

On your turn, you may spend a red cube to use an unlocked token. Put a cube on a red paw icon on the kingdom board to use its effect.

Red cube: Take the Daruma doll token. Welfare symbols you roll give you 1 coin if you have 2 or fewer visible coins, while other players gain nothing.

**Red cube: Steal 1 coin from the richest player(s). Take the feather token. You may not reroll yourself or use powers while you have the feather token.

Red cube: Take the horseshoe token. While you have this, you do not need to pay taxes.

**Red cube: Take a random cat tile from the center. Discard 2 of your cat tiles face-down and take the fish token.

Clover: If the clover token is unlocked and your rolled dice show 4 of the same symbols, you win instantly! This effect applies to everyone once the clover is unlocked. Players don't need to spend a cube to take it. Remember that only 4 dice are used in games using expansion tokens.

**Red cube: Give the broken mirror token to another player. If you end your turn with this token, all your hidden resources become visible again.

**Red cube: Give the clock token to another player. If you end your turn with this token, pay the kingdom all your visible coins.

**Red cube: Take the acorn token. You are instantly protected from any negative effect from any optional rules. Other players cannot make you reroll or give you the broken mirror, clock token, or curse coins while you have this token.

Special Coins: When a set of special coins is unlocked, add them to the bank supply bag. When you perform the coin and welfare symbol dice actions, feel free to pull out all the coins needed and choose which kind each player receives as you distribute them. The cursed coins and lucky coins count as coins toward your wealth for winning, welfare, and tax purposes, in addition to their powers. You can hide them and pay taxes with them like other coins.

Cursed coin (x4): If you have 1 or more visible cursed coins, you cannot win. You must hide the curse coin or pay taxes with it to regain the ability to win.

Lucky coin (x4): On your turn, you may choose to pay a lucky coin to the kingdom. If you do so, either steal 2 red cubes from one player OR steal 1 red cube from two players.

Option: Super Party! 9+ Players

Each box contains enough pieces for 8 players. Combine boxes to play with more players!

Setup Timer: Start a 15-minute alarm to mark the end of the game.

Setup Kingdom: Set up 1 kingdom board per box. When players pay coins and cubes, they may choose any kingdom. If they unlock a die, they immediately roll it and as part of their current dice.

Setup Dice: Set up as normal, but with 1 starting player per box, evenly distributed around the table. Give each starting player 3 unlocked dice and start the timer countdown.

Dice! Multiple players take their turns at once. The multiple sets of dice are passed clockwise around the table. Each dice set may have up to 6 unlocked dice.

Constant flow! The dice skip past players who already have dice (so hurry up!).

Economics! Mass taxes and welfare only affect you and your neighbors.

Winning! Multiple players can win. You win if you have an equal or higher score than both your neighbors when the 15-minute timer runs out. Score 1 point for each coin, 1 for each cat tile, and 1 for each completed cat tile set. Cubes are worth nothing in the end.

Plushie! If you play with the Move Fast dexterity rules, pass a plushie with each set of dice. You race against your neighbors to hit the plushie to gain 1 cat tile or to avoid the mass tax.

Corruption! If you play with corruption rules, you can use reroll cubes on yourself or your neighbors, paying cubes to any kingdom board you want.

Tournament! For multiple games, there are two styles of tournaments: Brutal and Shuffle.

Brutal: The winners from each round go onto the next rounds until only one player remains.

Shuffle: Players play 3 games, track their score each time, and shuffle seating order between games. The player with the highest sum at the end of three games wins!

Option: Starting Resource Draft

Drafting shops help create asymmetric starting conditions and balance the advantage of early turn order.

Drafting Shop Setup: During player setup, flip open a number of random shops equal to the number of players. Players choose a shop counter-clockwise starting with the player to the right of the first player. Each player then chooses a row of starting resources on the inside of their shop card. The top row provides a normal and balanced amount of resources, while the second row offers a unique and focused amount. The game then starts clockwise from the first player.

(Refer to page 7 for lucky coins on Hot Pot and Stationary Shops.) The printed cross-reference points to page 7, which does not mention Hot Pot or Stationary Shops; it is transcribed as printed.

FAQ

Q: Can I look under another person's shop? A: No.

Q: Can we trade resources (coins, cubes, cat tiles)? A: No.

Q: Can I win on another player's turn? A: Yes.

Q: Who wins in a tie? A: The current or next player in turn order with 10 coins or 2 cats.

Q: Can I gain a cube and then reroll with it on the same turn? A: Yes, but you cannot reroll dice you already used this turn.

Q: When I unlock dice on my turn, do I keep them for myself? A: No. Everyone's taxes and cubes helped make the kingdom bigger. Thus, everyone benefits from using all the unlocked dice on their turn.

Q: If I gain a lucky coin (page 7) from my dice actions can I use it immediately? A: Yes.

Q: If the clover expansion token (page 7) is unlocked and we're using the corruption reroll rules (page 5), can I make a player reroll after they roll 4 symbols so they don't win? A: The player wins instantly if they roll 4 matching symbols. You cannot force a reroll after that.

Q: Why did the cat plushie's bell and key chain fall off and the back stitches loosen? A: This is normal because these parts were sewn by hand for shipping. The rest is sewn with a machine and made to be handled in the game. Feel free to cut the metal bell and key chain off before playing.

Q: How do I fold the shop cards like tents? A: Locate the dark line between the shop image and gameplay icons. Put the shop image side into the box between the insert and box edge. Line up the dark line with the box edge. Fold the card 180 degrees over the box edge. Remove the card. It will unfold itself into the perfect angle.

Q: Why didn't you use machine folded lines on the cards? A: We tried them, but the cards unfold themselves and got flat.

Game Storage

The game insert has 4 gutters to hold game components.

★ Place the 6 dice in the small gutter.

★ Place the cat tiles (cat/number side up) in 4 piles in the 2 center gutters. Place them so they will lay horizontally when you store your game.

★ Place the cat plushie and folded shops in the big gutter. The bag of coins and bag of cubes can fit in there tightly, but you may also lay the bags in the space above the insert.

★ Keep the expansion coins and tokens in the plastic baggie the cubes came in. Store the kingdom board pieces in the plastic bag the shops came in. Keep these two bags loose above the insert.

★ During setup, you can flip the box upside down to dump out everything and be ready to play.

★ During gameplay, the kingdom board fits into the circle space over the center gutters. You can slide the coins and cubes into the big gutter when the kingdom is full.