Schwarzer Kater
Schwarzer Kater Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 8 multicolored mice
- 5 black hats
- 1 black cat token
- 1 piece of cheese
- 1 slice of cheese
- 40 cheese cubes
- 1 slice of chocolate
- 1 slice of sausage
Setup
For the game you need a flat surface measuring 40 by 50 centimeters. One of the players becomes the host. Who takes on the role of host can be decided either by agreement or by lot.
The host sits in front of the game table and takes for himself: 5 black hats, the black cat token, a piece of cheese, a slice of cheese, a slice of chocolate, and a slice of sausage. The other players sit in a semicircle opposite the host. Each of them takes one mouse and 3 cheese cubes. All remaining cheese cubes go to the host's supply.
Overview
The host plays the role of the cat, and all other players are mice. From here on the players are referred to as the cat and the mice. A game of Schwarzer Kater consists of 5 rounds.
The cat prepares for the hunt by placing in front of itself the bait: the piece and the slice of cheese, the chocolate, the sausage, and also the cat token. All mice must be able to see in what order the tokens lie. Behind each token the cat places a black hat.
First Round
Giving the mice time to memorize the arrangement of the tokens, the cat covers all the bait with the hats. Then it moves two hats without lifting them (or three, depending on the difficulty level).
Hats can be inserted into the row between two others, or moved to the end of the row.
When moving the hats, the cat must observe the following rules:
- only one hat may be moved at a time;
- the hats may not be moved too quickly;
- the cat may not block the mice's view.
After the two hats have been moved, the cat invites the mice to begin the search. The cat may ask the mice to find one thing: the sausage, the chocolate, the slice of cheese or the piece of cheese.
Important! The cat may not ask the mice to search for the cat.
As soon as the cat asks the question (for example: "Where is the sausage?"), the mice may begin the search.
Any mouse may sit on a hat under which, in its opinion, the sausage lies (the player's mouse is placed on it). Only one mouse may sit on a hat, the one that got there first. All other mice may no longer climb onto an occupied hat. Those who agree with the choice of the first mouse sit down in front of that hat. Those who do not agree may sit on other hats (or next to them, if those are occupied).
When all the mice have made their choice, the cat lifts the hats chosen by the mice. All mice that chose the correct hat receive one cheese cube each from the cat's supply. Those who made a mistake give the cat one cheese cube each. Those who chose the hat with the black cat give the cat two cheese cubes each.
When all the cheese has been redistributed, the cat lifts the remaining hats, the ones next to which there were no mice. All five tokens are now revealed. The mice return to their starting positions.
Subsequent Rounds
The cat lays out the bait again for the next round. The rules do not change: the mice memorize the arrangement of the bait, the cat covers the tokens with hats, moves two (or three) of them, and asks the question.
Starting from the second round, the prize cheese increases. The mouse that is first to sit on the correct hat in the second round receives 2 cubes of cheese. In the third round it is 3, in the fourth round 4, and in the fifth round 5. This allows the quick and attentive mice to receive more cheese, while the absent-minded and slow ones will make do with one cube.
Important! If a mouse runs out of cheese, the cat eats it (the mouse token is removed from the game).
End of the Game and Determining the Winner
The winner is the mouse that has collected the most cheese by the end of the fifth round. If several mice have the same highest number of cheese cubes, the last, deciding round may be played with the contenders for victory.
Two-Player Game
The more players there are, the more fun it is to play Schwarzer Kater, but if a large group could not be gathered, the game can also be played by two people. In this case you play two games of five rounds in a row. For the correct choice, the mouse receives cheese cubes according to the ordinal number of the round (1 cube in the first round, 2 in the second, and so on). The cat-host of the first game becomes the mouse-player in the second, and vice versa. After the second game, the players compare their results as mice. The winner is the one who has managed to take more cubes of cheese away from the cat.
Atmosphere in the Game
Schwarzer Kater is a simple memory game, but it is very easy to turn it into a real lively hunt of the cat for the mice. Much will depend on the host-cat's ability to set the mood. A simple phrase at the start of a round, "Oh, someone is in for it now, the cat is going hunting!", can easily heat up the atmosphere, and your mice will instantly become nervous or, on the contrary, cheerful. But be careful, do not overdo it: here, from excitement to fright is one step. Frightening small children is simple, even with the black wooden cat. The host will need to show tact and watch the players' mood closely.
The cat's role is fairly simple, since the host does not need to remember where a given token is. However, if the cat knows where the chosen item lies and where the black cat is, it can steer the game better. For example, if the mice have chosen several different hats, it is best to lift the wrong ones first, to keep the tension in the game going for a while. Then the hat with the black cat. And at the very end, the hat with the sought item. If you lift the correct hat right away, all the others will realize that they made the wrong choice.
Difficulty Levels
To increase the difficulty of the game, the cat may make three moves instead of two. If there are many small children in the game, you may limit it to a single move. In addition, to make the game easier, you may reduce the number of items to four or three.
Holiday Variant
Eight mice is quite a lot, but sometimes more people want to play. For Hush, Mice! this is not a problem. Simply make new "mice" from any handy materials: buttons, pebbles, whatever you have. Taking into account the new number of participants, the host must also increase the supply of cheese cubes.
Up to Three Mistakes Variant
If you have children's face paint or a safe, easily washable paint, you can make the game harder. Each time one of the mice lands on the black cat and gives the cat two cubes of cheese, put a dot on that mouse's face: on one cheek the first time, on the other cheek the second time, and on the tip of the nose the third time. When a child gets three dots, their mouse is eaten by the cat, even if the cat still has cheese left.
Important! If you intend to play this variant, be sure to warn everyone about it in advance.
Treats!
Although the cat is black, its soul is light, so from time to time it can show leniency. The host may give small prizes to the mouse that wins the round: a candy, a piece of chocolate, a bit of cheese or a nut. The mice love it!