The Cat
The Cat Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Idea of the Game
Every cat lover knows that cats have their moods. You don't think so? This game will prove it to you! The Cat has at least 13 different moods to put us under its spell.
Each player gets several piles of four cards. Each card shows The Cat in a certain mood. The first player who can collect four cards showing the same mood in each of their piles calls: "Stop!" and everyone scores points. The player with the most points in the end wins and may cuddle The Cat.
Meow!
Components
13 different cat cards, 4 of each.
Setting Up the Game
In a 3- or 4-player game, use all 52 cards. If there are only two of you, take out 16 cards (4 complete sets of your choice) and put them back in the box.
Shuffle the cards and deal them into face-down piles of four cards each.
Give four piles (three piles in a 4-player game) to each player by sliding them across the table. Put your piles down in front of you. Stop—don't look at your piles yet!
Turn over the remaining pile and put the cards in the center of the table next to each other, face up.
Setup in a 3-player game: each of the three players (Brad, Jack and Don in the illustration) has four face-down piles in front of them, and the face-up cards from the remaining pile lie in a row in the center of the table.
On your Meows, get set, …
All you need now are a pen and a piece of paper to note down your scores at the end of each round. Then give the starting signal—"On your meows, get set, go!"—and the round starts.
Playing the Game
There are no turns: you all play at the same time.
You may take the following actions as often as you like, but only one action at a time:
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Pick up one of your piles and look at the four cards. Check if there is a card in the center of the table that helps you collect 4 of the same card in the pile you have picked up. If so, make a quick swap: First, put one card from your hand in the center of the table, then pick up one card from the center of the table and add it to the pile you have in your hand. You may do this more than once, but only one card at a time.
If none of the cards on the table are suitable for the pile you picked up, put that pile back down in front of you, face-down. Pick up another one of your piles and check if there are suitable cards for that pile in the center of the table. If not, try the next pile, and so on.
Although this is a hectic game, there are still a few rules—make sure you don't ignore them in all the hustle and bustle:
- The first player who touches a card in the center of the table gets to take that card.
- After a swap, there must always be four cards on display in the center of the table.
- There must still be four cards in every pile after a swap.
- You make pick up your piles as often as you like, but always only one pile at a time.
- You may only swap cards from one of your piles with cards in the center of the table—no direct swaps between your different piles!
End of a Round
When you think that all four cat cards in each of your piles are the same, call: "Stop!" to end the current round. If more than one player calls "Stop", only the fastest one counts.
All players now turn over their piles: The player who called "Stop!" must prove that there are indeed four cat cards of the same kind in every one of his/her piles. If that is the case, the player scores one point per pile, plus a bonus point for calling "Stop!"
Brad called "Stop!" and scores 5 points.
However, if the player made a mistake, even if it's just one wrong card in one pile, they score no points at all this round.
All the other players score one point for each of their piles that contain four of the same cat card.
Jack scores 2 points.
Note down every player's score; then a new round begins. The player who called "Stop!" shuffles the cards and deals them out as explained above.
The End of the Game
Continue playing until at least one player has 20 or more points at the end of a round. The player with the most points wins. If you prefer a shorter game, play to a winning score of 12 points. In case of a tie, there is more than one winner.