Game review 85: A Game of Cat & Mouth
Catapults and kittens form the basis of this inter-generational-pleasing tabletop game
What makes a good family game?
It’s a question we’ve asked many designers we’ve spoken to while writing The Generations Games. It’s a question that opens the door to an elixir, of sorts. And one with no definitive answer. After all, it depends on which family is playing it and the conditions they’re playing it in.
For instance, an attentive multi-age group is going to allow for options that an easily distracted bunch is not.
Well, as a frazzled parent and uncle, generally used to getting kicked, crawled over, shouted at and punched if I attempt to teach a game with a rulebook that requires a turn of a page (and then the adults leave me alone and the kids get started - arf!) here’s my stab at answering that question:
a simple premise that allows the rules to be understood in less than a minute
a game that doesn’t have to last long to feel satisfactory
a dexterity element that’s fair to all abilities and age groups
a fine line between skill and luck that means everyone always feels they have a chance of winning
and a chonky animal character to entice and delight the kids to look away from the screen for a minute.
So, here we come to Exploding Kittens’ A Game of Cat & Mouth.
Here’s the rules, all of them: A two-player, fling balls at a cat face using a magentic kitten paw: win conditions are met if either all the yellow, white ’teeth’ or token black ‘nose’ balls end up on the opponents side. Play stops if a ball goes out of bound and continues when everyone is ready. First to five rounds wins.
That’s all you need to know to begin.
The game board is bright and buzzy, and, most importantly from an adult perspective, compact, as its played straight out of the box. The only downside here is, as the box folds out, it can break through over-use - ours has, though its easy to fix and doesn’t impact gameplay.
There’s even an instruction sheet to show how everything should be put away at the end. This means you can have a good game of this to split up a homework project, without a laborious set-up process. It saves an age. Why can’t more publishers do this?
The kitten claw gives a very satisfying wobble when it catapults.
And, when I play with my daughter, games can be close, are fast-paced and filled with jeopardy - I can’t feel very smug as I fling the yellow balls through the cat mouth and I’m on the verge of winning a game, when there’s still a high chance E will yelp with delight as the black ball drops on to my side. It may seem unfair, but them’s the rules. perhaps I should have altered my tactics, and my aim, if I wanted to win?
Game facts and stats
Ages
7+
Year published
2020
Publisher
Exploding Kittens
Designer
Uncredited
Player count
2
E’s review
What do you like best about the game?
“We had to throw things through.”
Is it tricky?
“Half not tricky. Because we had to throw things through with the cat paw.”
60/20
My review
Set-up time
It takes a couple of minutes to build the surrounding barriers and central despotic-looking cat face. But time is saved considerably thanks to the handy re-boxing sheet that comes with the game.
Cost
Retails for £25, but it often comes up in sales for as little as a tenner.
Practicality
The box, which the game is played straight out of, is compact. This being a catapult game, it’s possible for balls to go missing, but extras are included and the barrier surrounds means that its a rarity that they’ll go too far.
Fun for parents?
A Game of Cat & Mouth’s joy is its simplicity. A fun one to bring out that your kids are going to love, as well as non-gaming grown-up friends.
