A Game of Cat & Mouth. No, that’s not a typo, I did say mouth and not mouse. It sounds intriguing, but what is it? Well, it is a game from Exploding Kittens, so straightaway you know that it is going to be different from regular games and lots of fun. If you wanted to play a nice and sedate board game, then you had better look somewhere else because this isn’t it. This one involves firing balls towards your opponent.
A Game of Cat & Mouth is an exciting and unique game where the box is the playing board in a game of fast-flinging frantic fun! It is a game for 2 players, age 7+ and is a very quick game to play with a playing time of around 10 minutes. There are no questions to answer, no board to move around, no going to jail and certainly no puzzles to solve.
This is a game where you just grab your balls (the small plastic covered magnetic ones that come with the game of course). Take a magnetic cats paw and fling the balls towards your opponent, trying to knock out the poor cats teeth, punching out its nose or even just trying to get all your balls on your opponent’s side. It all sounds rather exciting and fun, doesn’t it! That’s because it is, a fusion of air hockey, slingshot and pinball all in one.
In the box:
- Folding Gameboard (which is actually the box)
- 2 Magnetic Cat Paw Flickers
- 17 Magnetic Plastic Balls
- Cat Face
- Instructions
What is the game, and why a cat and a mouth? A Game of Cat & Mouth is a magnet-powered game and doesn’t even need batteries to play it. If you have ever played pinball, it is kind of similar except that you are not flinging balls around a flat surface. In this game you are trying to slingshot balls through the mouth of a cat head that stands vertically in the centre of the box/gameboard. But it isn’t just a game of aimlessly flicking balls through the cat’s mouth. The aim of the game is to knock down 3 balls in the cat’s mouth (the poor cat’s teeth) and getting them onto your opponent’s side, trying to knock out the cat’s nose or trying to get all the yellow balls onto your opponent’s side of the box. It is extremely competitive and fast, frantic fun.
The box that A Game of Cat & Mouth comes in is not just a storage box for the components of the game, it is also the gameboard. When opened, it folds out and becomes the playing arena (with some extra set up). It also has a handle to make it easily portable. The box opens out to reveal the playing arena and all the pieces. There is very little assembly required, the Cat Head is inserted upright into the middle of the board, 6 cardboard walls are then slotted into place around the board.
Then just add the 3 white balls (the cat’s teeth) on to the holders in the cat’s mouth and place the black ball into the nose position. The magnetic Cat Paw Flickers are then placed on to the paw symbol at each end of the box. Once assembled you are ready to play.
There is no turn taking in this game, both players play at the same time. Just speed of hand, accuracy and a bit of strategic thinking are all that’s required.
To play A Game of Cat & Mouth is easy. On the countdown of 3, players put a yellow ball into their Paw Flicker and start flinging the balls through the mouth on the Cat Head as quick as they possibly can, whilst trying to be an accurate shot. The Cat Paw is easy to use, it pulls back and swivels allowing you to adjust and control the trajectory and power. The first player to five points is the winner. There is a handy scoring wheel (the cat’s eyes) that turns to mark and keep track of the scores. There are three ways to score points:
- You hit the Black Nose Ball onto the other player’s side of the board
- All 3 White Teeth Balls are on the other player’s side of the board at the same time
- All 8 Yellow Balls are on the other player’s side of the board at the same time
Overall, I have loved playing A Game of Cat & Mouth, it’s fast and exciting. Who would have thought that flinging balls at a cat’s head to knock out its teeth and nose could be so much fun (although it does sound rather mean). Gameplay is quite fast, only taking around 10 minutes (unless both players are very bad shots). It’s fast ball-flinging fun that the whole family will enjoy.
All that is required from players is speed of hand to load and fire the cat paw and a good eye to get the accuracy to fire a tiny ball through the mouth of the Cat Head. It is a simple concept, so easy to play but it is a VERY COMPETITIVE game and very addictive! You could say that it is a game of PAW-control.
But it is more than flinging balls. It is also a game of strategy. Do you try and knock out the cat’s teeth? Maybe you want to go for the more difficult shot of knocking out its nose? Or maybe you just want to go all out and fire the balls as quick as you can, hit and hope with the option of trying to fire all the yellow balls on to the other side? Whatever your chosen strategy, just be aware of what the other player is doing because it could all change in an instant and you will be forced to respond, or you will be a paw loser! But if you win, you could just be the cat’s pawjamas!
With balls flinging through the air, surely pieces are going to get lost easily. The game is managed quite well to try and prevent this. The box arena has extra cardboard walls to extend the height of the box and, for the most part, the cat paw flickers only have enough power to stay within the playing area unless your aim is well off. Because of the height of the walls, the balls mostly stay within the box. When a ball does happen to bounce out, the player shouts outs “PAWS” and then retrieves the ball before play can continue after a countdown of 3. There are some spare balls in the box just in case, but we haven’t lost any yet.
This is a two player game, but the instructions do mention a tournament mode where more players can join in the fun with you, but I can’t seem to find this on their website, so I’m not sure if it still exists.
This is a fast and competitive battle to add to your game nights. It is perfect for family game nights. Adult players love it, kids adore it, and families and friends of all ages will salivate at doing battle. It is so simple to set up, easy to play and the game play is fast and competitive. I love it and haven’t lost a ball, injured anyone or even broken anything with a wayward shot (unless you count a broken spirit when you lose several games in a row).
A Game of Cat & Mouth is a fun and competitive game where age really means nothing to play. Fast hands and a good aim will hopefully see you paws-itively victorious!
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £24.99
For more information, visit www.explodingkittens.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.
