Physical game! Play with any 54 card deck if you want to try it.

A team card game where you build cat trees

In this card game for two players, build the greatest cat tree turn by turn with the components you have in your hands.

Games are quick, it is recommended to do several games and compare your trees.

This is the first time making a board game for the jam, we made it in a team of two during 3 hours. It is not a feature complete game and it will lack balance, but we had quite some fun making it. Don't hesitate to change the rules or the way you count the points.

Setup

In order to play it, you'll need a regular 54 card deck. Then sort your deck and pick all your Aces, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, J and K. The rest will not be used.

Each card corresponds to a structure of your tree, described as following:

| Card | Structure | Description | Restrictions | |:---:|:---|:----|:----| | Ace | Pipe | A horizontal pipe cats can enter from both sides | 📥 Must be laid on a flat surface. 🚧 You can't use it as a basement or to attach pieces (you can still place other pieces if they are attached by some other way) | | Tree | Scratcher | A vertical trunk circled with ropes. Cats can scratch their claws on it. | 📥 Must be laid on a flat surface. 🗼 You can build on top but you can't use it to support other pieces on their left or right side (you can still place other pieces if they are attached by some other way) | | Six | Hammock | Piece of cloth hanging attached on the opposite sides. Cats can sleep inside. | 📌 Must be attached by both left and right side to be placed (you can't hang them by a single side). 🚧 You can't use it as a basement or to attach pieces (you can still place other pieces if they are attached by some other way) | | Seven | Catwalk | A walk hanging attached on the opposite sides. Cats can cross gaps with it. | 📌 Must be attached by both left and right side to be placed (you can't hang them by a single side). 🚧 You can't use it as a basement or to attach pieces (you can still place other pieces if they are attached by some other way) | | Eight | Box | A box with many openings cats can walk through. | 🌉 Must be laid on a flat surface or attached by both sides. 🏢 You can build on top and it can be used to hang on the sides. | | Ten | Toy | A toy attached to the ground cats can play with. | 📥 Must be laid on a flat surface. 🚧 You can't use it as a basement or to attach pieces (you can still place other pieces if they are attached by some other way). | | Jack | Shelf | A shelf attached directly to the wall. cats can use them to wall higher. | 🌈 Can be placed anywhere on the grid. 🏢 You can build on top and it can be used to hang on the sides. 🪁 Shelves can't touch the ground. | | King | Nest | A box with a single opening. Cats can sleep inside. | 🌉 Must be laid on a flat surface or attached by both sides. 🏢 You can build on top and it can be used to hang on the sides. |

Shuffle all your 32 cards in a single deck. Your cards will be played on the desk in a grid layout.

You must decide which side of the grid represents the floor. Every piece must be placed on top of a solid surface (floor on certain other pieces) or attached by both sides, with some exceptions (refer to the previous table).

Turn

You draw 2 cards for each player. Each player decides which card they play, the other will be discarded. Players can't communicate about their cards or what they'll do.

Then, the two players reveal their cards. Players can talk, decide who plays first and how they place their cards on the grid.

If some card can't be placed because there is no way to attach it (such as the hammock), you can't play them and must dismiss it.

You repeat this step 7 more times until there is no more card available.

Points count

Now that you have built your cat tree, you can count points based on what is in the grid. Distances are Manhattan distances (diagonals = One horizontal step + one vertical step = distance of two)

| Structure | Points | |:---:|:----| | Pipe | 5 points + 3 points by side attached. | | Scratcher | 5 points. Scratchers placed side by side horizontally are grouped and counts only for one. They must be separated horizontaly by a distance of 2 or more to be considered a separate group. Scratchers built on top of another are considered as a separate group. | | Hammock | 8 points. | | Catwalk | 8 points. | | Box | 5 points. | | Toy | 5 points. Toys placed with less than a distance of 3 are grouped and counts only for one. | | Shelf | 5 points. | | Nest | 5 points. |

Every card that is at a height of 5 or more has an altitude bonus and points are doubled.

If a part is separated by a distance of 3 from all continuous structure touching the ground (understand pieces that aren't separated by an empty space and one of them is touching the ground), it is not part of the tree and doesn't add any point (a shelf + a toy with a distance of 3, or a single structure with a distance of 3).

Have fun, make the best cat tree!