Let’s get the important stuff out of the way first. This is a CrowdFUNding Preview. This preview is based on a print-and-play version of an upcoming game. That means anything and everything I say could change. BUT it’s at a stage where any significant changes are unlikely.
It is the blessing and curse of every mage to have a familiar, and today yours is a curse. Once again it has upended your laboratory and summoned all manner of troublesome creatures. Clean up the lab and keep your cat from doing any more damage!
That’s the introduction to The Cursed Cat. Your cat has destroyed your lab, and you need to clean it up. Pretty simple, right? Not as easy as you’d think. This is a Scott Almes game, so it’s bound to be challenging.
The Cursed Cat is a micro game; there are only 18 cards in total. Three location cards (the Lab, the Spellbook, and the Portal) and fifteen double-sided spell/monster cards. As you can imagine, setup is simple. Lay out the locations, then deal out numbered monsters (1-15) into the three columns. In Easy Mode, you deal four monsters above the Lab, two above the Spellbook, and one above the Portal. Then you sort the monsters by row, with the largest numbered monsters in the Lab column. (Evil.) Finally, deal out three spell cards below the locations and (again, in easy mode) discard the top two cards remaining in the deck. That gives you access to four spells at the start, and six spells in total.
Each turn you get to relocate a monster from the top of one column onto the top of another column, twice. But the trick is that you can only relocate a monster over a monster with a bigger number. After relocating monsters, you MUST attempt to cast one of the spells in front of you. Discard the spell and follow its instructions. If you can’t do that, the spell fails, and you are penalized by only getting to relocate a single monster next turn.
The goal is to have all the monsters in the Portal column within six rounds. Ordinarily, that would mean the largest monster on the bottom and the smallest on top, but thankfully many of the spells help move monsters while ignoring the size rule. Never give up; you never know what spell might be coming.
The Cursed Cat is a brain burner of a little puzzle game. Having the double-sided spell/monster cards means you never know which spells you’ll be playing with game to game. It’s entirely based on which monsters get dealt out. There’s also a good balance between what you know (the spells you dealt out at the start) and mystery (what’s still in the deck).
It’s frankly amazing just how much replayability can be packed into only 18 cards. In fact, it’s amazing just how much playability you can get out of 18 cards. These micro games are great. First of all, they are incredibly portable. Who hasn’t been the first one to arrive somewhere and had to kill some time? Another advantage is availability. Button Shy Games aren’t well represented in the retail market outside of the U.S. But as a print-and-play product, games like The Cursed Cat are great. Three double-sided pages are certainly more cost-effective than international shipping these days.
Whether you are new to the world of solo boardgaming or a seasoned solo veteran, The Cursed Cat will definitely be a great addition to your collection.
If you want to see The Cursed Cat played, we streamed a playthrough HERE.
The Cursed Cat and three other games will be launching soon on Kickstarter.
You can find Button Shy Games online at buttonshygames.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/buttonshygames
