The Alley Cats Game
The Alley Cats Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Preparation
- Carefully remove the plastic playing pieces from the box and smooth down any rough edges.
- Separate the 4 dogs and the 4 cats and, using the pre-numbered adhesive labels, decorate both sides of each piece.
- Open up the board and place it centrally on the playing surface.
- Each player now takes up a position next to a cat's home (2 on each side of the wall) and is given 1 cat (to match the colour of his home), 1 dog, 4 fish skeletons and 4 dustbins.
- 1 fish skeleton is now placed in each of the dustbins and, taking care not to be seen, each player hides a dog in one of his four dustbins.
- Having secured the lids, the dustbins are now placed on the board in any of the positions marked on the player's own side of the wall. With the 16 dustbins now on the board the game is ready to be played.
Play
Each player throws the dice in turn, and the player with the highest number starts. After his turn, the dice is passed to the player on his immediate left and so on in a clockwise direction.
Each player on his turn throws the dice, and using the alleyway of his choice he moves his cat along the squares towards the dustbins on the other side of the wall (a cat cannot forage in a dustbin on his own side of the wall). The number thrown must be taken in full, except when you reach a dustbin.
When a cat gets to a dustbin on the opposite side of the wall he may take the fish out of it and, on his next turn, carry it home at a throw of the dice. When a dustbin is emptied the lid is put back on. This means that you will have to remember which bins are empty, because otherwise you could be wasting a journey. Cats cannot take fish from more than one dustbin during the same journey.
If during your turn your cat lands on a square already occupied by another cat, you are allowed an extra throw of the dice.
At any time a cat may "GO ON THE PROWL", this means that if a cat lands on the same square as another cat who is already carrying a fish, he may steal it and then throw the dice again to get away. Cats can carry any number of fish, so if you are already on your way home with a fish or heading for a dustbin to get one, there is nothing to stop you stealing another on the way. Cats can move in any direction they choose but cannot retrace their steps and use the same square twice in any one throw.
Dog Chase
When a cat opens a dustbin guarded by a dog, the dog will naturally chase the cat. The only safe place for a cat is its own home. The dice is thrown and the cat, having first taken the fish, moves towards home. The player on the right throws the dice for the dog. If the cat gets home before the dog, the dog gives up and is removed from the game. If the dog gets to the cat's home first or lands on the same square, the fish goes to the player who moved the dog, and the cat continues play from the square where the chase ended. The dog is removed from the game.
A dog can only chase the cat who disturbed him in his dustbin. If, during the chase, the cat lands on the same square as the dog or another cat, he gets an extra throw of the dice. This rule does not apply to the dog.
A dog cannot catch a cat that is on the wall.
The chase involves only the player with the cat and the player on his immediate right, who is assuming the role of the dog. Only when the chase is over is the play passed on and normal play resumed.
The Wall
To get onto the wall is one move and to come off is one move. Cats may come off at any one of the three alleyways. So cats may move freely along the wall without a throw of the dice. A cat may cross the wall or stay on it, provided he continues in the same direction; he must not turn back.
A dog cannot move along the wall but must go straight across. One move to get on and one to come off.
Winning the Game
The first player to bring five fish skeletons back to his home wins the game.