Boop Rulebook

Table of Contents

Contents & Set Up
Object
"Booping"
Graduating Kittens into Cats
Cats
Winning
Notes for Clever Cats
Adjusting for Younger Players
Credits

Contents & Set Up

Empty the contents of the box and place the box bottom, upside down, in the center of the play area. On top of it, place the quilted game board comforter to make the bed.

Players begin the game with 8 Kittens of their color. The 8 Cats of their color begin "out of play" to the far side of the board.

The player who most recently pet a cat will be the first player - or choose a first player at random.

Components:

Quilted fabric game board (a 6x6 grid of stitched squares)
Back of box, used as the bed frame under the board
8 Orange Kittens and 8 Orange Cats (one player)
8 Gray Kittens and 8 Gray Cats (the other player)

Each player starts with their 8 Kittens in their pool. Their 8 Cats begin in reserve, off to the side.

Object

Take turns placing one of your Kittens onto the bed, in any open space available (stitched squares).

Graduate your Kittens into Cats by lining up three of your pieces in a row, horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

Then line up 3 of your Cats in a row to WIN the game!

But it isn't that simple...

"Booping"

Lining up a row of three of your pieces isn't easy because when a piece is added to the board, it "boops" all of the pieces adjacent to it, pushing them one space away, including diagonally. (fig.1a & 1b)

"boop" or "meow" sound effects are encouraged when you boop. :)

A piece can be booped right off the bed, in which case it is returned to the owner's pool of pieces. (fig.1b)

A booped piece does not cause a chain reaction when it moves into a new space. Other pieces it moves towards do not move away in reaction. (fig.1b)

When any two pieces are already in a line on the board, another piece played into that line cannot push those pieces. This is true regardless of colors of the pieces. (fig.2) (Of course, they CAN be booped from other directions.)

Setting up a line of two and defending against it is an important strategy. In (fig.2), if it had been gray's turn and a gray Kitten had been placed instead, a line of 3 gray Kittens would be scored on the diagonal. So, breaking up or blocking your opponent's line of two is key.

fig.1a (Placing): Adding the gray Kitten doesn't create a line of three. Instead, anything adjacent (the surrounding squares) is pushed one space away.

fig.1b (Booping): Pieces can be pushed right off the bed! No secondary chain reactions occur (so an already-placed corner Kitten doesn't move when another piece is booped past it).

fig.2: When the orange Kitten is played, an adjacent Kitten gets booped, but the other Kittens don't move because they cannot be booped into each other. The line of two (or more) prevents it.

Graduating Kittens into Cats

After booping, check to see if you have 3 Kittens in a row. Getting three of your Kittens lined up in a row, horizontally, vertically or diagonally, graduates all three into Cats. (fig.3)

Remove the Kittens from the board - and out of the game. (Place them in the box lid. Kittens love boxes.) Then, replace those pieces with adult Cats from the reserve and place them into your pool of pieces (not onto the board). You will ALWAYS have 8 active pieces.

Alternatively, if all 8 of your pieces are on the bed, you may graduate any one Kitten, by removing it from the game and placing a Cat from the reserve into your pool. Should it be strategically important, you could place a Cat back into your pool, instead of graduating a Kitten.

In the rare case of lining up more than three in a row, or multiple connected 3's, choose which group of 3 to graduate, leaving the remaining pieces on the board. (fig.4) Likewise, if you have both a three in a row and eight pieces on the board, choose which you would activate.

fig.3: Gray lines up three Kittens in a row - and removes them from the game. Three adult Cats are now placed into the player's pool.

fig.4: When your move creates more than one opportunity to graduate pieces, choose one of them. Remove those pieces from the board, leaving the others in place.

Cats

Once you have adult Cats in your pool, you may choose to play either a Cat or a Kitten on your turn. Cats work the same way as Kittens in all respects, except that Cats CANNOT be booped by Kittens. However, Cats can boop other Cats, as well as Kittens.

When you line up 3 of your pieces with a combination of Cats and Kittens, you still remove all three pieces from the board and graduate any Kittens. (fig.5) The Cats in the group go to your pool, as do any newly graduated Cats.

fig.5: It's okay if Cats are part of your line of three. Remove all three from the board. Here, both the Kittens graduate into Cats - and are placed, along with the Cat from your line up, into your pool.

Winning

When you line up three of your Cats in a row, horizontally, vertically or diagonally, you WIN. Alternatively, a player can WIN by having all 8 of their Cats on the bed at the end of a turn.

Only check for a WIN after all booped pieces complete their movement.

Notes for Clever Cats

The center four squares of the board can be more powerful, as they are furthest from the edge making it harder to push your pieces off the board. However, don't be afraid of pushing your own Kittens / Cats off the bed. It might be strategic to put them back into your pool for subsequent plays.
Two pieces in a row is one way to set up a line of three. But you can also try a sneakier way by setting up an L shaped pattern - and booping your piece into the center!
When you have Cats, be mindful of placing them ALL on the bed, especially if your opponent has none. Since Kittens can't push them, they will be stuck in place.

Adjusting for Younger Players

You can introduce the game to younger players by eliminating the concept of graduating pieces. During set up, give each player the 8 Kittens of their color. Place the Cats back into the box. They will not be used. The first player to line up three of their Kittens WINS the game. This is a much shorter game but still a fun challenge.

Credits