Cat in the Box: Deluxe Edition FAQ
36 questions players ask · Updated Nov 11, 2026 · Full rulebook
Components and setup
- What are the five cards with four colours on a 2x2 grid for?
- Can you mix white and purple research cards on the research board?
- In the 3-player game on the purple advanced board, what do the blocker tokens cover?
- In a 2-player game, must you play exactly one round per player?
- At five players, are any numbers covered by the observed tokens?
- In a 2-player game, which side of the research board and research cards do you use?
- Which numbers are in play at each player count, and what do the research cards do?
- In a 3-player game, do you need observed tokens, and where do they go?
- In a 3-player game, can you use the purple research cards, and does that make a paradox certain?
Round sequence
- Can the start player lead red before anyone has played red in the round?
- When the start player leads red before red is broken, must they remove their tokens for the other colours?
- If you cannot follow the led colour, must you play red, and which marker comes off your board?
- Can two players play the same colour and number in one trick, creating a tie?
- What happens if you run out of player tokens during a round?
- When do you take your player tokens back off the board during setup, after the first round or the second?
- How many cards does each player get, and how many tricks are played in a round?
- Do you discard the cards left in your hand at the end of a round before dealing the next one?
- If you cannot play any card to start a trick, does the paradox penalty apply to you?
- What exactly counts as a paradox?
- After a paradox, do the cards and tokens already placed in that trick stay on the board?
- Can more than one player cause a paradox on the same trick?
- If the row for the led colour is already full, must you declare out of that colour, and is playing off-suit a paradox?
- As the start player, if you have no blue, yellow or green card and your red marker is already crossed out, is that a paradox?
- Does the led colour still bind later players once someone has played a different colour?
- Does the led colour change every trick, or only once per round?
- If the led colour's marker is already gone, do you still remove a token, and which token do you place?
- Once a colour's X is uncovered on your player board, can you still play that colour when it is led?
- Does a five-player game always end in a paradox because there are not enough spaces for the cards?
- Can you predict zero tricks to collect the bonus when you expect to take none?
Scoring and the end of the game
Two-player rules
- In a 2-player game, do you still discard one card and leave your last card unplayed?
- In a 2-player game, does a player who causes a paradox still get the bonus for winning four or fewer tricks?
- In a 2-player game, is the set-aside card chosen before or after the three cards are revealed from the deck?