Cat in the Box: Deluxe Edition
Cat In The Box Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Outline of the Experiment
"Cat in the box" is a card game categorized as a trick-taking game. The color of each cat card is not certain, and when the card is played, it will be treated as the color declared by the player. However, players are not allowed to declare the color of a card with the same number that has already been declared. Follow the rules, and approach the mysterious ecology of ... Cats.
1. Components
- 45 Cat cards, 5 cards each from 1 to 9
- 1 Research board
- 1 Experiment result booklet
- 4 Research cards
- 1 Round Start Player card
- 5 Player boards
- 60 Player tokens, 12 each of Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, and Purple
- 4 Observed tokens
- 1 Rulebook
The components to be used differ according to the number of players. Refer to the table below.
| No. of players | Cat cards | Player boards | Player tokens | Observed tokens |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 players | 45 cards (1-9) | 5 boards | 5 types | - |
| 4 players | 40 cards (1-8) | 4 boards | 4 types | Necessary |
| 3 players | 30 cards (1-6) | 3 boards | 3 types | - |
| 2 players | 25 cards (1-5) | 2 boards | 2 types | Necessary |
2. Game Preparation
In this experiment game, players play a number of rounds equal to the number of players, and the sum of those rounds determines the winner of the game. Before starting the game, follow the procedure as below:
- Each player should be seated in a position where they cannot see each other's hands.
- Each player takes a type of player token (all 12 pieces) and a player board.
- Place one player token on each X on your player board.
- Insert the research cards into the research board and place it in the center of the table. See the table below to check which face of the research cards to use. Depending on the number of players, observed tokens must be placed on the research board.
- Write down each player's name on the experiment result booklet (optional).
- The player who most recently
won this gameencountered a cat will be the start player. The start player receives the Round Start Player card and puts it in front of them.
This concludes the preparation of the game. Follow the instructions on the next page to start the first round.
| No. of players | Face of player board | Face of research card | Observed tokens |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 players | 5 | Purple | Not used |
| 4 players | 4 | White or purple (Use white for your first game) | Place on all 4 spaces of 9 |
| 3 players | 3 | White or purple (Use white for your first game) | Not used |
| 2 players | 2 | White | Place on all 4 spaces of 6 |
3. Round sequence
Each round consists of three phases as below.
- Preparation phase
- Trick phase
- Scoring phase
To win this experiment game, a player must have the highest total score after playing rounds equal to the number of players.
1. Preparation phase
[1] Deal player's hand and put 1 card face down
Shuffle all cat cards face down and distribute them to each player evenly. The dealt cards are called your hand. Look at your hand and be careful not to let other players see what is in your hand.
After checking your hand, each player simultaneously selects one card from their hand and places it face down near the research board.
[2] Predict tricks in clockwise order
Each player checks their hand and predicts how many tricks they will win in this round. The numbers indicated on your player board shows the number of tricks you can choose for your prediction. Beginning from the start player and then moving clockwise, each player places a player token on the predicted number of tricks they will win on their player board. After all players have made their predictions, proceed to the trick phase.
Don't use the face down cards in the current round.
Distribute 10 cards when Playing with 2 to 4 players, and 9 cards when Playing with 5 players!
If you are Playing with 3 players, you can only Predict the number of tricks you will win as l, 3, or 4. This means you cannot declare "2 tricks"!
2. Trick phase
In this phase, players will repeat a series of bench scale experiments mini games known as tricks. After playing the specified number of tricks or when a paradox occurs, the trick phase ends and players proceed to scoring phase.
Trick-taking
The start player begins by playing a cat card from their hand and all other players in clockwise order do the same. When any player plays a cat card, they must declare the observed color. There are rules when declaring the observed color:
Declaring the observed color
The color of the cat cards in your hand is not certain. When a cat card is played from any player's hand, that player observes and declares the cat's color as red, blue, yellow, or green, as shown on the research board.
The player who played a cat card declares what color the played card is, places the card alongside that color on their player board, and then places a player token in the corresponding space on the research board.
Led color
During a trick, the first observed and declared color is known as the led color.
Rules on declaring the observed color
To positively declare a valid color, the observed color must satisfy the following rules.
Rule 1: On the row of color you are going to declare on the research board, the space of the number of the cat card you are playing must be empty.
Rule 2: On your player board, a player token must be placed on the X of the color you are going to declare.
Players must follow the rules above to play a cat card.
In addition, the following rules must be fulfilled depending on the situation.
When playing a card as the start player:
The start player must declare blue, yellow, or green when declaring a color. This means the start player may not declare red (trump). However, if any player token(s) of any player is already placed on the red row on the research board, this rule can be ignored and the start player may declare red as the led color. You can also declare red as the led color if you cannot declare any other color with any cards from your hand.
If you want to win a trick, you should play the same color as the led color (the so-called follow suit rules)
When playing a card after the first card:
Players who play a card after the start player may declare any color (red, blue, yellow, or green), as long as it satisfies rule 1 and 2. If you declare a color which differs from the led color, remove the player token on your player board placed on the X space of the led color. If the player token has already been removed, ignore this step.
A color which shows an X on your Player board means you may not Play that color any more. This restriction might haunt you quite badly.
Winner of the trick
After all players have played a card and declared a color, check who is the winner of the trick.
The player who played the strongest card is the winner of this trick.
The strength of the card depends on the declared card's color, followed by the card's number.
Strength of the color
If all players played and declared a card of the led color, skip checking the strength of the color.
However, if any player declared a color different from the led color, check the strength of the color.
Red (trump) is the strongest, then the led color, and the other colors are the weakest
-
If red is declared in addition to the led color:
Red (trump) is stronger than the led color. Leave only cards declared as red and remove all other cards when checking the strongest color. -
If blue, yellow, or green is declared in addition to the led color:
The led color is stronger than the other colors. Leave only cards declared as the led color and remove all other cards when checking the strongest color.
After checking the strength of the color, just comPare the number of the remaining cards!
Strength of the numbers
Compare the remaining cards. The card with the highest number wins the trick.
Winning a trick
The player who wins the trick takes all the played cards together into a pile and places it face down in front of them.
You can count how many times a player has won this round by counting how many piles of tricks they have in front of them. Make sure to separate each trick so that they do not get mixed up.
The player who wins the trick will be the start player for the next trick and plays the first card.
End of trick phase and paradox
Repeat playing a trick until there is only one card left in your hand. After that, end the trick phase and proceed to the scoring phase. If a paradox occurs during the trick phase, immediately stop the experiment trick phase and proceed to the scoring phase.
If you're playing with 4 Players, play 8 tricks and the round is over!
Occurrence of a paradox
During the trick phase, when you cannot declare and observe any card from your hand according to the rules, which means, you cannot meet the observation rules and place a player token on the research board, so a paradox occurs.
A paradox cannot be created on purpose. If there is a card that you can play and declare the observed color, you must play that card.
If anyone finds out that you could have Played a card after you revealed your hand, just play that card and continue this trick!
When a paradox occurs, immediately stop the trick phase.
The player who caused the paradox reveals their hand and declares that a paradox has occurred.
No player wins the trick that caused the paradox, but do not remove the tokens placed on the research board during that trick.
3. Scoring phase
Record the scores earned by each player on an experiment result sheet. There are 2 kinds of scores, which are scores from tricks and bonus scores from victory prediction.
Scores from tricks
Each player gains 1 point for each trick won. Count the number of piles in front of you to see how many tricks you have won.
If any player caused a paradox during this round, the player who caused the paradox instead scores -1 point per trick that they have won.
Bonus score from victory prediction
If the number of trick(s) won is as predicted, that player receives a bonus score. If any player caused a paradox during this round, the player who caused the paradox will not receive any bonus score.
From the research board, find the largest group of your player tokens which are adjacent to each other, scoring 1 point for each token in that group.
"Adjacent" refers to a state in which your player tokens are connected vertically or horizontally. Diagonal connection is not considered to be adjacent.
1-2. Preparation phase for the next round
After completing the scoring phase, the next round begins. During the preparation phase after the second round, the following procedure will be added.
- Each player collects their player tokens from the research board and their player board.
- Place one player token on each X on your player board.
- Pass the Round Start Player card to the player to the left of the current Round Start Player.
Clean up any used eat(s).
4.End of the game
The game ends after all players have been the Round Start Player. The winner is the player who scored the most points after adding the scores from each round (refer to the experiment result sheet). If there is a tie, the player with the highest score during the final round wins. If those players are also tied, the tied players share the victory.
5. Additional rules for 2 players
When playing with 2 players, use the following rules.
1. Preparation phase
- Deal 10 cat cards to each player, and place the remaining 5 cards on the center of the table. After that, reveal 3 cards from the pile and place an unused player token on the green row of the research board for each number revealed. If a duplicate number is revealed, place an unused player token on both the green and yellow rows of that number. If all three cards are the same number, place an unused player token on the green, yellow, and blue rows of that number.
- Do not predict victory in a 2 player game. When the round ends, if any player wins 4 or fewer tricks, that player receives a bonus score.
In a 2 Player game, even if a Paradox does not occur when the round is over, one sPace remains empty on the research board. This result is exPected and is a correct Phenomenon.
No other rules are changed in a 2 player game.