Catfé Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• Contents
• Setup
• How to Play
• Types of Cards
  • Dessert Cards
  • Special Cards
  • Example 1
  • Example 2
• End of the Game
• Variants
  • Espresso (Base game)
  • Mokaccino
    • Tiebreaker Example
  • Irish Coffee

Object of the Game

In Catfé, you are a chef in training who wants to impress Moka so you can work in her Kitchen. To do so, you must gather a good variety of different Desserts and avoid accumulating identical Desserts.

Think your strategy through carefully and become Moka's new assistant!

Contents

• Pastry cards: 59
  • Dessert cards: 36 (6 cards of each type of Dessert)
  • Cleaner cards: 6 (3 "Lo retiro" cards and 3 "Pa' la basura" cards)
  • Me lo como cards: 6
  • Sour Milk cards: 6
  • Ya no es tuyo cards: 5
• Help (Menu) cards: 5
• Catfé assembly piece: 4
• Rulebook: 1
• Victory Point (VP) tokens: 15

Setup

1. Separate the Dessert cards by type and build the Pastry deck according to the table below. Return the remaining cards to the box.

Number of chefs	Types of Desserts	Cleaners	Sour Milk	Me lo como	Ya no es tuyo
2 to 3 chefs	5	3 of each	4	5	4
4 to 5 chefs	6	3 of each	6	6	5

2. Shuffle the Pastry deck face down and deal 5 cards to each chef (player). Place the rest of the deck within reach of all chefs, leaving enough room to one side for the discard pile.

3. Take 1 Menu card per chef, making sure to include the one with the [icon]. Shuffle them face down (score side) and deal 1 to each chef. Everyone flips their Menu card. The chef who has the Menu with the [icon] is the starting chef.

4. Each chef plays 1 Dessert card face down. When everyone is ready, all flip their card at the same time and place it in their Kitchen (play area). Then, each chef takes 1 card from the Pastry deck.

   NOTE: If you have no Dessert cards, return your cards to the deck, shuffle it, and take 5 new cards. Repeat this until you can play 1 Dessert.

(The setup diagram shows each chef's Kitchen around the table, with the discard pile and the Pastry deck in the middle.)

How to Play

Starting with the starting chef and going clockwise (to the left), each chef plays their turn. This continues until a chef wins by having 4/5 different Desserts in their Kitchen or a chef loses by having 4/5 identical Desserts in their Kitchen (see End of the Game).

On your turn, you must perform one of the following two actions:

• Play 1 card: To play 1 card from your hand, reveal it and resolve it according to its card type. Desserts and Sour Milks are placed in Kitchens, while the others are resolved and discarded once played.

  NOTE: If at the start of your turn you only have Me lo como cards in your hand, you may discard them and take 5 new cards. Then, play your turn normally.

• Discard and Pass: Discard your entire hand of cards and end your turn.

At the end of your turn, check whether a chef has won or lost (see End of the Game).

• If so, the game ends immediately.
• If not, refill your hand by taking cards from the Pastry deck until you have 5. The next chef clockwise plays their turn.

If the Pastry deck runs out and you must take cards, shuffle the discard pile to form a new deck and continue taking cards.

Types of Cards

Dessert Cards

There are 6 different types of Desserts: Affogato, Purrín, Catzón Roto, Cheesecat, Catssant and Brazo de Moka.

When playing a Dessert, you have two options:

• Place it in your Kitchen.
• Place it in another chef's Kitchen, as long as that chef already has that type of Dessert in their Kitchen.

Arrange your Desserts in columns, one for each type of Dessert, making sure it is visible how many you have of each. A column counts as a column even if it has only 1 Dessert.

Special Cards

Sour Milk: Place it in another chef's Kitchen, underneath a column of Desserts so that it remains visible. From now on, it counts as that type of Dessert.

• You cannot place Sour Milks in the Kitchens of chefs who have no Desserts. Therefore, a column cannot consist of only Sour Milks.
• Each column of Desserts can have any number of Sour Milks.

Cleaners: There are two types of Cleaner cards.

• Lo retiro: Choose and discard 1 Dessert from any Kitchen (including your own). Then, discard this card.
  • You may discard Sour Milk.
• Pa' la basura: Choose and discard up to 2 identical Desserts from any Kitchen (including your own). Then, discard this card.
  • You may discard Sour Milk.
  • You may discard 1 Sour Milk and 1 Dessert, as long as the Sour Milk is representing that type of Dessert.
  • You may discard 2 Sour Milks, as long as both are representing the same type of Dessert.

Ya no es tuyo: Move 1 Dessert from any Kitchen (including your own) to another Kitchen. Then, discard this card.

• You cannot move Sour Milk.

IMPORTANT! Remember that Sour Milk must be placed in columns that already have at least 1 Dessert. Therefore, they also cannot be left alone when discarding or moving cards. That is, there can never be columns made up only of Sour Milk.

Me lo como: Played outside of your turn, as a reaction to cancel and discard 1 Dessert that a chef places in any Kitchen (including your own). Then, discard this card.

• You may cancel and discard a card placed by Ya no es tuyo.
• You cannot cancel and discard Sour Milk.
• After playing Me lo como cards, do not refill your hand, since this only happens at the end of your turn.

Example 1

1. The Sansita has 2 Purrines in her Kitchen.
2. The Mistito takes advantage of his Sour Milk card and places it in the Sansita's Kitchen. Now the Sansita has 3 Purrines.
3. But the Sansita is not afraid of losing; on her turn she plays her Pa' la basura card and discards the Sour Milk and 1 Purrín from her Kitchen.

Example 2

1. The Churita has 1 Catzón Roto and 1 Cheesecat in her Kitchen.
2. The Mistito has 3 Catzones Rotos in his Kitchen.
3. The Sansita plays a Ya no es tuyo; she steals the Catzón Roto from the Churita's Kitchen and places it in the Mistito's Kitchen. The Mistito has 4 identical Desserts, so he loses... or does he?
4. The Mistito immediately plays his Me lo como card, cancelling and discarding the Catzón Roto. He lives to see another turn.

End of the Game

The game ends at the end of a turn in which one of the following conditions is met:

• A chef wins by having a certain number of different Desserts in their Kitchen, depending on the number of chefs. Moka loves trying new things. Surprise her with your innovative recipes!
  • For 2 to 3 chefs: 4 different Desserts
  • For 4 to 5 chefs: 5 different Desserts
• A chef loses by having a certain number of identical Desserts in their Kitchen, depending on the number of chefs. Moka does not like monotony on her menu. Get ready for her disapproval!
  • For 2 to 3 chefs: 4 identical Desserts
  • For 4 to 5 chefs: 5 identical Desserts

NOTE: The end of the game is checked at the end of the active chef's turn. So, if a chef plays a Dessert that would make them win or would make another chef lose, and someone plays a Me lo como, cancelling and discarding that Dessert, the game continues.

Variants

Espresso (Base game)

Like espresso coffee, this is an intense and aromatic shot of play that takes little time, with hints of lost friendships. Ideal for playing in an instant.

The game ends when a chef wins or loses, declaring a single victorious winner or an undeniable loser. But if you lost, don't despair; you can take another shot of espresso to go for a rematch.

Mokaccino

The mokaccino is a game mode that, like the coffee, is enjoyed with more time. It has a sweet and chocolatey touch. Perfect if you like games with a dessert flavor!

In this variant, chefs who lose are eliminated from the game, but the others keep playing in an attempt to eliminate all their opponents. As the number of chefs decreases, the number of Desserts needed to win or lose is also reduced (see End of the Game). The chef who manages to stay in the game until the end will be the undisputed winner of Catfé.

If, when a chef is eliminated, the number of Desserts to win or lose changes, several chefs could end up eliminated.

• If several remaining chefs are eliminated at the same time and only one is left standing, that chef is the winner.
• If all the remaining chefs are eliminated at the same time, whoever has the most different Desserts wins. In case of a tie, whoever has the fewest repeated Desserts wins. If the tie persists, the victory is shared.
• If several remaining chefs win at the same time, whoever has the fewest repeated Desserts wins. In case of a tie, the victory is shared.

Tiebreaker Example

In this game, the Lunita, the Churita, the Sansita and the Mistito were playing. The Lunita was eliminated and the others were left tied. As the game went from 4 to 3 chefs, the number of cards needed to win and to lose decreased from 5 to 4 Desserts. So, what happens?

1. The Mistito has 4 Cheesecats, so he is automatically eliminated. The tiebreaker remains between the Sansita and the Churita; both have 4 different Desserts, so whoever has the fewest repeated Desserts will win.
2. The Churita has only one of each Dessert, so she has no repeated Desserts.
3. Whereas the Sansita has 2 Purrines and 1 Affogato repeated, a total of 3 repeated Desserts.
4. The Churita is then crowned champion of this game.

Irish Coffee

Like the Irish Coffee, a cocktail that mixes coffee, Irish whiskey and cream. It is strong and comforting, combining the intense flavor of battles with the warm touch of friendship-breakers and the softness of Moka's little paws. Ideal for warming up or closing the night in style.

Setup: Place the Victory Point (VP) tokens within reach of all chefs.

In this case, the game does not end when a chef wins or loses, but when someone obtains 5 or more VP (use the VP tokens). VP are obtained as follows:

• If a chef wins: The winner gets 2 VP and discards all the cards in their Kitchen.
• If a chef loses:
  • The chef who made them lose gets 2 VP.
  • The rest of the chefs get 1 VP.
  • The loser gets no VP, discards all the Desserts of the type of Dessert that made them lose, and may discard 1 additional Dessert of their choice (it can be Sour Milk).
  • The rest of the chefs continue the game with their Kitchens as they are.

In case of a tie, the last chef to have obtained 2 VP wins.