DeliCats Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Game Setup
• Sequence of Play
  • Example of a round with 4 players
• End of the Game
  • Time to Hand Out Gifts!
  • Example of end of game in the standard mission
• Mission Calendar
  • 1. New Year
  • 2. It's Snowing!
  • 3. Quiet Weekend (Standard Mission)
  • 4. Carnival Day
  • 5. Fireworks
  • 6. At the Beach
  • Dislike Cards
  • 7. Hiking Trip
  • 8. Halloween
  • 9. Christmas

Components

• 10 preference cards (5 food and 5 place)
• 50 investigation cards with combinations of food and place
• 25 gift cards
• 20 cat cards
• 4 help/feeding-bowl cards and 1 grey feeding-bowl card

The setup and sequence of play of the standard mission "Quiet Weekend" are detailed below.

Game Setup

1. Give each person 5 identical cat cards and their corresponding help/feeding-bowl card. Place the cat cards in a pile in your play area and put the help card next to it, so you can consult the different preferences of food and places that cats can have.
2. Shuffle and deal the 25 gift cards face down equally; the dealer gets one card more. Place your gift cards under your cat cards; you may not look at them until the end of the game.
3. Shuffle the investigation deck and deal 3 cards to each person; these cards are their hand. Leave the deck face down in the center of the table.
4. Shuffle the preference cards separated by food and place. Deal one card of each type to each person. Preference cards are private during the game and tell us our cat's favorite food or its favorite place to eat.
5. Mix the remaining preference cards and place one card face up in the center of the table. This card serves as a clue for everyone.
6. Whoever has most recently fed a cat starts the first round.

Sequence of Play

The game is played in rounds. In each round the following steps are carried out:

1. The person who starts the round (the active person) draws a card from the investigation deck, looks at it and hands it to any person of their choice who still has cat cards available (they may choose themselves).

2. The chosen person (the person on vacation) places the investigation card face up in their play area.

3. The neighbors to their left and right each choose an investigation card from their hand and place it face down next to the card already face up, to the left and right respectively, forming a row of 3 cards.

   In a 2-player game, the person on vacation also contributes an investigation card from their hand so that there are 3 cards in the row.

4. The person on vacation reveals the cards received, checks whether their cat has eaten or not, and announces it aloud:

   • The cat EATS if any of the three cards in the row contains its favorite food or its favorite place.
   • The cat DOES NOT EAT if none of the three cards in the row contains either its favorite food or its favorite place.

   If the cat EATS, the person on vacation adds one of their cat cards on the well-fed cat side, to the right of the row of 3 investigation cards. If the cat DOES NOT EAT, no cat card is added. This information remains visible on the table for the rest of the game. If a person has already placed all of their cat cards, they cannot be chosen to go on vacation for the rest of the game.

5. Whoever played investigation cards refills their hand to 3 cards. If there are not enough cards to refill, or the deck runs out, play passes automatically to the gift phase.

Before starting a new round, you may discuss whether you believe you have the information needed to move on to the gift phase. If you decide to continue, a new round begins. The person on vacation starts the next round.

Example of a round with 4 players

(The original shows an illustrated example: players A, B, C and D around the table; the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 mark the steps of the round.)

End of the Game

When you believe you know the eating habits of all the cats in the neighborhood, or the investigation deck runs out, the end of the game begins and it is time to show your deductive skills.

Although not required, you can use pencil and paper to note the information you obtain, making your deduction easier.

Time to Hand Out Gifts!

What better gift for our beloved cats than their favorite food, or being able to eat in their favorite place in the house?

Take into your hand the gift cards dealt during setup and flip your help card over, revealing the feeding bowl with your cat's name. Place the grey nameless feeding bowl in the center of the table.

Take your gift cards and, simultaneously, place face down on the cats' feeding bowls all the gift cards that you believe meet any of that cat's preferences.

You are allowed to give cards to your own cats, although if you can, as an exercise in generosity, try to always give the gifts to the other cats.

If you think a gift card meets no cat's preferences, leave the card in the center of the table on the grey feeding bowl.

Once all 25 cards have been given, check whether they are correct. In order, starting with the last person who went on vacation, reveal the preference cards and the gift cards on top of your cat's feeding bowl. Separate the hits from the misses. Finally, resolve the grey feeding bowl in the center of the table in the same way.

Count the number of hits and consult the following table to see how you did:

• 0 to 15: Dreadful! The cats are going very hungry.
• 16 to 21: We'll have to work a bit harder...
• 22 to 24: The cats are impressed and fed; we did quite well.
• 25: The cats are taking their third nap of the day with full stomachs. We are the best neighbors in the world!

Example of end of game in the standard mission

(The original shows an illustrated example.)

Mission Calendar

You can start playing with the standard mission or with the first mission of the calendar. As you advance through the calendar, the difficulty of the challenge increases and the experience varies with small changes to the rules and to the logic and strategy of the game.

1. New Year

The most delicate cats in the neighborhood get ready to celebrate the new year. Will we have guessed their favorite food?

Setup: Play only with the 5 food preference cards. Deal one to each person and place one of the remaining ones face up in the center of the table as a clue.

During the game: The card the active person gives to the person on vacation is placed face up.

2. It's Snowing!

While their families play in the snow, the cats watch it slowly covering their feeding bowls...

Setup: Play only with the 5 place preference cards. Deal one to each person. None of the remaining cards is placed as a clue.

During the game: The card the active person gives to the person on vacation must be placed face down instead of face up. Only the active person knows the content of the card, but they cannot share that information.

3. Quiet Weekend (Standard Mission)

Our beloved cats relax, enjoying their favorite food in their favorite place in the house.

Setup: Play with the 10 preference cards separated by food and place. Deal one food preference card and one place preference card to each person. Place one of the remaining cards face up in the center of the table as a clue.

During the game: The card the active person gives to the person on vacation is placed face up.

4. Carnival Day

The cats hide their feline tastes among masks and costumes. They are making it harder and harder for us.

Setup: Play with the 10 preference cards separated by food and place. Deal one food preference card and one place preference card to each person. None of the remaining cards is placed as a clue.

During the game: The card the active person gives to the person on vacation must be placed face down instead of face up. Only the active person knows the content of the card, but they cannot share that information.

5. Fireworks

Startled by the colorful explosions and the shrill sounds of the fireworks, the cats hide in fright.

Setup: Play with the 10 preference cards, mixing food and place. Deal only one preference card to each person. Place one of the remaining cards face up in the center of the table as a clue.

During the game: The card the active person gives to the person on vacation must be placed face down instead of face up. Only the active person knows the content of the card, but they cannot share that information.

6. At the Beach

When families spend the day at the beach, the cats take the chance to toast in the sun and build castles in their sandboxes. They are spending a lot of energy; let's hope they are hungry afterwards.

Setup: Play with the 10 preference cards, mixing food and place. Deal only one preference card to each person. Place one of the remaining cards face up in the center of the table as a clue.

During the game: In this mission the row of cards is made up of 4 cards. The active person takes 2 cards from the investigation deck instead of 1 and gives them to the person on vacation. The cards the active person gives to the person on vacation are placed face up.

Dislike Cards

From now on, some of the preference cards become dislike cards. Dislike cards indicate the food or place that our cat dislikes. If any card in the row contains the food or place that the cat dislikes, it will not eat, regardless of what the other cards are.

7. Hiking Trip

The cats take a nap and dream that they walk through the mountains with their families, but they don't seem to enjoy the outdoors and nature very much. Surely they will wake up even pickier...

Setup: Play with the 10 preference cards separated by food and place. Deal one food preference card and one place preference card to each person. None of the remaining cards is placed as a clue.

During the game: The card the active person gives to the person on vacation is placed face up. In this mission, the food preference card becomes a dislike card. The place preference card remains a preference of the cat. The rule becomes: The cat EATS only if some card in the row contains its favorite place, and DOES NOT EAT if some card contains the food it dislikes.

End of the game: Gift cards given to the cat count as hits if they contain its favorite place and do not contain its disliked food.

In the last two missions, all preference cards become dislike cards. At the end of the game, instead of giving the cats their favorite gifts, you will have to play pranks on them and give them the gift cards with foods or places that they dislike for the cards to count as hits.

8. Halloween

Amid laughter and scares, the cats hide a terrifying secret from us... There is a food that disgusts them and a place in the house that they hate! Enough is enough! Let's play pranks on them!

Setup: Play with the 10 preference cards separated by food and place. Deal one food preference card and one place preference card to each person. Place one of the remaining cards face up in the center of the table as a clue.

During the game: The card the active person gives to the person on vacation is placed face up. All preference cards are now dislike cards. The rule becomes: The cat DOES NOT EAT if any card in the row contains the food or place it dislikes. If the row does not contain the food or place it dislikes, the cat always EATS.

End of the game: Gift cards given to the cat count as hits if they contain the food or place that causes it displeasure.

9. Christmas

At this special time of year the cats become even more demanding. A rather complicated Christmas is coming for our neighborhood and, as the saying goes, these cats need to be fed separately.

Setup: Play with the 10 preference cards, mixing food and place. Deal two preference cards to each person. Place one of the remaining cards face up in the center of the table as a clue.

During the game: The card the active person gives to the person on vacation must be placed face down instead of face up. Only the active person knows the content of the card, but they cannot share that information. All preference cards are now dislike cards. The rule becomes: The cat DOES NOT EAT if any card in the row contains the food or place it dislikes. If the row does not contain the food or place it dislikes, the cat always EATS.

End of the game: Gift cards given to the cat count as hits if they contain the food or place that causes it displeasure.