Nekojima Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Objective
• Components
• Setup
• Game Turn
  • 1. Roll the Dice
  • 2. Choose and Place a Pair of Poles
    • Restrictions
  • Black Cubes
  • 3. Score the Result
    • Check Rule Compliance
• End of Game
• Solo Mode
• Game Variants
  • Urban Jungle
  • Skyscrapers
  • In Pairs
  • Expert Difficulty
• Credits

Objective

Your task is to install denchuu (electrical poles) and keep the structure on the game board balanced.

In cooperative mode, try to complete as many levels as possible.

In competitive mode, try not to drop anything on your own turn.

Components

• 1 game board (A)
• 21 denchuu: 7 white, 7 pink, 7 blue (B)
• 28 cubes: 7 white, 7 pink, 7 blue, 7 black (C)
• 1 cube bag (D)
• 2 district dice (E)
• 7 cat figures (F)
• 1 level tracker (G)
• 20 nest tokens (H)

Setup

1. Place the game board in the center of the table so that all players can easily reach it.
2. Put all the cubes in the bag.
3. Place the dice, the cats, the level tracker, and all the denchuu (sorted into groups by wire color) on the table.

If you are playing the Urban Jungle variant, also place the nest tokens on the table (see page 4).

Game Turn

Choose a game mode: competitive or cooperative.

The player who most recently broke something by accident goes first. Play then passes clockwise.

1. Roll the Dice

Each die indicates a district in which you must place one of the poles.

• Restaurant district (bowl icon)
• Residential district (building icon)
• Cultural district (torii gate icon)
• Entertainment district (ferris wheel icon)
• Rainbow-wheel icon: the active player chooses 1 district
• Black torii icon: the player to the active player's right chooses 1 district

Both dice may indicate the same district. Districts must be chosen before moving on to the next step. If the roll produces the combination of the rainbow-wheel icon and the black torii icon, the active player chooses the first district, and then the player to their right chooses a second district.

2. Choose and Place a Pair of Poles

Draw 1 random cube from the bag. Then take a denchuu with a wire of the color of the cube you drew. If you draw a black cube, keep drawing until you draw a cube of any other color.

A denchuu consists of two poles connected by a wire. When placing a denchuu, you must set up one pole in each of the districts chosen using the dice. A denchuu can be placed directly on the game board, or on one or more previously placed denchuu. While taking your turn, you may change your mind and take a different denchuu with a wire of the required color.

Important! By twisting the poles, you can give the wire a different shape (for example, a loop shape), thereby creating a more convenient setup for building. The main thing is that the wires must not touch while doing so. After placing one of the poles, you may move it by gently nudging it with the second pole.

Restrictions

High Voltage. Touching the wires with your hands is strictly forbidden. While placing a denchuu, you may only touch its poles, not the wire connecting them.

Placement Rules

• A denchuu cannot be placed upside down.
• The two poles of the same denchuu cannot be stacked on top of each other.
• The wire cannot be wound around a pole.
• You cannot move previously placed denchuu.

Wire length:

• Pink: short
• White: medium
• Blue: long

Black Cubes

Cooperative game. After placing the denchuu, the active player must hang 1 cat (of their choice) on the wires for each black cube drawn from the bag.

Competitive game. The active player hands out all the black cubes they drew from the bag to one or more players of their choice. On their turn, those players must, after placing their denchuu, hang 1 cat (of their choice) on the wires for each black cube they received.

Each cat must be hooked by its paw or tail onto the wire of the color of the cube that was drawn last. Only one cat may hook onto each wire. If there is no free wire of the required color, the player keeps all unused black cubes for their next turn. A cat may touch only one wire. When hooking a cat onto a wire, you may not touch or hold the poles. Cats always land on their feet: if a cat falls, the player who was active at that moment must return it to the same wire.

3. Score the Result

After placing the denchuu, insert the last cube drawn from the bag in this turn into the level tracker.

Then insert into the level tracker 1 black cube for each cat that was hooked onto the wires this turn.

A level is complete once you have inserted 4 cubes into its column. Fill the levels from left to right (from level 1 to level 7).

In cooperative mode, the level tracker shows how many levels you have completed.

In competitive mode, the level tracker shows the current difficulty level.

Check Rule Compliance

If, on your turn, any components have shifted and are no longer positioned according to the rules, you must correct them so that the structure complies with the rules again.

Short Circuit. Wires must not touch the game board, each other, or the poles. Poles must also not touch each other.

Catastrophic Contact. Cats must not touch the game board, poles, or wires (other than the one they are hanging from).

Play Zone. Poles and wires must not extend beyond the game board. Cats, however, may do so.

End of Game

The game ends as soon as at least one denchuu falls. If, while placing a denchuu, a player drops it but does not bring down the rest of the structure, the game continues. In cooperative mode, note the level you managed to reach and try to beat your record in future games. In competitive mode, whoever dropped something loses. The remaining players are considered winners.

Solo Mode

The electrification of Nekojima depends on you alone. Try to complete as many levels as possible. In solo mode, the black torii symbol indicates the district opposite the district chosen with the second die. If the black torii symbol comes up on both dice, choose the district with the most denchuu. If there are several such districts, choose the one with the tallest structure among them. Place one of the poles in that district, and the second in the district opposite it.

Game Variants

Urban Jungle

In this variant, you cannot build structures of 3 poles or higher. After placing a pole on top of another, immediately place a nest token on it. No poles may be placed on this token. In this variant, you must be especially careful not to cause a short circuit from several wires touching.

Skyscrapers

In this variant, you may place only 2 poles directly on the game board in each district; all remaining poles must be stacked on top of poles already placed. Show off your dexterity and ingenuity to reach unprecedented heights.

In Pairs

This variant suits groups of 2, 4, 6, or 8 people. Split into pairs and sit so that your partner is diagonally across from you or directly opposite you. On your turn, partners place the denchuu together: each of them holds only one pole. If, in cooperative mode, you draw a black cube from the bag, or in competitive mode one is passed to you, you must hook a cat onto a wire during your pair's turn, following the normal rules. This variant tests how well you work as a team.

Expert Difficulty

The game follows the normal rules, but with increased difficulty. In this variant, you have no room for error, since a short circuit forgives no one. Any contact between components — wires, poles, the game board, and cats — is forbidden, both while placing a denchuu and afterward. In competitive mode, a single wrong move and the player is eliminated. The game continues until only one participant remains or the structure collapses. In cooperative mode, any mistake immediately ends the game. This variant tests your precision and composure.

Important! Any game variant can be combined with either cooperative or competitive mode. Solo mode is also compatible with any variant, but for the "In Pairs" variant, you will of course need a partner.

Credits

Authors: David Carmona, Karen Nguyen Artist: Gilles Warmoes Publisher: Unfriendly Games © 2023 Unfriendly Games. All rights reserved.

Special thanks: Many thanks to all the tabletop game festivals that warmly welcomed the Nekojima prototype. Thanks to @l_atelier_12 for creating the prototype, and to everyone in the tabletop games community for their kindness and advice. 3,737 people backed us on Kickstarter: our special thanks to them, since without them the game would never have seen the light of day!

Russian-language edition prepared by GaGa Games Translator: Diana Goncharik Proofreader: Irina Kotova Editor: Ivan Ionov Layout designer: Alisa Karshitskaya Project manager: Anton Petrov Editorial manager: Valeria Gorbacheva General management: Anton Skovorodin

Reprinting or publishing the rules, components, or illustrations without the rights holder's permission is prohibited. © OOO "GaGa Treyd", 2024 — rights holder for the Russian-language version of the game. All rights reserved.