Surfin' Cats Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Game Setup
  • 1. Choose your cat
  • 2. Prep the day's waves
  • 3. Let an instructor guide you
  • 4. Resources and items
  • 5. Face the first wave
  • 6. Paddle, Fall, Flow
  • 7. Shuffle your starting decks, and... SURF'S UP!
• How to Play
  • Play a trick card
  • Ride the wave
  • Perform your trick
  • Resolve effects and item cards
  • Wipeout
• Completing Ability Cards
• Rewards
• Jellyfish
• Visiting the Market
• End of the Wave & End of the Game
• Tiebreaker
• Variants
  • Kittens
  • Purr
• Gameplay Reminder
  • Goal
  • Game setup
  • How to play
  • End of the game

Components

• 179 cards
• 45 starting cards
• 40 market cards
• 15 ability cards
• 19 wave/beach cards
• 10 reference cards
• 20 event cards
• 20 item cards
• 10 surf instructor cards
• 60 resource tokens
• 20 surfer tokens
• 1 game board
• 5 lifeguard promo cards

Game Setup

1. Choose your cat

Choose a cat: Maria, Rufo, Mandy, Chope, or Neo.

You'll need: 8 starting cards, 3 ability cards, 1 unique unlockable trick, 4 surfer tokens and 2 reference cards.

The starting trick decks consist of the following 8 cards, plus a unique initial trick.

2. Prep the day's waves

Choose a black flag wave and place it face down. Place a red flag wave card face down on top of it at random, then a yellow flag wave card face down at random, and finally a green flag wave card face up at random (showing the beach face).

Return the remaining wave cards to the box; they will not be used during the game.

3. Let an instructor guide you

Randomly distribute 2 surf instructors (personal objective) to each cat. Each cat chooses one of their surf instructors and returns the other one to the box face down.

4. Resources and items

Sort the resource tokens and item cards into piles by type. Then, give each cat the starting items listed on their reference card.

5. Face the first wave

Shuffle the events into a deck and reveal the top card. If it shows a red flag, reveal one more (up to 2 events per wave). This is repeated with each new wave, except for the black flag wave, which is played without events. In your first game, we recommend playing without events for a simpler experience.

6. Paddle, Fall, Flow

Place the surfer tokens at the start of the paddle meter and at the start of the fall meter. Finally, each cat places their last surfer tokens on spaces and 10 of the flow counter.

7. Shuffle your starting decks, and... SURF'S UP!

How to Play

Play through 4 wave cards. The cat with the most flow at the end of the game wins.

Each turn, cats take simultaneous turns until everyone has either ridden the wave or wiped out. Each turn consists of the following phases:

1. Ride the wave and collisions
2. Perform the trick
3. Resolve effects and items

Play a trick card

Simultaneously, each cat that hasn't ridden the wave or wiped out plays the top card from their trick deck. Cards are always resolved in the same order:

1. Ride the wave (if they ride the wave, the card is not revealed) and resolve collisions.
2. Perform your trick: Add the paddle and fall values to the meters, collect resources, and gain flow.
3. Resolve effects and item cards.

Continue playing by revealing the next trick card and repeating the resolution order until all cats have ridden the wave or wiped out. They must then visit the market (see Visiting the market).

Ride the wave

To ride the wave (i.e., stay), you must leave your card face down instead of revealing it. Then, return your fall token to the start and take your paddle token to the corresponding space on the beach. If your paddle value falls between two columns, you must place yourself in the one with the lower value. If there is already a cat there, place yourself behind them.

The other rewards are always obtained regardless of your position in the column. Finally, proceed to visit the market (see Visiting the market).

If two or more cats ride the wave at the same time, a collision may occur.

Example: The green cat (Mandy) has ridden the wave by placing a card face down. They have a paddle value of 6, and on the beach there are columns of 5 and 7, so, taking the lower value, they land in the 5 column where there is already another cat, so they move down to the second space, claiming the reward of 2 flow (4 flow -2 flow for being second) and a resource or item.

Gain the indicated flow and the corresponding reward (see Rewards). For the remainder of the wave, you cannot play any more trick cards, and you are not affected by the cards or items played by other cats who are still surfing.

Each column on the beach can hold more than one cat, but the order matters. The first cat will get the full flow reward from the wave, but the next cats will receive -2 flow to the total flow they would gain in that column (min. 1 flow).

Perform your trick

If you haven't ridden the wave, adjust your paddle, your fall and your flow on the meters as indicated by your trick.

If the card you played grants you resources, take them and place them on your ability card if you can. Immediately gain the benefits listed there: items, flow or a look at the next card of your deck (see Rewards).

When placing a resource, choose between the two options shown on the card, and gain the chosen item card.

When you complete a card, you receive additional benefits (see Completing ability cards).

If you still have incomplete card(s) and you obtain a resource that you cannot place, you lose it. If your fall token is 7 or higher, you wipe out.

Resolve effects and item cards

Discard the first card of the market deck and copy it.

Check if there are any card effects or abilities you want or need to activate.

Then, all of the effects are resolved simultaneously. Once resolved, trick cards remain in play until the end of the wave. Next, and simultaneously, each cat that did not ride the wave may use a single item, returning it to the reserve. If a trick card is discarded, its cat must subtract its printed paddle and fall values from the meters, but its effect is not canceled.

If the Gnarly card is discarded, the paddle token must move back 3 spaces, and the fall token also moves back 3 spaces. You still keep the resource gained from that card.

Wipeout

• If, when updating your token on the fall meter, it is equal to or greater than 7.
• If, when updating your token on the paddle meter, it exceeds the wave's maximum paddle. (In this case, you can avoid falling if you manage to reduce your paddle value enough by using an item before playing your next trick card).
• Collision: If multiple cats ride the wave in the same column at the same time, they must reveal the card they left face down. These cats are ordered on the beach according to the paddle value printed on their card, from highest to lowest, and the cats that reveal the same value collide and wipe out.

Regardless of the reason for the wipeout, return your paddle token and fall token to the start of their meters. Then, gain the reward indicated on the reference card When you wipe out on... You win some, you lose some! Finally, proceed to visit the market (see Visiting the market).

Completing Ability Cards

When you fill all the resource spaces on one of your ability cards, flip it over and gain its benefit:

• Remove Distraction from your trick deck the next time you visit the market. Additionally, for the rest of the game, cards from the market cost you 1 flow less.
• You receive your unique ability.
• Place your unique trick on top of your trick deck. If you have completed your 3 ability cards, keep any additional resources you gain, as they will grant you flow at the end of the game (see End of the wave & end of the game).

Rewards

• Take the corresponding item. You can only have one of each item at a time.
• Take 1 resource of your choice.
• Look at the next card in your deck; you may either keep it on top or put it at the bottom of your deck.
• Freestyle: Shuffle all your trick cards (including those in play) and reveal 4. Take all the resources and flow indicated on them, then shuffle them back into your trick deck.

Jellyfish

Jellyfish on the beach are active in games of 3 or fewer cats, or during the Warning Jellyfish! event.

Jellyfish act as a cat on the beach, so when riding the wave in a column with a jellyfish, you will get -2 to the total flow you would gain in that column (min. 1 flow).

Visiting the Market

Every time you ride the wave or wipe out, draw 5 cards from the market deck. Choose one of them and place it face down in front of you.

Put the rest face up in the market deck's discard pile (when the deck runs out, form a new one by shuffling the discard pile).

When each cat has a face down market card, they reveal it simultaneously and pay the cost of their card (indicated in the upper-right corner) by reducing their flow.

Then, each cat shuffles that card into their trick deck.

End of the Wave & End of the Game

After visiting the market, reveal the next wave and the next event. Let's go surfin' again!

Do not reveal an event nor visit the market after surfing the black flag wave; instead, the game ends, and you calculate the final score.

Each cat receives:

• 1 flow for each item they have.
• 1 flow for each resource they have (ignore those on incomplete ability cards).
• The flow shown on their surf instructor (the resources icons do not count as flow, resources when scoring your monitors).

The player with the most flow wins.

Tiebreaker

If two or more cats are tied, they each perform a freestyle (see Rewards), and whoever reveals the most resources wins.

The look-at-next-card icons do not count as resources when breaking ties.

If the tie persists, they continue performing freestyles until there is a single winner.

Variants

Kittens

Do not use events or surf instructors.

Purr

Surfin' Cats is all about having fun!

Play with more waves, play with two final waves, buy more cards every time you visit the market, create new surfers combining ability cards from different cats, make up your own rules... the game is yours, so get it flowing!

Gameplay Reminder

Goal

Surf four waves of increasing difficulty while successfully managing risk to become the cat with the most flow at the end of the game.

Game setup

1. Choose a cat and gather their components.
2. Prepare the wave deck.
3. Deal out the surf instructors.
4. Deal out starting items.
5. Reveal the event for the first wave.
6. Place the tokens at the start of the paddle and fall meters, and the last tokens showing 10 on the flow counter.
7. Let's go surfing!

How to play

Each turn, simultaneously, players play the top card of their deck.

Cards are always resolved in the same order:

1. Ride the wave and collisions
2. Perform the trick: add the value of the paddle and fall to the meter, obtain the indicated resources, and gain flow.
3. Resolve effects and item cards. After this, simultaneously, each player may play an item.

Play continues by revealing the next card and repeating the resolution order until all surfers:

• Have ridden the wave...
• Or wiped out into the water: You wipe out if your fall reaches 7 or more, if you exceed the wave's maximum paddle value (without being able to reduce it before the next turn), or if you collide with another player.

When you wipe out, remove your paddle and fall tokens and receive a reward based on the wave type.

Draw 5 cards from the market. Place the card you want to buy face down, then reveal it simultaneously with the other players. Pay its cost, add it to your deck, and shuffle.

End of the game

After surfing all four waves, gain 1 flow for each unused item and gain flow for your surf instructor.

Additionally, gain flow for each extra resource, look-at-next-card, or freestyle icon you have at the end of the game.

The cat with the most flow wins.

If there is a tie, the tied players perform freestyles comparing who gets the most resources until the tie is broken.