Cat-a-comb Review

And finally, the last game from my ThunderGryph Soda Pop Fridge Bundle – Cat-a-comb. An abstract strategy game about stacking cats? Sounds interesting! But does the cute concept translate into good gameplay? Keep reading to find out!

In Cat-a-comb, players are attempting to stack their cat cubes in specific configurations in order to win the game. To setup for the game, shuffle the 9 Region tiles and place them randomly in the starting shape (shown in the rulebook). Each player receives 6 cat cubes in their chosen color, either black or white. One player will then place the 3 Neutral cats (brown cubes) into the play area, each on Region tiles of different colors. The other player will be the starting player, and the game is ready to begin! Pictured below is the setup for the game.

On your turn, you will perform one action – either Place a Cat or Move Cats. If you choose to Place a Cat, take one cube from your supply and place it into the play area, following the placement restrictions. You must place your Cat on top of a Neutral Cat or an opponent’s Cat, creating a stack of exactly 2 cubes. You can never stack your Cat on another of your own Cats. If you instead choose to Move Cats, you will first select a stack of cubes to move. Pick up the stack and place the Cats, one by one, onto adjacent Region tiles. (The bottom-most Cat onto a Region tile adjacent to where the stack originated, the next Cat onto a Region adjacent to where you placed the bottom Cat, etc.). Again, you can never stack 2 Cats of the same color in direct contact with each other.

The game continues as such, with players taking turns Placing or Moving Cats, until one player has created a winning formation. If, at the end of your turn, you have Cats on top of stacks on all Region tiles of the same color, you win! If, at the end of your turn, you have Cats on top of 3 or more stacks with exactly 3 Cat cubes each, you win!

One thing that I really like about Cat-a-comb is that it is so easy to teach and it’s really fast to play. You could probably teach it in under 30 seconds! I know the game says a 15-minute playtime, but all of my plays have been under 5 minutes. So this one works really well when you’ve only got a tiny bit of time, but you still want to play something. Another neat thing is that it has such a small footprint. That helps not only with physical table presence, but it also elevates the strategy of the game too. With only so many spaces to play, and not being able to have 2 Cats of the same color ever directly touching, you really have to be deliberate with your placements and movements. Your strategy needs to be kind of adaptable, but you can’t really just fly by the seat of your pants if you want to have a chance at success.

Along these lines, I really like that you are allowed to move your opponents Cats. It adds another layer to your strategy because you have to be mindful of how you’re manipulating all of the cubes, not just your own. I know in my last play with Travis, he inadvertently moved one of my cubes to place it in the exact position I needed to play the winning move. The gameplay itself is really simple, but it has more strategy than you might originally think. It’s definitely not going to burn your brain, but it has a good amount of crunch to keep you on your toes.

Components. As with the others, the Soda Can is excellent. The Region tiles are sturdy and thick cardboard, and the cubes are all wooden and feel good in hand. The artwork is minimal, but cute. Nice production quality again to round out the Fridge Bundle!

When it comes to my final thoughts, I’m conflicted a bit. I like Cat-a-comb well enough, but it’s definitely not my favorite out of the Soda Pop games. Not a knock on the game at all, just a personal preference I guess. If you want a fairly light strategy game for a cat-lover, I would recommend Cat-a-comb. Or if you want something fast, but not mindless in terms of strategy, it is a good little game. I would just probably play the other games from the bundle first. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one an 8 / 12.