Cat Rescue Review

If you are a fan of cooperative games, then you may want to pick up a copy of Cat Rescue. This light card game, for ages 8 and up, fits in your pocket and can easily be brought along anywhere. The game transforms into a 4x4 grid of cards, or a Cat Shelter where kittens wait to be adopted by families and delivered to their new homes. Since Cat Rescue is a cooperative game for 1-4 players, everyone must work together to rescue cats. Players maneuver cats around the shelter and group the same color cats in rows of 3 or more to get them adopted. This is not as easy as it sounds, and thus begins the challenge and fun.

To play, start with 4 cat cards in the middle of the shelter (see above pic). The shelter is a 4x4 grid, created with 4 tokens, and holds 16 cards total. Each player starts with 2 cat cards in front of them, representing their foster home. The player who has held a cat last starts first and may play from their foster home or pick a cat from the street (the deck with the remaining cards). The player adds a card to the shelter, and simultaneously pushes the row or column of kittens that the card is being added to the left/right or up/down. 

There is also the Delivery Card, which players use on every turn. The card is used for 3 functions 1) it is placed on the kitten that was just added to the shelter and indicates that the kitten may not be moved on the next player's turn 2) it designates which direction the kitten was just moved as the next player may not move in the same direction, and 3) it depicts where the next player may select a cat from. If the cat just chosen was from the player's foster home, the next player must select a cat from the street. If the cat just chosen was from the street, then the next player has the option of selecting a cat from the street or their foster home. 

Once three cats of the same color are connected in a row or column, the middle cat card is flipped over, and is ready to be adopted. The adopted cat must then be "pushed" out of the shelter in order to be officially adopted and delivered to its new home. The more cats adopted, the higher the score is earned. A a score of 25+ points and you are the CAT WHISPERER, 30+ points and you are the CAT'S MEOW! However, a score 10+ points and you are only aiding and abetting the stray cats with the title of CAT BURGLAR.

A game with infinite outcomes, fantastic art and design, Cat Rescue is fun to play, easily addicting, and comes with some unique mechanics including the designated shelter (4x4 grid) and the functions of a cat delivery card. In this way, players act as true agents in the game, in control of the outcome, working together to rescue cats and ensure that the maximum number of cats are adopted!