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"Hang on Mama, I'm on my way!" Toto the black cat said, skittering towards the lopsided tower looming before him.
Having been told that his mother left the world of the living to become a star in the sky, Toto and the rest of his feline friends bound unwaveringly for the top of the tower in the hopes to meet her again.
In Cat and the Tower, you will work together with other players to help Toto the cat on his way up a perilous tower to reach the stars, where he believes his mother is waiting for him.
Each turn will have you choosing options from the cards available to either build the tower ever higher, or testing how steady you can keep your hand by performing dexterity challenges that will help Toto climb up higher to his destination.
It is up to you and the other players to build the tower yourself, which will require a constant balancing act of mismatched walls and moving Feline Friends.
Depending on the luck of the draw, you may be stuck with options forcing you to build with walls of extremely varying height that can send the entire tower toppling over if you are not careful.
Toto’s Feline Friends will also come along for the adventure, and their presence can both help and hinder you. Adjusting their location will let you rebalance the tower, but they may also end up in inconvenient spots that get in the way of you placing walls to build new floors.
When Toto sees his friends making it to the floor above him, it gives him the bravery needed to climb up higher and higher himself.
The game may start off seemingly easy, but you will soon find that it is unsurprising to see the tower fall apart once you start building from the 5th floor and beyond.
Build up the tower, place the Feline Friends and get Toto to reach his goal to win the game!
If you get Toto to the 10th floor, you clear the first stage and get to see more of Toto’s story as he journeys to reunite with his mother.
The challenge doesn’t end there, however. If Toto wants to reach the stars, he will have to reach heights that seem almost impossible, but with your help he can surely do it!
Cat and the Tower has cute cats, engaging gameplay, and a storyline that will tear at your heartstrings and leave you giving it your all to help Toto complete his adventure.
—description from the publisher
- Really cool dexterity game
- Sad but awesome theme
- Unbalanced tower construction adds challenge
- Play through story missions
- The tower will fall down
- Helping a cat climb a tower to get to heaven to see its mom.
- Series of story missions
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- dexterity — It's a 'really, really cool dexterity game'.
- Mission-based — Players 'have to play through like a series of story missions'.
- tower building — Players are 'kind of building this tower'.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- We're going to show you some cool things to check out on the floor.
- They literally brought a fully functional tattoo booth with professional tattoo artists.
- We love Crokinol.
- This game is so satisfying
- This is the new game that pits giant Godzilla monsters against each other in big epic battles.
- This is coming out at Gen Con, but we got a hands-on preview of this really, really cool dexterity game with kind of a sad theme.
- which is sad, but the game is awesome.
- It's really kind of a board that can be used in a lot of different ways.
- This is a brand new game about making board games with this awesome component in the middle that actually kind of spins to unlock new placement spots for your forklifts.
- They licensed all of your favorite board games
- So, that is everything we have to show you on the floor here at Origins.
References (from this video)
- Elegant and appealing production with a book-like box presentation and chunky, varied cats.
- Strong thematic integration; storybook feel with a sad but charming backstory about Toto.
- Cooperative mode provides collaborative fun and a different social dynamic from Rhino Hero.
- Solid candidate for families and party/gaming nights; accessible but with enough depth for adults.
- Nice balance between strategy (tile/layout decisions) and luck (card draws and cat availability).
- Competitive variant adds pace and direct competition while retaining the core tower mechanic.
- Not strictly a kids' game; complexity and tension may be off-putting for very young players.
- Reaching level 10 can be challenging due to card availability and goal constraints.
- Some players may prefer Rhino Hero’s Uno-like feel; this does not replace that itch for everyone.
- The theming includes a surprisingly melancholic backstory which may not resonate with all players.
- Array
- A narrative tower-climbing journey to the stars with a cat protagonist
- Story-driven with a somber backstory about Toto and a quest to find a mother in the stars
- Rhino Hero
- Rhino Hero: Super Rhino Hero
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card drafting — Players select from a small set of action cards to guide their move each turn.
- card drafting / action selection — Players select from a small set of action cards to guide their move each turn.
- Cat placement / pawns — Cats are placed on floors as the tower rises; in competitive play each participant has their own cat and goals.
- Cooperative Game — The base mode is cooperative, with a separate competitive variant that introduces personal goals and rival actions.
- Cooperative play / competitive variant — The base mode is cooperative, with a separate competitive variant that introduces personal goals and rival actions.
- Goal cards / scoring objectives — Goal cards drive scoring and determine when Toto or a player’s cat reaches a target level.
- Stacking and Balancing — The tower can topple, creating a tangible balance and risk element that affects everyone.
- tile placement — Players add walls and floors to build a shared tower as they act on their chosen cards.
- Tower stability / risk — The tower can topple, creating a tangible balance and risk element that affects everyone.
- Variable player components / private objectives — In competitive play players use their own cat and private goal cards, increasing personal strategy and risk assessment.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- This is a cooperative game, although there is a competitive variant.
- The box looks like a book. It is weirdly sad. This is Toto climbing to find his mom who has gone to the stars.
- the cats with their scarves are just like really cute.
- I could definitely see us bringing this right alongside it [Rhino Hero].
- the rule book says if the tower topples, however, you have to start again at zero.
- level 24 is kind of the super winniest win that you can get as in competitive as well.
- there's a lot to like here.
References (from this video)
- excellent dexterity experience
- cooperative and thematic
- strong components
- table space required
- Adventure and narrative through cooperative play
- Tower-based dexterity game
- Alite sad theme with a strong story feel
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative play — players work together to achieve goals
- dexterity — players manipulate a tower or tower-like components in a cooperative task
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Dungeons of Doria is an amazing game.
- This is amazing. This is like one of my most favorite dexterity games at the moment.
- A Wild Venture is my personal highlight of spiel this year.
- Wingspan, of course, this is clearly Srank.
- Distilled will always be an S probably.