/pic7718365.jpg)
Game Info
Year
2023
Collection
Your Tier
Loading…
Mechanic profile
Not enough video data yet
Vibe profile
Not enough video data yet
Description
Cat's Gambit is an 18-card solo chess puzzle.
In the game, the player places cards representing chess pieces in a 4x4 grid. The goal is to play all the cards and avoid checkmate by the four cat-kens (cat kraken). Each turn, the player plays a card until an endgame condition is met. If the queen is checked twice during the game, the game ends immediately. Otherwise, at the end of the game, points are totaled to determine the player's royal ranking within the glorious kingdom of cat-mermaids.
Featured Videos
Playthrough
Cat's Gambit 👑 | Solo Board Game PaRTy!!! 🎉
Ask a Rules Question
All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 2
This page: 2
Sentiment:
pos 2 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–2 of 2
Video hPF1VekLDdA
Tabletop Tokki Discussion at 12:12 sentiment: positive
video_pk 40107 · mention_pk 296615
Click to watch at 12:12 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- very concise solo puzzle
- familiar mechanics for chess fans
Cons
- solo-focused; may not appeal to multi-player groups
Thematic elements
- puzzle solving through chess-mue mechanics
- solo puzzle with chess-like pieces
- puzzle-focused, solitary play
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- solo puzzle with chess-mate-style movement — familiar chess-move mechanics applied to a puzzle grid
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I'm in love with this game.
- I would love to play and explore more of these in the future.
- This is a really cool implementation of taking known game mechanics and sprucing them up with new cards and new abilities.
- I definitely felt like Origin Story overstayed its welcome and could have been more concise.
- Dice Pool Party is a roll and write game, but not like any other ones I've ever seen.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video xYiBZJZe0xk
Tabletop Tokki Playthrough at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 35916 · mention_pk 328044
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Concise solo puzzle with quick setup and play time
- Fuses chess-like mechanics into an approachable abstract puzzle
- Queen Umbra mini expansion adds a fresh twist without overwhelming new rules
- Adorable art by Holly Chu, plus portable, travel-friendly packaging
Cons
- Learning curve around placement interactions can be nontrivial for newcomers
- Possible abrupt game end when no legal placements remain
- Some players may prefer more explicit rule explanations upfront
Thematic elements
- puzzle-abstract with feline motif and check/checkmate dynamics
- A chess-inspired abstract puzzle played on a 4x4 grid with a central queen and pawns, featuring a cat-themed mechanic and optional expansion elements.
- instructional solo playthrough with guided setup and commentary
Comparison games
- Chess
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Captainkin check/checkmate system — Captainkin cards threaten the central queen; if aligned orthogonally or diagonally, they flip to the queen's 'check' side and are removed for a check or checkmate (loss) unless resolved.
- Card placement relative to cat's paw — Each turn you draw the top card and place it in relation to the cat paw; after placement, the cat paw moves to that card.
- Cat paw movement — The cat paw shifts position to the most recently placed card, influencing future placement options.
- Compound Scoring — End scoring tallies points for cat pins on the board, points shown by Aurelia and Umbra, and bonuses for Aurelia occupying central spaces; penalties apply for unplaced cards except the last.
- End conditions and placement rules — The game ends by checkmate or when a player cannot place a card (or fills the grid prior to final card). End scoring considers pins, queen values, and center control.
- End Game Bonuses — The game ends by checkmate or when a player cannot place a card (or fills the grid prior to final card). End scoring considers pins, queen values, and center control.
- Pawn cards with unique abilities — Optional pawn cards can be played to the 4x4 grid, each granting a one-time ability when added, at the cost of grid space.
- Queen Umbra expansion interactions — With Queen Umbra, Umbra sits on the last placed card's cat pin, starting on -2; if checked by bishops/rooks/knight, she flips to -5 and is removed. If another cat pin appears before removal, she flips back to -2 and rests on the new card.
- Scoring framework — End scoring tallies points for cat pins on the board, points shown by Aurelia and Umbra, and bonuses for Aurelia occupying central spaces; penalties apply for unplaced cards except the last.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I love concise little solo puzzles and the fact that it plays off of traditional chess mechanics makes learning the game super easy if you're familiar with how traditional chess pieces move.
- It's got a quick setup. It's got a quick play time, but there are a lot of crunchy puzzly decisions.
- What an inventive way to change the whole nature of the game by just adding a single card.
- absolutely adorable art from Holly Chu.
- This one is really knocking it out of the park for me as a game that I can bring anywhere, show anyone, play quickly, introduce to people who haven't played solo games.
- If you're looking for a little solo puzzle game, I would highly recommend checking out Cat Gambit for yourself.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–2 of 2