Cat Blues: The Big Gig

About this board game

Cat Blues: The Big Gig is a card game for 2–4 players that takes about 45 minutes to play. Bid for blues bands, assemble quartets of cool cat musicians, and compete for the most mouse tips.

Use cards from your hand to bid for the bands you want, then meld matching musicians into quartets. Each card value features 15 charming cats illustrated by Alisha Giroux, so every quartet can showcase a distinct combination of performers.

Jokers can fill in for missing musicians, helping you complete a quartet when your hand is short of the right cat. However, these erratic entertainers may damage your reputation, making timing and risk management important parts of your booking strategy.

Each session unfolds across three sets rather than a single game. This structure lets strategies develop over time as players compete for new Quartet Tokens and valuable Big Tips while seeking to book the widest variety of bands across the connected games.

• Bid with cards to improve your hand and secure desirable bands.
• Meld quartets of cat musicians, using Jokers when necessary.
• Replenish your hand up to four cards after melding quartets.
• Compete across three sets for Quartet Tokens, Big Tips, and mouse tips.

The included Serenading Sevens expansion adds new opportunities for lucrative bidding and powerful melding. Cat Blues: The Big Gig is an evolved edition of Reiner Knizia’s classic Cat Blues, also known as Katzenjammer Blues, with its additions and changes designed, developed, tested, and approved by Knizia.