Cat Box

About this board game

Cat Box is a card game for 2–5 players that takes about 30 minutes to play. Players build a shared display from cards divided into quadrants, each showing either an empty box or one of five cats in a box.

On your turn, play a card onto the shared display, overlapping a previous card by one or two quadrants. The growing arrangement creates a changing pattern of visible cats and empty boxes, while each player works toward a hidden objective.

Every player receives a secret identity. If you are a cat, you want to have as many of your cats showing at the end of the game as possible, as well as creating the largest group of them possible. If you are the chihuahua, you are looking for empty boxes and groups containing exactly three cats.

• Play cards to a shared, overlapping display.
• Choose cards from your own hand or from any opponent.
• Use different sides depending on who owns the card being played.
• Work toward a secret identity’s distinct goal.

A distinctive rule adds another layer of uncertainty: when playing one of your own cards, you use one side, but when playing another player’s card, you use the other side, which is a mirror image. This makes card ownership an important part of every move and keeps the display difficult to predict.

The advanced game adds five single-use tokens for each player. These tokens have different effects, giving experienced players additional options while they pursue their hidden objectives. Released in 2015, Cat Box combines spatial card placement, shared information, and secret roles in a compact competition over the final arrangement.