Catchy!

About this board game

Catchy! is a two-player trick-taking tug-of-war game with a playing time of about 30 minutes. Players compete to lure Alex, a fickle cat, closer to their side by carefully choosing when to win tricks and when to let them go.

The game uses ordinary trick-taking rules: two players play one card each for every trick, and the second player must follow suit if possible. Alex is represented by a two-sided tile, with a red side and a blue side, and the result of each trick depends on both the cards played and the tile’s current color.

• If both players play odd-numbered cards, Alex flips to his other side.
• With the red side up, Alex moves one step toward the player who took the trick.
• With the blue side up, Alex moves one step toward the player who did not take the trick.

This creates Catchy!’s central twist: winning a trick is not always the best choice. Depending on Alex’s color, the player who loses the trick may actually bring him closer, so each card requires careful attention to the evolving situation.

A round ends when both hands are exhausted or when Alex moves into one player’s field. The player with Alex closer to them scores points, and rounds continue until one player reaches 7 points. With only 17 cards, Catchy! is compact and portable, yet it asks players to make the most of every hand.

Released in 2019, Catchy! combines a cute theme with concentrated strategic play. Its changing objective makes every trick a fresh decision: sometimes you should eagerly pursue the win, and sometimes you should avoid it.