Gamewright | Rat-a-tat Cat Game | Card Game | Ages 6+ | 2-6 Players | 20 Minutes Playing Time & | Zeus On The Loose Game | Card Game | Ages 8+ | 2-5 Players | 15 Minutes Playing Time

Product Information

What determines a bulky item? This is an item the exceeds a certain size/weight. Normally these are large items that are difficult to post. At the beginning of the game, the players decide how the game ends. They may play for an agreed length of time or number of rounds, after which the player with the fewest points wins the game. The game may also be played such that when a player exceeds a certain points total, either the game ends immediately and the winner for the fewest points total is declared or that player is eliminated and the game continues until one player remains and is declared the winner. Swap – Swap one of your cards for a card of another player. These cards are face down while swapping, so bluffing and strategy is important here. When playing with younger children, players leave their two outside cards face up, but leave their two inside cards face down. Play for a specific length of time. - This is a poor choice of ending condition. Players in the lead can effectively stall the game to keep their lead.

If you want to keep it simple though, go with a standard tally and count up how many games each player wins. Frequently Asked Questions Are there any Rat a Tat Cat rules that you can adjust for younger players? OBJECT OF RAT A TAT CAT: The object of Rat a Tat Cat is to be the player with the lowest score at the end of the game. NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 to 6 players MATERIALS: 28 Cat Cards, 17 Rat Cards, and 9 Power Cards TYPE OF GAME: Strategy Card Game AUDIENCE: 6+ Rat a Tat Cat requires the minimum set up, meaning you should be able to get plenty of rounds in when you play. If you’ve ever played a game like Poker, or already know the Tripoley rules then you’re already some way there to know about a key part of Rat a Tat Cat. If not, then you should be an expert in no time by reading on.

Rat-a-Tat Cat is a memory card game designed by Monty and Ann Stambler [1] and published by Gamewright. It won a Mensa Select award in 1996. The Washington Post described it as "like poker for kids". [2] Choose one player to be the dealer. The oldest player can be the scorekeeper. The scorekeeper will record each player's score at the end of each round of play.

If you’re playing with younger children, consider relaxing the rule over peeking at their cards. Young children may struggle with the memory element of the game. To begin the game, all players can look at their two outer cards of the four face down cards in front of them. If one, or both, of the cards are Power Cards, their powers do not work. They only work when drawn from the Draw Pile.

You must decide whether to use this card and forfeit the second turn OR discard this card and draw a second card.

Play to stay in the game and not reach 100 points. When a player reaches 100 points, he is out of the game. The last player in the game is the winner. Players may also choose to play to 200, or any other number of points. If a "Swap" card is drawn, the player may switch one of his or her cards with one of any other player's cards. However, the player is still not allowed to look at either card. This is the only action card whose activation is optional. I’m interested in how your games fit into those cases. Do you use more than one per game? I think I’m going to put dragon wood on our wish list! Rat a Tat Cat takes elements from arguably the most popular card game (Poker) and simplifies the idea so that kids can learn about card skills such as bluffing.As I was writing this article, I went through all of my photosin search of a photo of my kids playing Rat a Tat Cat. I cannot believe that this is the best I could find: At the end of his or her turn, the player may choose to end the round by saying "rat-a-tat-cat". All other players get one more turn, and then all players count up their points. Any revealed action cards at the end of the round are put into the discard pile and replaced with drawn number cards from the draw pile. For each round, there is a judge. The judge plays a caption card. The caption card might say something like “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!” or “I know I’m going to regret this” or “It seemed like a good idea at the time” or “That’s going to leave a mark” and each player selects her best photo for that round’s caption.