Cat in The Box Deluxe Edition Board Game - Engaging Trick Taking Game with a Quantum Twist for Teens and Adults - Perfect for 2 to 4 Players, 30 Minute Play Time, Ages 10+

This is a fun card game that is quick and easy to play so it can be a party game, yet has enough complexity that, like backgammon, paying attention to strategy does make a difference. It is set up to have 2 to 5 players. The game mechanics worked well for us with four players and we think it will work well for the other numbers of players.The unique aspect to this card game is that although there are four suits as in games for typical playing card decks, the Cat in the Box game cards only have numbers with no suit shown. The players declare a suit as they play a card and place a marker on a board to show that card as played so it is used only once in each game. Scoring involves both tricks taken and how markers are placed on the board.We looked at a YouTube video to learn how to play because we couldn’t get our heads around the rule book instructions on declaring a suit when playing a card. However AFTER we had played two hands, the rule book seemed straightforward.

This is one of the most strange card games out there. It is hard to explain. I will try but you will have to play it to understand. This is a trump card playing game. Red is always trump. There are four colors. However, in your hand your cards have numbers but none have colors. You get to decide what color they are but the trick is you can't use the same number twice for the same color. So if you have two twelves and use one of those for blue that means you have to use the other twelve for green, red, or yellow. If some else beat you to it and all the 12s are used for the rest of the colors then the 12 you have in your hand is now useless.

My family enjoys playing this game. Its quick to learn. Can play upto 5 players. Its very small and easy to store away. Doesn't take up much space and its easy to travel with as well

Love this game!

My new favorite trick taking game with trump enabled. Very easy to learn, but the manual sucks. Read the fine print in manual, as it contains vital info. I wish they'd pay me to rewrite the manual. It's the only flaw (and a big one honestly).

This is a a really great trick taking game. I don't often buy trick taking games. I find a deck of cards is typically sufficient to scratch that itch (pun intended), and I'm able to save on shelf space.However, with Cat in the Box, the twist of not knowing your suit at the start of your hand makes this one distinct and worthwhile hands down. The games ends up being a combination of a trick taking and hand management game. In a round, you are trying to play high cards and take tricks, as well as trying not to cause a paradox. A paradox is basically having cards left but unable to play them. These dual objectives require you to pay attention to what others are doing to keep your options for your next move open. This creates some fun interaction and chatter. Where as, deck based trick taking games can be quiet and predictable once you've deduced your opponents cards. In Cat in the Box, you cannot know until it's played.The big downside is that the rule book doesn't explain how to play very well. We had a difficult time figuring out the rules. If it simply tried to explain the core mechanics up front e.g."If you've played Hearts, you've played a version of Cat in the Box. A few similarities* Red is trump.* You can't lead trump suit until it's broken.* If you break suit, you are saying I don't have any, and can't play that suit for the rest of the hand."Instead the rule book tried to explain the core game play and how to use the tokens/player card to track your hand at the same time. It's not a big deal, just watch a video on how to play first.

If you’ve ever played Rook or Hearts then this game will be easy for you to learn. It’s a different take on those games, but very fun and goes by quickly.

This is probably one of my favorite games, but I won't go into why here. (Just look at the BGG page for a review of the actual game.) There were no problems with shipping, card and component quality were at or above standard, and the copy we got was genuine. I'm happy to rate this so highly.