Description

NB: Winner of the 2026 Golden Box Award for Best Game Design.

You are a would‑be master thief cat, striving to become the greatest cat burglar by stealing gems from safes or from your fellow thieves.

Rules

Setup:

1. Each player receives a set of 6 Cat Cards.

2. Place the number of safe cards specified in the preparation sheet (6 for 3 players, 8 for 4, 5 for 5, or 6 for 6 players) in the center.

3. Put all the gems into the bag and mix them.

4. Place the pebble and the exchange card in the center.

5. Place a screen in front of each player.

Game flow

1. Prepare for the round

The person who has most recently seen a cat becomes the starting player for the first round. In subsequent rounds, the person to the left of the previous round’s starting player becomes the starting player.

The starting player will make the following preparations:

Flip over the top card of the safe card deck and place it face up next to the deck.

– Take the number of gems written on that card from the bag at random and place them in the center.

2. Place the card face down.

Each player chooses one numbered card from their own cat cards without letting other players know, and places it face down in front of them. It’s okay to declare false numbers, negotiate, make promises, and engage in bargaining at this point!

3. Steal the jewels one by one.

Once everyone has placed their cards face down, each player, starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise, will perform the following steps one by one.

i. Turn your numbered card face up. (Only for the player performing the procedure)

ii. Say “Meow!” and steal the number of jewels on your card from the safe, placing them on the paw print of your cat card. Steal the jewels in

order from the highest-scoring ones. If there are not enough jewels in the safe, fill the remaining space with pebbles until the number of jewels matches the number on the card.

iii. If you have added a card with the same number as a card that another player has already revealed, you will steal all the jewels and pebbles from their card, saying “Grrr”. The person who is robbed gets nothing.

4. Collect the cards and gems.

Each player hides the gems and pebbles they have collected from their cat cards behind their screens. The cat cards used in this round are returned to your hand. This means you can play the same numbered cat card in the next round.

If there are any gems left over in the safe, those gems will be removed from the game

Return to 1. Prepare for the round.

End of Game

The game ends when all your safe cards are used.

Look at the score sheet on your player screen and count the total points for the gems and pebbles.

The person with the highest total score is the greatest thief cat of the century.

Exchange Cards

Each exchange card is treated as equivalent to 5 pebbles.

3-6 players

Ages 6+

15 minutes play time

Card Sizes

54 56x87mm cards