Rat-a-Tat Cat is a memory game created by Gamewright, and it won a Mensa Select award in 1996. Rat-a-Tat Cat $ 12.99 A game of suspense, strategy, and anticipation. Get rid of the high cards (rats) and go for the low cards (cats). Rat-a-tat definition is - a rapid succession of knocking, tapping, or cracking sounds.
I’m not sure if memory games get more or less fun as I get older. On the one hand, the challenge increases so that I can compete on the same level as my nine year old daughter. On the other hand, I can be beaten consistently by my nine year old daughter, and I know that I will not get any better!
But the good people at Gamewright have helped bring joy to my creeping senility. Joy in the form of Rat-A-Tat Cat, a delightful and simple race-to-the-bottom card game. The game consists of 45 number cards and 9 power cards. Players place four cards face-down in front of them in a row and only look at the two outside cards (the two in the middle remain a mystery for the moment). The idea is to have the lowest hand value when someone shouts RAT-A-TAT CAT!!
Players may draw from the top of the deck or from the top of the discard pile. Tension mounts as players turn over cards from the deck and in order to replace the cards in front of them. On a player’s turn the player draws a card and either discards it or replaces one of his or her four cards on the table (the face-down cards). The low-numbered cards have pictures of cats and the high-numbered cards are festooned with rats. The illustrations are funny and whimsical, but they also serve as a visual reminder for younger players: keep the cats, get rid of the rats!! And ohh are there a lot of rats. Player’s take a risk when they replace the middle two mystery cards because those could be precious cats which could go to an opponent.
The power cards allow players to take special actions. The Peek card lets a player look at any one card on the table (usually one of the mystery middle cards). The Draw 2 card allows the player to draw a second card from the deck if the first one is not to the player’s taste. Finally, the Swap card lets the player exchange one card for an opponent’s card.
Memory plays a big role in the game, especially when playing the Swap card. It is easy to forget what you have in your hand when the cards start to shuffle about the table. It is oh so tempting to take a peek but rules are rules!
When a player believes he or she has the lowest hand, the player yells RAT-A-TAT CAT!! The other players have one more turn to draw and then the card values are counted. Players have to stay alert through the end of the game because the person who called an end to the round may not have the lowest hand, and the Swap card could come out at any time.
Yelling RAT-A-TAT CAT? Fun. Stealing victory with a Swap card at the end? MAJOR FUN!
I’m not sure if memory games get more or less fun as I get older. On the one hand, the challenge increases so that I can compete on the same level as my nine year old daughter. On the other hand, I can be beaten consistently by my nine year old daughter, and I know that I will not get any better!
But the good people at Gamewright have helped bring joy to my creeping senility. Joy in the form of Rat-A-Tat Cat, a delightful and simple race-to-the-bottom card game. The game consists of 45 number cards and 9 power cards. Players place four cards face-down in front of them in a row and only look at the two outside cards (the two in the middle remain a mystery for the moment). The idea is to have the lowest hand value when someone shouts RAT-A-TAT CAT!!
Players may draw from the top of the deck or from the top of the discard pile. Tension mounts as players turn over cards from the deck and in order to replace the cards in front of them. On a player’s turn the player draws a card and either discards it or replaces one of his or her four cards on the table (the face-down cards). The low-numbered cards have pictures of cats and the high-numbered cards are festooned with rats. The illustrations are funny and whimsical, but they also serve as a visual reminder for younger players: keep the cats, get rid of the rats!! And ohh are there a lot of rats. Player’s take a risk when they replace the middle two mystery cards because those could be precious cats which could go to an opponent.
The power cards allow players to take special actions. The Peek card lets a player look at any one card on the table (usually one of the mystery middle cards). The Draw 2 card allows the player to draw a second card from the deck if the first one is not to the player’s taste. Finally, the Swap card lets the player exchange one card for an opponent’s card.
Memory plays a big role in the game, especially when playing the Swap card. It is easy to forget what you have in your hand when the cards start to shuffle about the table. It is oh so tempting to take a peek but rules are rules!
When a player believes he or she has the lowest hand, the player yells RAT-A-TAT CAT!! The other players have one more turn to draw and then the card values are counted. Players have to stay alert through the end of the game because the person who called an end to the round may not have the lowest hand, and the Swap card could come out at any time.
Yelling RAT-A-TAT CAT? Fun. Stealing victory with a Swap card at the end? MAJOR FUN!
Rat-A-Tat Cat was designed by Monty and Ann Stambler with illustrations by Ronnie Shepherd. © 2003 by Gamewright.
William Bain, Games Taster
Disclaimer
This was the first real analog game I remember ever playing. I was probably around six, at a marathon-watching party with my parents. The kids of the host were playing some Gamewright card games on the floor, including Slamwich, that witch game, and Rat-A-Tat-Cat. From the moment I saw those cards on the carpet, I knew that gaming was for me. It was fated. Thus, this review may be colored by nostalgia.
Gameplay
In Rat-A-Tat-Cat, 2+ players are distributed four random face-down cards each. They do NOT get to see those cards. Each card has a numeric value 0-9 (or one of two or three special powers), and your goal is to have the lowest total value among your four cards at the end of the game.
On your turn you choose one: either take the top card of the discard pile and switch it for one of your cards, face down (remember, you don’t know the values of your cards, so it’s risky), or you draw the top card of the deck. If that card is a number, you may switch it with one of your 4 cards, or discard it. If that card has a special ability, you do that special ability and discard it.
There are three special abilities: Peek, Swap, and Draw 2. Peek allows you to look at any face down card (yours or your opponent’s). Swap allows you to swap your face down card for an opponent’s face down card (they don’t get to look at the card you gave them). Draw 2 allows you to take 2 extra turns.
Rat A Tat Cat Youtube
Online casino sports betting. One of the cool mechanics in this game is that it ends when any player calls “Rat-A-Tat-Cat,” so you have to believe you’re doing better than your opponents. When a player does that, his or her opponents each get one more turn and then it’s over.
Strategy
Most of the strategy in Rat-A-Tat-Cat revolves around memory, which is okay but not awesome. You really need to remember which of your cards are which values, and you really should remember which cards your opponent has as well.
However, there are a few interesting strategies and tactics in Rat-A-Tat-Cat. Like in Gin Rummy, when playing against a skilled opponent you should do your best to give your opponent as little information as possible. Sometimes this means passing up better cards in the discard pile, or replacing a 3 with a 0 instead of a 5 with a 0, because your opponents know what the 3 is.
Rat A Tat Cat Song
Another interesting strategy is bluffing, by replacing a 2 or a 1 with a higher card (although preferably not too much higher, like a 3), so they think you have a better score than you do.
Rat A Tat Cat Rules
Finally, it doesn’t come up when playing as a kid, but I now realized that if you get a 0 on one of the first draws, or start with one, it is probably a good idea to end the game right there and then.
Summary
Rat-A-Tat-Cat is a fun little game, mostly for kids, for 2-6 players. It’s short, and very flexible in where you can play it. If you have kids who like the game, you could carry it with you and use it to entertain them when their bored, almost anywhere. It was my first real game, and it’s a good introduction to semi-strategic gaming for children.
