Cats and board games continue to be a perfect match, and Kyoto no Neko delivers both a theme and game mechanics that resonate well with me as a player. The game box itself and the key art is striking on the shelf, too. It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to go to Japan and the adorable environmental elements in the game, including blossoming cherry trees, drew me in completely. The only thing left to examine is whether the gameplay itself holds up, so read on to find out!
It’s an adventure game for 2-4 players that takes about 35 minutes to play. The best experience is with four players for maximum interaction and cat chaos.
Gameplay Overview:
At the beginning of the game, players get to choose one kitten, which has a unique set of skills and stamina that can impact their experience throughout their turn. On the player’s turn, they go through three phases: Movement, Action, and Missions.
During the Movement phase, a kitten can move as many spaces as their Stamina number, assessing one space at a time orthogonally. Some spaces trigger events like moving bikes on the road, reacting to encounters with skill checks, or even fighting other kittens. Any failed checks during this phase result in the kitten’s turn ending ,but the Skill they used to react improves.
During the Action phase, a kitten may carry out one action with the creature on the space they’re currently in, such as friendship checks, fighting checks, or hunting checks, depending on the nature of the creature. Any failed checks during this phase result in a corresponding consequence, but the Skill they used to take action with improves.
During the Missions phase, the kitten checks to see if they achieved one or more missions, which can entail actions like crossing the road, climbing a tree, hunting a bug, becoming friends with a butterfly, or defeating enemy kittens in fights. Various scenarios included in the game may change these basic missions. If one or more missions are achieved, the player moves the corresponding Medal from the mission card to their growth track on their kitten sheet, indicating the kitten’s aging and experience.
When a player adds the fifth Medal on their victory space in the growth track, players finish the current game round, and the game ends. The kitten with the most medals wins the game.
Game Experience:
Upon opening the game box, you’ll immediately notice the production quality of all of the components. Most importantly, the kittens in this game are actual figurines with adorable features, which makes the grid movements and adventure aspects come to life. Other components like the humans on bicycles and the cherry trees are standees, though you may need to use a bit of glue to keep them together if your cardboard punches weren’t as precise.
There are various scenarios that I can’t wait to try, such as befriending a Shiba, marking territory, and bringing prey home to your cat parents as a “present”. All included scenarios in the game add new components and gameplay interactions that promise replay value, which is always a major factor when choosing a game to add to your collection. It’s never fun to spend money on a game that can be mastered and played in just a few sessions.
Both the base game and the scenarios emphasize amusing, true-to-life cat interactions and behaviors, with a cute little twist; for example, I don’t know of cats being very interested in befriending butterflies. However, movement abilities that are locked based on agility make sense as I don’t know of all kittens being able to jump hedges or travel over roofs right out of the gate. I love the idea that no failure is truly a loss, and that there’s always something to be learned on an adventure or encounter.
Unfortunately, after playing the base game, I can imagine that the gameplay loop itself can become a bit bland without playing through a new scenario. As much as I praised the art and the components earlier, it can be a bit difficult to differentiate between the boards and the components due to the complexity of the design itself. However, like many games with modular boards and varied components, I’m certain that the confusion will subside with familiarity and time.
The only other complaint I had about this game was the level of housekeeping needed on the character sheet and understanding the concept of failed checks on a first playthrough. When teaching straight from the rulebook, it’s not easy to read all of the caveats and corresponding consequences, or know whether something happening is a reaction versus an action. The included dice for these skill checks also have a critical failure face, which has its own consequences separate from a standard failure. One consequence in particular, which physically moves the kitten from the space towards their home, includes movement constraints that can be hard to track.
Final Thoughts:
Kyoto no Neko is for gamers of all types looking for a fun adventure game with replay value and an immersive, true-to-life cat-themed experience. They’ll enjoy the option to pick a kitten that resonates with them best, whether it is based on their figurine aesthetic or their character sheet. As long as the players are patient about learning the rules, exceptions, and consequences of the various encounters in the game, they should have no issue with having fun on their first playthrough. However, anyone looking for a game whose basic non-scenario gameplay is engaging or those looking for a game that has minimal housekeeping may be disappointed.
Final Score: 4 Stars – Embark on an adventure as a kitten, grow up and achieve your objectives to be the most experienced cat in Kyoto.
Hits:
• Immersive production quality on components
• Scenarios and variants encourage replay value
• Amusing true-to-life cat interactions
Misses:
• Basic gameplay is a bit bland
• Difficult to differentiate boards and components
• Housekeeping and failed checks can be confusing
