The
Game
Cupboard
Exploring the world of modern board games
2-4 players
40-60 Minutes
Age 14+
Designer: Nikita Sullivan
Publisher: Atikin Games
Artist: Nikita Sullivan
Atikin Games were kind enough to send us a prototype copy of their game for us to preview prior to it's launch on Kickstarter.
In Feline Felonies you take charge of a neighbourhood cat whose goal is to be the greatest thief around. You’ll steal toys and other items cats believe to be toys from around the board as well as from other cats. Get the most highly valued toys home to win and be crowned most felonious of the felines. - Description from the publisher.
On their turn, players roll a die to determine how many action points or ‘Purr’ points they have for the turn. These points determine how far the players can move on the board along with picking up and dropping off toys and even stealing toys from other cats!
Depending on the value of the dice roll, players also have special abilities that they can activate on their turn as well. For example rolling a 2 allows a player to move a toy closer to their cat at the cost of one purr point while a roll of 3 or 5 allows toys to be added to the neighbourhood. If a 1 is rolled however an opposing player can move your cat 1 space in any direction they like!
There is also the option to flip toys and this is because a toy on its regular side is worth one victory point but a toy that is flipped to its star side is worth 2.
If a player decides to try and steal from another player, both players must roll a die with the player with the highest value keeping the toy. If the steal successful, the toy can also be flipped to its more valuable side. If the players tie, the defender keeps the toy but it is flipped to its regular side if it was previously on its star side.
Some of the different spaces on the board also have different abilities, if a player lands on one of the 4 toy boxes on each corner of the map, they get to roll two dice and place the toy regular side up on the square indicated by values on the die. 4 of the spaces have dogs which gives your cat a boost in movement and 4 other spaces have other neighbourhood cats which allows players to ‘show off’ their held toy and flip it over to its star side for one purr point increasing its value.
Players need to return to their home and drop off the toy they are holding to be able to add it to their score pile for the end of the game.
The last toy to be added to the area is the catnip which has a regular value of 2 and a star value of 3. Once this, along with all the other toys have been successfully stashed away the players, the game is over with the values of the toys added up and the winner being declared
So what did we think of Feline Felonies?
Firstly, we were very kindly sent a prototype copy of Feline Felonies so the depicted components may change in the final production copies.
We enjoyed our playthroughs of Feline Felonies and think it makes a perfect game for families & children. The rules which are straightforward and super easy to pick up.
The additions of the special actions and roll offs for stealing other players toys are a nice addition to the core roll and move mechanics and add interesting additional strategy to the game.
We have only had the opportunity to play at a 2-player count due to current Covid restrictions as we are a 2 person household. Due to this our games haven’t had very much player interaction so far, though I can imagine this would increase with 4 players making the pvp strategy really come to life.
The game will be available in mint tin format making it a perfect candidate to pop into your pocket or tuck into a bag when you are on the go!
We love the innovative way that the board has been made, it is made up of 6 cards which are attached together with a couple of magnets so that it all packs down into the compact tin.
The art and components in the game are all super cute, we especially love the little resin cat pieces and the toys.
We love the fact that Nikita, the designer of the game, will be producing some of the game components themselves which gives a feeling that the game is really a labour of love.
Due to the size requirements of getting the whole game in a tin and the handmade player pieces, the box states an age range of 14+ but we thought it was possible this could be suitable for ages 8-10+.
As well as Feline Felonies there is also a dog themed variation called Canine Capers and the Kickstarter campaign will have not only the two games available separately in mint tin format but also a pledge which includes both games and the Animal Alliance which combines both games together.
Check out the Kickstarter which is now live at this link.
