🐱 Kyoto no Neko
⭐10/10
Publisher: Matagot (2024)
Players: 2–4 (community best: 4)
Difficulty: Light
Mechanics: Dice Rolling, Grid Movement, Scenario/Campaign, Variable Set-up
Categories: Adventure, Animals, Exploration
🎯 A Japanese “Cat Simulator” on your table
Picture this: you’re a tiny ball of fur in the heart of Japan. You wake up on a rooftop, stretch your little paws, and set off to conquer streets full of secrets. You chase butterflies, climb trees, fight rivals for territory, and bolt from an angry dog.
The game is called Kyoto no Neko, but anyone who’s set foot in Tokyo’s Yanaka district will feel right at home. Those narrow passages, rooftops, and cats everywhere... The atmosphere is so thick you can almost smell the matcha.
🛡️ A mechanic that forgives (and rewards!)
The rules are simple: spend stamina points to move and reveal paw tokens. White means actions, red means skill checks (Agility, Friendship, Hunting, Fighting). Roll a die, add your stats, and...
Here’s where the magic happens: If you fail a check, your kitten gets stronger! Total failure? The stat goes up twice. The game literally teaches us that failure is just a step toward being better. Like a cat – you always land on your feet.
What’s more, the game accelerates on its own. When someone earns medals, everyone gets movement and stat bonuses. Nobody gets left behind!
🃏 What a turn looks like
Your kitten wakes up with a stamina pool – that’s how many steps you can take. You move across rooftops, alleys, and hedges. When you land on a paw token, you flip it:
🐾 White – an action to perform. Climbing, hunting, befriending.
🔴 Red – forced check! A bike hurtles toward you, a dog snarls, a rival picks a fight. Fail? Turn ends, but your kitten gets stronger.
And here’s what makes this game so charming: even though you failed, hooray – you just leveled up a skill! Your turn ends, but your kitten walks away stronger. Despite losing – you win. That’s what makes every failed dice roll bring a smile instead of frustration. And that’s genuinely adorable.
After each check you see if you’ve completed a mission. If so – you earn a medal. Simple? Simple. But when you flip a red paw with 1 agility and pray for a six – simple it is not. 🎲
🏆 Scenarios: The heart of the cat adventure
The real fun begins after the tutorial. The base game teaches mechanics, but scenarios add the soul:
Shiba: An adorable puppy you want to bribe (before someone steals him!).
Mailboxes: Hiding surprises inside.
Territory: Marking your turf with your own scent is deeply satisfying.
8 scenarios + mix-and-match components = massive replayability. This is where Kyoto no Neko goes from “pretty game” to “game you keep coming back to.”
🏆 How to win (real tips)
Don’t be afraid to lose early on. The first 2–3 turns are an investment – failed checks pump your stats. Playing it safe too early means falling behind.
Read the board. Climbing a tree lets you peek at 3 face-down tokens. That’s your recon.
Aim for scenario objectives. Shiba, mailboxes, territory – these give extra medals and force interaction.
Steal friends. Walk into a rival’s home and take their cat-friend. Brutal but effective.
With 3 players, watch the “laughing third.” While two chase each other, the third quietly collects medals.
👥 Player count scaling
2 players: Pure efficiency race. Fast, direct, less interaction.
3 players: “Two fight, third steals” dynamic. Interesting but can frustrate.
4 players (BGG best): Controlled chaos. Every move matters, interaction maxed out. This is where the game shines.
📝 First vs second edition
Differences are minimal. Trees in the first edition have power 3 and 4, in the second only 4. Cyclists – grandma and grandpa – travel different distances in the first edition, the same in the second. No need to rebuy.
🌿 Why it’s a must-have
Production: Squishy rubber cat figures, 3D trees, Fleury’s illustrations like postcards from a dream trip.
Zero frustration: Losing tastes surprisingly good here.
Replayability: 8 scenarios + mix-and-match.
Language-independent: Zero in-game text – play in any language.
💀 What might “scratch” you
Cat mischief: Rubber figures are... grippy. Move a cat, shift half the board. Modular board has no locks.
Flying cyclists: Cardboard standees don’t hold their bases. Grandparent cyclists do somersaults.
Lightness of being: Weight 1.68/5 doesn’t lie. If you want heavy Euro – wrong address. This is smiles-and-coffee, not bloody tournaments.
Base game without scenarios: Meeple Mountain nails it – the base can feel bland. Real fun starts from scenario 2.
☕ Verdict: 10/10 🐱🌸
I know, I wrote about production flaws, but Kyoto no Neko has something rare – a soul. It makes failure exciting. We played three evenings in a row and every time the call went out: “One more!”
BGG gives it a 6.6 – and I get why. It’s not for everyone. But if you love cats, Japan, and games that simply bring joy – buy it blind. For me, it’s a solid 10.
