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‘And in the end the burgesses passed that remarkable law which is told of by traders in Hatheg and discussed by travellers in Nir; namely, that in Ulthar no man may kill a cat.’
The Cats of Ulthar Card Game is a quick 2 player card game that features a mixture of Push Your Luck, Take That and Pattern Building mechanics. Each player takes on the role of a Spellcaster, who must compete to be the first to surround themselves with a trio of magical cats and kill the moggy-mutilating Cotter and his Wife.
In H.P. Lovecraft’s chilling short story The Cats of Ulthar, an evil cotter (farmer) and his wife are renowned for trapping and killing cats. One day some wandering travellers (who, of course, worship strange and terrible gods) enter the town of Ulthar, and one of their cats goes missing. When the travellers leave, all the town's cats suddenly disappear, and a week later the cotter and his wife are found in their cottage; ‘two cleanly picked human skeletons on the earthen floor, and a number of singular beetles crawling in the shadowy corners.’
There can be no doubt that the tabletop gaming market is (over?)saturated with Cthulhu Mythos/Lovecraftian content at the moment, which makes the fact that Gilgamesh Games have managed to locate a wonderful original theme among these overfished waters all the more impressive. There are no token references to Cthulhu, Innsmouth or the Necronomicon here, but there is a whole litter of adorably savage and delightfully deranged kitties…
Gameplay
To begin, players sit opposite each other and place the ‘Cotter + Wife’ card in between them. The youngest and oldest player each get a corresponding Spellcaster card, the opening hands of 4 Player cards are dealt, and you’re ready to kill/conjure some cats!
The objective of the game is to be the first player to surround their Spellcaster card with 3 cats and then destroy the cotter and his wife with a Kill card. On a turn, players can either play a Cat card from their hand or attack the other player and their cats with a magical Spell card.
When playing a Cat card, the player must ensure that the colour and number of a cat symbol on the Cat card being played matches one of the cat symbols on their Spellcaster card. There are also Mystic Cats which can flout the placement rules. After a cat has been played, the nasty ol’ cotter and wife get a turn! The active player draws a card from the Cotter + Wife deck and immediately resolves it. These cards can be fortunate/unfortunate for either player, featuring such gorgeously dark occurrences as ‘the oldest player’s cat in slot 3 is made into a pie’ and ‘the youngest player’s cat in slot 1 is fed to pigs’.
If a player chooses to attack with a Spell card, such as the Disintegration Spell or Freezing Spell, and their opponent can’t deflect it with a Spell card of their own, then the poor cat in question is killed. However, by killing a cat, the attacking player summons the wrath of the Ancient Elder Gods and must draw a card from the corresponding deck and resolve its effect. These Elder God cards, like the Cotter + Wife cards, can cut both ways and often result in a huge switch-up in the flow of the game.
Play continues with alternating turns until a player successfully surrounds their spellcaster with cats and slams Kill card on the revolting cotter and his wife.
My Thoughts
The most striking thing about the game is the amazing artwork by Dave Youkovich. His illustrations are compelling, cute and creepy all at the same time, and are pretty unique when compared to the generic illustrations of many Lovecraft inspired games. The iconography on the cards is really clear too, although the lovely foil finish that came as a Kickstarter stretch goal did make the text on the cards hard to read when viewed from across a table. Cats of Ulthar draws a dollop of inspiration from the hugely popular Exploding Kittens; both are fast-playing, feline-flaying card games that feature a constant to-and-fro of attacks and card switching fun. However, Cats of Ulthar definitely does enough with its striking theme and deceptively simple mechanics to set itself apart.
There are plenty of cards and card combinations that pull the rug out from under you and drastically change the direction of the game. For example, you might have 3 cats surrounding your Spellcaster and be ready to cast the crucial Kill card, when your opponent uses a Spell to kill one of your cats, and THEN switches hands with you if the Zizzagor Ancient Elder God card is drawn (an IRL example!). However, key to the success of these frequent turnarounds is that it doesn't ever take too long to build up your array of 3 cats, and so while it can be startling that your plans have been thwarted, you can soon be back on track. This prevents the drastic swings of the game from ever becoming annoying or tiresome.
The game is for 2 players only, which is really its biggest gift and curse. A gift, because the 2-player count is essential in providing that focused tug-of-war duelling experience. A curse, because this may limit the appeal of the game to those who tend to play solo or in larger groups. Here in Cthulhu Towers, however, The Cats of Ulthar Card Game has been an instant hit. It is easy to teach, quick to play (15-20 minutes as stated on the box is accurate) and features a delightful mix of strategy (good hand management and a sense of timing are key) and luck (not getting cosmically shafted by the Ancient Elder Gods). The game is also highly portable, coming in a robust little box not much bigger than the size of the cards, which makes it ideal for wandering travellers such as myself. The Cats of Ulthar Card Game is a dynamic and concise experience that will appeal to anyone who is a fan of fast-playing card games, macabre horror themes, or has strong love or hate feelings about cats.
Cthulhu Reviews: 7 out of 8 tentacles 🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙
Designer: Trenton Payne
Publisher: Gilgamesh Games
Players: 2
Age: 13+
Play Time: 15-20 minutes
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