The Basics:
- Ages 4+
- Players 2 – 5
- 10 minutes
Geek Skills:
- None (seriously, we couldn’t identify any)
Learning Curve:
- Child – Easy
- Adult – Easy
Theme & Narrative:
- Play as a cat who is collecting mice to eat for meals
Endorsements:
- Father Geek rejected!
- Child Geek approved! [sigh] Yes, again.
Overview
In Feed the Kitty, each player takes the role of a cat, and as a cat, you are looking for dinner in the form of mice (apparently, you do not have an owner to feed you). Each player starts with an equal number of mice that are doomed to be a meal.
Play is simple. On your turn, roll 2 dice and then perform 2 actions. Your two and only actions are determined by the symbols shown on the dice. Possibilities are limited to:
- Arrow – a mouse escapes your holding pen and decides to vacation in the the next player’s holding pen to your left
- Bowl – you eat one of your mice and remove it from the game
- Mouse – a new victim appears, and is added to your stock
- Sleeping Cat – you’re tired and take a catnap, so nothing happens (which, ironically, is exactly what you want to roll)
The game ends when only one player has mice in front of them, and is declared the winner.
Only one of the 12 dice sides puts a mouse into the game; five of the dice faces remove a mouse from the game. This means the game will inevitably end.
Final Word
The game publisher’s suggested age range for this game is 4 years old and up. I think the age range is more likely ages 2 to 4. Any kid older than 4 should never be playing this game for fun unless there truly is no other activity available to them. There simply is nothing to this game at all for older players. It’s like a roll-and-move game without the move part. Roll, repeat, roll, repeat.
There is absolutely zero decision making to be made and not even anything remotely fun to look at short of some little purple wooden mice. The best I could do to spice this up was to make little death sounds when the mice get eaten, but on second thought, that will probably traumatize my son. On third thought, this is a good thing, because then maybe he won’t ask me to drag out this game again.
I know I am doomed with a young boy to play bad games. The best I can hope for right now is to instill in him a sense of joy when playing any game with his father, regardless of how good or bad it is. One knows a game is bad when one chants to themselves repeatedly, “please roll a bowl, please roll a bowl….end it, please!”
Just a couple more years and we can play some more complex games!
<“…don’t look at my watch…don’t look at my watch…it must have been at least 15 minutes by now. Doh!! Only 3!…”>
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Allow me to provide a slightly different point-of-view.
This game is not so much flawed as it is dead simple, and I think that was the game designers objective. Not all games we play with our kids need to be challenging. There are times when a game should just be a simple activity that you get to share with your kids.
Feed the Kitty is the perfect game to play with your little geek when you just want to do something. Brian is 110% correct; don’t expect a lot from this game. It won’t deliver anything other than an enjoyable diversion for your kids and simple a time killer for the adults.
That being said, if you have young children who want to play games and you are looking for a Candy Land alternative, Feed the Kitty is the game for you. Just understand that the game makes all the choices for the players (like Candy Land) and is meant to bring you and your little geek together, not work your brain.
One very positive note about this game. Because it is simple, your little geeks can learn how to play in a very short time and then play the game by themselves. Sadly, we can’t always be free to play with our kids. It is nice to know there are games available to them that they can get out on the family game table and play on their own.
Wow! Mixed bag for a review? Sounds like the game is not at all meant for adults but kids could get a real blast out of it.
Based on your review and what Cyrus has said, I’m going to buy this game for my nephew but avoid getting a copy for my brother (47 years old this year!).
Great job, Father Geek! Appreciate the honest review! Too many sites make everything sound good. I have several games from Gamewright and some are better than others. Not every game can be a gem. Still, I think every game is worth at least playing once. 🙂
Very true, Sarah. Feed the Kitty might not be for everyone.
A very good game from Gamewright is Forbidden Island. This game comes highly recommended by Father Geek and others.
Yes, try all the games you can! Not all games are “great”.
I got to say that I don’t agree with the review. I found this game to be a good one. True, not much for there for an adult, but a great game for my kids (age 5 and 3). I highly recommend it for anyone with kids that age. The writer has a point, the game is not much for for adults, but as an adult, I have a blast with my “little geeks” playing this game!
If this is one of the first games a child plays, it can be useful to teach some things that we as adults take for granted. Namely: how to take turns (with turns passing to the left), how to roll dice (it requires more dexterity than you may think!) and how to share the pieces. I published my mathematical analysis of the game here. Basically, even though the game is pure chance, adults have an advantage because the last player has the best chance of winning (by a few percentage points). Although I always say that everyone wins as soon as the game ends!
You just broke the Geek-speed record with that mathematical analysis, Meng. You went from 0 to Geek in less than 0.01 seconds! Well done!
*bows*
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