Category: Small Games

Cat Sudoku

| OTSG Staff

Cat Sudoku is a roll-and-write sudoku game for 1 to 6 players. In the game, players take turns to roll four dice and all players simultaneously write the numbers on their sudoku puzzle papers. Similar to traditional Sudoku, players should avoid putting the same number into the same row or column in their puzzle, or they will get minus points! The game ends when players fill in all the spaces in the puzzle. The player with the highest points wins the game.

Cat Sudoku comes with four different sudoku puzzles (themed with four seasons of Kyoto) at three different difficulty levels, so that you can enjoy this game with a variety of gaming groups.

Game Mechanics:

  • Dice Rolling
  • Solo / Solitaire Game

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 6 Players
  • 15 – 20 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.00

Cat Packs

| OTSG Staff

Cat Packs is a fast-paced card game mixed with tile-laying in which you’ll cleverly put together the cat gang of your most whimsical dreams! The game includes over one hundred unique illustrated cats by artist Liselotte Eriksson.

On each turn, players draft a new cat from the alley and use resources to play out cards from their hand to add to their cat pack. All cats have different requirements and benefits, but not all cats fit well together, so players must carefully consider their positions. The goal of the game is to earn the most “catshine”, which players receive by collecting sets of five cat types, surrounding certain cards with other cards, matching corners of four cards together in a catshine symbol, or winning the power struggle taking place after each round!

Game Mechanics:

  • Hand Management
  • Open Drafting
  • Tile Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 30 – 45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.00

Cat Lady

| OTSG Staff

In Cat Lady, players are cat ladies, part of an elite group of people including Marie Antoinette and Ernest Hemingway. During the game, you and your fellow cat ladies will draft cards three at a time, collecting toys, food, catnip, costumes, and of course lovable cats. But watch out! Make sure you have enough food for all of your feline friends or your hungry cats will subtract points from your score. The player with the highest total victory points wins!

Game Mechanics:

  • Open Drafting
  • Set Collection

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 15 – 30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.38

Cat Ass Trophy

| OTSG Staff

How low can you go? In Cat Ass Trophy, you want to score as few points as possible, but to do that you need to collect the right cards in hand.

The deck consists of 56 cards, with cards numbered 1-8 in seven colors. Each player starts with nine cards in hand, and five, seven or nine cards start face-up on the table depending on the number of players. On a turn, you either knock on the table to pass or you swap one card in hand for one card on the table. After the second knock, whether from the same player or a different one, all players other than the second knocker have one final chance to swap, after which they reveal and score their hands. If you have five or more cards of the same color or number in hand, then those cards score 0 points. For each other number you have, no matter how many copies, you score points equal to that card’s value. Thus, having one to four 7s in hand is worth 7 points.

If, however, you manage to collect both five cards of a color and five cards of a number in hand (with one card fitting in both sets), then you can declare “Cat Ass Trophy!” and end the round immediately, with everyone else scoring points as usual.

After a number of rounds equal to the number of players, whoever has the lowest score wins!

Game Mechanics:

  • Open Drafting
  • Set Collection

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • ~20 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.23

Bacon

| OTSG Staff

Bacon is a fixed-partnerships climbing game for 4 or 6 players that is all about going out early as a team. The only team that will score is the team that goes out first, but their score will depend on when the rest of the team goes out. If your team does NOT go out first, your job is simple: make the other team go out as late as possible.

The rules also include the Applewood variant for 3 to 6 players: this is the no-partnerships version of Bacon. There are no teams; it’s every person for themselves. Your score will depend solely on the position you go out so go out early.

Game Specifications:

  • 3 – 6 Players
  • 30 – 90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.71

Cartographers Heroes

| OTSG Staff

The expedition to the Western Lands is the kind of honor that comes once in a lifetime for a royal cartographer. But these are dangerous times. War ravages the land, and you are sure to encounter Dragul forces determined to thwart Queen Gimnax’s plans for western expansion.

Fortunately, brave heroes have risen to the defense of Nalos. Chart their deeds alongside the queen’s edicts and secure your place in history.

Cartographers Heroes is the sequel to the critically acclaimed map-drawing game Cartographers. It includes all-new map sheets, scoring cards, explore cards, and ambush cards with unique abilities.

Cartographers Heroes can be played on its own or mixed with components from the original game for a greater variety of gameplay possibilities.

Game Mechanics:

  • Paper-and-Pencil
  • Pattern Building
  • Solo / Solitaire Game
  • Take That
  • Variable Set-up

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 100 Players
  • 30 – 45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.00

Cartographers

| OTSG Staff

Queen Gimnax has ordered the reclamation of the northern lands. As a cartographer in her service, you are sent to map this territory, claiming it for the Kingdom of Nalos. Through official edicts, the queen announces which lands she prizes most, and you will increase your reputation by meeting her demands. But you are not alone in this wilderness. The Dragul contest your claims with their outposts, so you must draw your lines carefully to reduce their influence. Reclaim the greatest share of the queen’s desired lands and you will be declared the greatest cartographer in the kingdom.

In Cartographers: A Roll Player Tale, players compete to earn the most reputation stars by the time four seasons have passed. Each season, players draw on their map sheets and earn reputation by carrying out the queen’s edicts before the season is over. The player with the most reputation stars at the end of winter wins!

Game Mechanics:

  • Paper-and-Pencil
  • Pattern Building
  • Solo / Solitaire Game
  • Take That
  • Variable Set-up

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 100 Players
  • 30 – 45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.87

Cartaventura: Lhasa

| OTSG Staff

The search for the explorer and spiritualist Alexandra David-Neel will be a long and arduous journey. Travel through Ceylon and India and across the Himalayas to the forbidden city of Lhasa in Tibet. Up to six players can take part in this collaborative adventure game, deciding together how to proceed at every juncture. Card by card, the team learns how the adventure unfolds, exploring locations, and moving toward one of five possible endings of the game. Let’s go on an adventure! Follow a multitude of different paths and explore various far-off lands. Only one path leads you to Alexandra David-Neel!

You play Lhasa by flipping over the story cards, building out the map, and making decisions that will impact the ending you receive! The game is simple to play and will lead you through the game mechanics as you move through the story. The game contains five different endings to explore, depending on your decisions.

Game Mechanics:

  • Cooperative Game
  • Campaign Game
  • Solo / Solitaire Game
  • Storytelling

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 6 Players
  • ~45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.11

Caper Cards: Bells Hells

| OTSG Staff

In this cooperative card game, assemble the Bells Hells adventuring party of Critical Role Campaign 3 to pull off a daring heist. You’ll aim to play your Crew cards strategically as a team, hoping to exceed the value of the treasure you’re pursuing without going over 21. Each Crew card bears gorgeous art of the teammate, the card’s numerical value, and an ability, such as Chetney’s ability to be played as either a 6 or a 9. Play is quick, with gameplay lasting around 20 minutes, and you can play it with up to 4 players, including a solo mode.

The game comes in a compact box containing 24 Crew Cards (3 of each member of Bells Hells), 1 Risk Card, 10 unique Reward Cards, and a Player 1 Marker Card. With these cards, players can work together to plan and execute their heist.

Game Mechanics:

  •  Cooperative Game

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 15 – 30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.50

Campy Creatures

| OTSG Staff

Players are mad scientists in need of precious mortals for future experiments. Rather than getting your hands dirty, your army of campy creatures awaits to do your bidding. Capture the most valuable mortals over the course of three nights to win. But be warned — the mortals won’t go down without a fight.

Campy Creatures is a ghoulish game of bluffing, deduction, and set collection for 2-5 players. Players begin each round with the same hand of creatures. Their goal is to capture valuable mortals by outguessing their opponents with the creatures they play. Each player has perfect information at the start, so knowing what a person might do in a particular situation is key.

Game Mechanics:

  • Auction / Bidding
  • Hand Management
  • Set Collection
  • Simultaneous Action Selection

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • 20 – 30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.54