Animals: Cats

In Cottage Garden, you compete in the art of gardening and are working two beds with a variety of flowers. Whenever no unplanted box is visible on a bed, you have completed it, then you count your points and replace it with a fresh, unplanted bed. You gain points for all of the visible plant pots and planting bells.

In more detail, players select various polyomino tiles of flower beds from a central market grid, depending on the location of the "gardener", then place them on one of their two personal garden boards. Each board has several garden elements that are worth points when not planted over, and these are scored on two different tracks as soon as a garden has been finished. Crossing over a line on each track awards bonus tokens that can fill in empty spaces or give you a better selection of the flower bed tiles. Whenever a garden is finished, you receive a new one to complete. After the gardener completes her fifth lap around the market, the game enters its last round. The player with the most points from their completed gardens at the end of the game wins.

Who does not know the colloquial expression "Buying the cat in the sack" ("Buying a pig in a poke")? In this game you can experience the meaning of this expression yourself. A group of cats wants new owners, but these lucky people do not know if they get some sweet pussycats or one or more mean old cats. Sometimes only a dog is helpful, who chases the unwanted cats away. But then too many dogs are worse, too, because they only think about chasing themselves away. A clever auction game with many interesting decisions.

Idea of the game: With their mice, the players attempt to grab the famous cat in the sack. In the sack, there are both good and bad cats. Each player can also put a dog or rabbit into the sack instead of a cat, allowing players to bluff one another. At game end, all positive cats and mice count plus points, but negative cats count minus points.

Game description from the publisher:

It's night, and you — a clever cat living on rooftops high above the busy city — have a mission. Your lofty goal is simple: Become the town's "Top Cat". Stealthily moving from roof to roof, stake out as many shelters as you can, connecting with your cat buddies and collecting tribute fish from your fellow felines. With fish, you get valuable cans; collect the most cans and you become Top Cat!

To win Hot Tin Roof, you've got to navigate the right paths, avoid the dangers of the city streets below, and dodge the fishy demands of your hungry rivals. Every game involves different paths to victory, so you better be nimble and quick, curious and catty...and, oh, so clever! After all, just being furry won't make you the best cat on a hot tin roof.