Real-time

A Game of Cat & Mouth

A Game of Cat & Mouth is a two-player game in which players use a magnetic cat's paw to shoot balls at one another.

In more detail, to set up, you lay the box open on the table, place the "cat head" dividing screen upright in the center of the board, place the black "nose" ball in the center of the cat's face, set the three white "teeth" balls in the cat's mouth, divide the eight yellow balls between the two players, and lock the magnetic cat's paw into place on each side of the game board.

In a round, you use your cat's paw to shoot balls through the cat's mouth at your opponent, or you aim for the nose and teeth to knock them out. As soon as all the balls of one color — the one black ball, the three white balls, or the eight yellow balls — are on one side of the board, the round ends and the other player scores a point. Reset the board, and start shooting at one another once again!

Really Loud Librarians

In this game, your useless knowledge will win you useful points.

Think fast, not hard in this merciless word-shouting board game. Start by drawing a category card. Your team will then shout words from that category that begin with the letter on the race track. Move along the track every time you get a word right and race against your opponents to win. This is a simple game for versatile occasions. Play it as a two-player game for a casual night-in or bring it along as a party game for big groups.

—description from the publisher

The Key: Escape from Strongwall Prison

There's been a spectacular prison break, and three well-known criminals from previous The Key cases are on the run again! How could that happen?

The Key: Escape from Strongwall Prison is the trickiest case of The Key series because more than just instinct is required here. You have to combine all types of hints and clues to determine escape types, laundry carts, hiding places, and gang affiliations. The right numerical code or key puts the three dangerous gang bosses back behind bars. Attention: It is not necessarily the fastest who wins here, but the most efficient investigator genius!

—description from the publisher

The Key: Royal Star Casino Burglary

A severe series of burglaries shakes the Royal Star Casino. How did the three perpetrators get the sensitive data?

The Royal Star Casino has been shocked by a series of burglaries that have shaken the gambling world. Somehow three perpetrators accessed the sensitive data, but how? Players will start their investigations by combining all the clues about vault numbers, perpetrators, time of the crimes, and the codes entered. In the game cards for this case, the torn edges of currency straps must be examined, elevator movements must be put in the right order, and code tiles must be correctly put together. Witness statements about the activities on the evening of the crime add extra suspense until the correct number code appears that will put the burglars behind bars.

In The Key: Royal Star Casino Burglary, the players take up the investigative work and combine all the clues to safe numbers, perpetrators, times of the crime, and the codes entered. Only the correct number code will bring the burglar back under lock and key.

—description from the publisher

The Gig

In The Gig, players are members of a jazz group improvising their way through a song, vying for the spotlight, and trying to please the audience while working up mind-blowing solos!

The game takes place over six rounds, a.k.a. "songs". Each song, players count down, then roll and place dice in real time to gain symbols and create patterns. When one player has placed all four of their dice, they shout "Take it to the bridge!" and other players must stop re-rolling and place the remainder of their dice. After placing all of their dice, each player can add the shape that their dice formed to their instrument's unique solo board, each of which offers a different challenge and way of scoring. Players can use symbols gained via the song and their solo boards to quickly change their dice, keep them for endgame scoring, or spend them to buy audience cards, each of which represents a newly-gained fan who will give you another way of scoring points at game's end.

After the set list of six songs has been played, the player with the most points gained from their solo, audience cards, harmonies, and symbol sets and majorities wins.

The Gig includes a solo mode by Dávid Turczi.