Catastrophe always starts with a “CAT”

Cats are cute in so many different ways. Their fur is so pleasing to touch. Their rumbly purrs can be comforting to hear sometimes. They are choke full of cute characteristics that make humans want to take care of them. However, most of the time, they consider themselves as High Majesty, that humans have to serve them. Hence, they can be wild and unpredictable. They can easily cause a series of catastrophic events if they want to. Are you bold enough to punish them ? Probably not. 

That is not the story in CATastrophe – A game of 9 lives. In this game, each player will take a character as a cat, to survive multiple mayhems, and catastrophic events. The player is eliminated by either (1) losing all 9 lives or (2) meet the Grim Reapurr – the Grim Reaper’s cat. He is as powerful as his owner, and all he does is take the Cat character out of the game. The game will end when all but one player has been eliminated. The remaining player will be crowned the COOLEST CAT (or DOG) in the block. Hooray!

Power cat cards

There are a total of three phases in each turn. Players have to perform all the phases in order during their turn. 

1. The Claw Phase:
   – In this phase, players can play as many cards and / or Power Cards as they want to. However, players can only play a maximum of three Power Cards in front of them.
   – This is the main phase for sabotaging, hurting other characters or helping your own character. After the player is done with this phase, they will proceed to the next phase.
2. The Paw Phase:
   – Players have the opportunity to replenish their hand in this phase. They will draw 3 cards from the Main deck. There is a restriction for the max hand size of 7 cards. At any time if players have more than 7 cards, they will have to discard until they have only 7.
3. The CATastrophe phase:
   – The INFAMOUS phase has arrived. In this phase, players will take the top card from the CATastrophe deck, and follow the instructions on the card. It can be either a Grim Reapurr card, or a CATastrophic event card.
   – The event card lets all the players compete against each other in a mini-game. It varies from dice dueling, mewing game, wild challenge and so on. There will be a reward for the winner of the game.
   – The Grim Reapurr card, on the other hand, posts a threat to all the players. These cards usually make the Grim Reapurr move up one space above the life track. If any player is below, or on the same level with him, their game is over. 

The Grim Reapurr

Even though the CATastrophe Phase is the most anticipated phase, it is not the only chaotic phase in this game. Players can also cause multiple chaos in the Claw Phase as well. There are four different types of cards in the main deck: 

• Attack: active players will attack another player, to make them lose 1 life. The attacked player can defend themselves by rolling a die that has value equal to or higher than the attack value. They can also use appropriate Reaction cards as well. 
• Curiosity: this type of card also attacks another to lose 1 life as well. However, unlike the attack card, Curiosity cards directly inflict damage on another player, without letting defend. Unless, they can use the react cards to counter it. 
• Reaction Cards: this is the main method for  attacked players to counter others. By playing the Reaction Cards, players can stop, redirect or even steal the played cards. Multiple reaction cards can be played, which can easily turn into a mayhem 
• Ally cards: not only do these cards help the active players, they are also capable of hurting other players as well. It is never enough to hurt other cats! 

Different types of cards in the Main Deck

In addition to the Main Deck cards, there is also a deck of Power Cat cards. These are unique cards, equipped with special powers and abilities. Although they are one-time use cards, they offer various abilities: from helping your character or, again, hurting other cats. 

 

CATastrophe – A game of 9 lives is a fast-paced Indie card game that packs with tons of perpetual actions for 2 – 6 players. With so many ways to deal and receive damage, the game gives players palpitations in every single round. On top of that, the collection of mini-game blows a very playful but unique wind to this game. Players can actually compete with others to prove why they are worth the COOLEST cat title. This is a good addition for any casual playing groups or family game nights, especially for cat lovers. What is a better way to watch the catastrophe than being the one who caused it yourselves? 

 

The game will be available on Kickstarter until Fri, June 4 2021 10:59 PM CDT. Here is the link to the campaign.