BOOP by smirk & dagger games
a.k.a. (Kit-Kat Toe)
Summary:
BOOP is an abstract strategy game, like chess, but without the feeling of being engaged in a tense tactical battle. You are just trying to get your cats & kittens in a row on the bed.
A ‘boop’ is a gentle bounce that moves adjacent pieces a space away when placed on the bed.
Pieces on the edge can get booped off, but they don’t die. They just return to their player's supply to try again to find a cozy spot on the bed.
The challenge:
Getting 3 cats in a row is easier said than done because if you place them together, you will only boop them apart.
Solution: Creating clusters of kittens or cats is the best way to upgrade kittens to cats or win with a row of 3 cats because booping is blocked by consecutive pieces.
Getting a combo of kittens & cats together is easier since the smaller kittens don’t boop the larger cats. However, all 3 pieces are removed from the board & only the kittens are upgraded.
Teaching:
It’s quick to teach since there are only 2 types of pieces (kittens & cats) with the only difference in power is that kittens don’t move cats.
Simple version:
If playing with a youngster or new player, ending the game with the 1st 3 kittens in a row is an option. This helps to become familiar with the concept of booping.
Catch-up:
The 1st to upgrade 3 kittens to cats has a clear advantage, but ‘cat’ching up is still possible. It’s unlikely for a player to win with only 3 cats since they will just boop themselves apart, so this will give the 2nd player some time to upgrade their kittens to cats.
Pay attention: (common mistakes)
Mind the direction of a boop when placing the pieces. They are booped along the line they are positioned. If positioned horizontally, they boop to the side. If vertically, they boop up or down. If diagonally, along that diagonal. This is pretty simple in concept, but easy to make a mistake by booping a piece in the wrong direction.
Also, make sure all pieces are properly booped. When placing a cat in the middle of a bunch of pieces, it boops them all at once. So remember to boop each piece that needs booping.
If both players are paying attention to each other's moves, these minor infractions should be prevented or corrected during play.
Table-Top Testimony:
Surprisingly Satisfying
This game is the most satisfying to the touch game I’ve ever played!
The soft quilted comforter on the bed that serves as the game board is stitched with perfect plushness. It feels so peaceful placing kittys on that comfy bed, even if they are just booping each other around.
The game plays out not so much as a brutal battle, but as a stingy shoving match between 2 groups of felines. This game results with a feeling of accomplishment when won. When lost, you’ve just been better booped.
Always be boopin’