A World of Cheerful Cats and Kittens in Way Too Many Cats!

Feb 24, 2024 | Sessions | 0 comments

Arrange a shelter with cats and kittens up for adoption with the colorful felines found in Way Too Many Cats!

Every now and then, I actually get on track with playing new board game arrivals shortly after they arrive! After a lengthy shipping journey, I had just the solo game to bring to my table: Way Too Many Cats! With hundreds of cats to place up for adoption, the abstract challenge seemed pretty interesting. Would this game be today’s cat’s meow? Ha!

Game Overview

Game Name: Way Too Many Cats!
Publication Year:
2023
Designer:

Artists:
Jay Bell, Ilyse Hines, & M.G. Patiño
Publisher:
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game

Cats and kittens are added to a shelter, often with group bonuses or placement requirements to keep in mind. Toy tokens may help make some cats happier for more cuteness points, which can make for some interesting choices. In the end, cats and kittens end up everywhere!

Preparing to Fill a Shelter of Adoptable Cats and Kittens in Way Too Many Cats!
R

First Play

February 23, 2024

Complexity

2

Latest Play

February 23, 2024

Expansions

1

Setup Time

5 Minutes

Lifetime Plays

2

Play Time

20 Minutes

:

High Score

140

1

Game Area

36" x 20"

;

Low Score

70

Lots of Cats to Pick Up

I loved the idea of having tons of unique cats to choose from, although I discovered that there was a fair amount of reused or slightly tweaked artwork. No one stood out.

It was also interesting to split out all of the grey cats into an expansion. There wasn’t any reason not to begin play with them mixed in. I needed all of the cats!

The huge first player token was quite impressive, but I had to lay it flat on my table so it didn’t fall over.

Unique cat names and different combinations of icons and scoring were what made each cat different from the rest.

So Many Cats with Similar Artwork in Way Too Many Cats!

Choosing Cats & Toys

Gameplay is focused around choosing cards and tokens each round. The size of the token pile determines which cat cards may be chosen, ranging from 1 to 2 each round.

It created some fun choices around how quickly to fill up my shelter with cats, or focus on picking up bonus toys and various kittens for other scoring opportunities.

However, I often found that there was a very undesirable token pile for myself and the solo opponent.

In this example, the largest token pile would force me to take the rightmost cat card, and I wanted more choices.

Choices in Cards and Tokens and a Slight Piling Up Issue in Way Too Many Cats!

A Very Full Shelter

For my first plays, I used the solo mode all about getting a high score. I wanted to get an idea of the choices before going up against one of the included rival shelters!

This outing wasn’t particularly great, mainly because I forgot that each cat icon scores in a specific way.

But the kitten board was really frustrating. One type of kitten token never came out during the entire game, so I lost a ton of points for kittens not part of any sets.

The rules for creating a kitten habitat were a little murky to me, and I guess the benefit was less negative points.

A Whole Lot of Cats and Some Bad Luck in Way Too Many Cats!

Lots of Adoptable Cats

Once I had the scoring rules down, I had a much better time and nearly hit the highest scoring tier this time!

But I hesitated at the end. Unfortunately, this didn’t feel like I was working to find homes for cats, but simply arranging them to make a specific collection of cats.

Not the worst thing, yet this certainly leaned more into the abstract realm and broke away from a theme that looked like it was going to be so strong. Look at the cats!

Ultimately, I didn’t quite match up with this game’s target audience. I can see it being fun for others, though!

Figuring Out the Best Ways to Earn Points in Way Too Many Cats!

Finding the Lessons in Every New Solo Game

I’ve recently seen some topics talking about what it would take to play every game released each year, or otherwise talking about this idea of there being too many games to play them all. No surprise to me! Ha ha! I’ve been missing out on lots of games each year, but I’ve learned to play at my own pace and take something out of each experience.

Indeed, I’ll likely have a new series coming up soon about distilling my favorite games down to a single component each. It comes down to memorable experiences and emotions, which isn’t going to happen with every solo game.

Although this game didn’t work for me, I still don’t consider it a waste of my time or anything like that. I’m not going to play every game out there, much less love every single one that enters my collection. I liked the cheery cats and choices tied to tokens and cards. Very clever mechanic! I may simply have hit my quota on abstract games at this point.

That’s the beauty of this hobby, at least for me. Every game has something to offer, whether it turns out to be one I love or not. There are no right answers about what the best games are, either: Your choices are the right ones! In the end, I love writing about each game I play, knowing that the games that don’t work for me will still be enjoyed by others.

Way Too Many Tokens

In both of my plays, I ended up with giant piles of unused toy tokens. These are either placed on specific cats for scoring, or discarded to create a special kitten habitat.

In most cases, though, I just needed to pick up a few early on to make sure I could earn some bonus victory points.

Without a way to trade these in or convert them into anything else, toy tokens quickly became something I ignored. My choices came down to cat cards and kittens.

Since the game is designed for 1-6 players, I wonder if there could have been a player-dependent token count.

Finishing Each Play with a Stack of Unused Toy Tokens in Way Too Many Cats!

Many Ways to Play Solo

My plan was to move onto playing against the rival shelters, yet these initial plays told me all I needed to know about how the game wasn’t for me. That’s OK!

Different solo rival shelters offer various priorities and challenges, while the difficulty level may be adjusted.

I can see this one being a nice choice for someone who doesn’t mind a very abstract theme. It’s not a game for me, but as always, that means it might be perfect for you!

The inclusion of multiple ways to play solo is very nice, and covers a lot of different player preferences.

Other Ways to Adjust the Solo Mode Against a Rival Shelter in Way Too Many Cats!

Session Overview

Play Number: 1 & 2
Expansion: Way Too Many Gray Cats!
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Outcome: 70, 140 (1 Win & 1 Loss)

Another issue that got to me was final scoring, where I had to evaluate 16 individual cat cards and my kittens. Constantly looking at adjacent cards felt tedious, and final scoring took a noticeable amount of time. The cats are adorable, though! I had hoped I would enjoy the gameplay choices and mechanics more, yet it was still a good lesson and worth trying out the game for a couple of plays.

Too Many Scoring Rules to Keep in Mind During Gameplay in Way Too Many Cats!

%

1 Play

Affordability

Price & Value

4

Functionality

Challenges & Mechanics

6

Originality

Design & Theme

5

Quality

Components & Rules

7

Reusability

Achievement & Enjoyment

7

Variability

Distinctness & Randomness

4

+ Pros (Positives)

  • Choosing which token pile to take introduces some neat decisions tied into which cat cards are available.
  • Various solo modes are included to customize the experience and easily adjust the difficulty level during setup.
  • The cat artwork is very colorful and cheerful, as are the other components that have a very happy, bright palette.
  • After the first play or so, almost all of the iconography is clear, particularly with the helpful reference boards.
  • There are never rounds where nothing can be done, as the worst case is picking up a few negative victory points.
  • Many placement decisions about where to place cat cards aren’t that obvious, particularly during the final rounds.

– Cons (Negatives)

  • There are a lot of tokens to accommodate up to 6 players, and the toys can pile up with no way to use them.
  • Different scoring conditions for various icons makes the choices overly complex for a seemingly light game.
  • Gameplay is a lot more abstract than the theme might suggest, particularly with cats that don’t feel that unique.
  • Some of the rules aren’t as clear as they could be, particularly around kitten habitats and the final round options.

More Way Too Many Cats!

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Victory Conditions

Score 140+ Points

  • Overall Goal Progress 100% 100%

Goals and Milestones

R

Score at least 100 points.

R

Score at least 140 points.

Continue the Conversation

Have you had a chance to play the Way Too Many Cats! solo mode? Which rival shelter is your favorite to play against? I still had some fun throughout my plays, and hope that the game works well for those who like it! There are some clever decisions to make, and the smiling cats are wonderfully cheerful. You can’t go wrong with focusing on cuteness!

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