Rats in Top Hats

The grand feast for the nest is tonight! A group of fancy rats are sent out into town to scavenge for the ingredients that are needed to make the feast a success. However, a cat and a ratcatcher are looking to catch the rats. Each rat has a special ability that can help ensure victory. With a little luck and some skill, the rats will find what they need in town, all the while wearing dapper hats, of course!

Players, as rats, collect Food cards to place in their buffets to complete Entrees given to them at the start of the game. To collect Food cards, players roll a die and move into different locations, such as a bakery or a butcher shop. There are five different types of food: Bread, Fruit, Meat, Vegetable, and Cheese. The different locations offer these types of Food. For example, when a rat enters the Cheese Shop, he or she draws a card from the Cheese deck. Or, when a rat enters the Pastry Shop, he or she draws a card from either the Bread deck OR the Fruit deck.

Then, the rats add cards to their buffets from their hands, but only one at a time. After that, the player switches into the role of the cat and/or ratcatcher. He or she rolls the Enemy die and moves the cat and/or ratcatcher accordingly. When the cat enters the same tile as a rat, he or she must discard a card in hand. When the ratcatcher enters the same tile as a rat, he or she must lose a card from his or her buffet. So, players can use the cat and ratcatcher to keep other rats in check if a player is getting too far ahead.

The game moves to a final turn when a player has ten Food cards in his or her buffet OR when any Food deck runs out of cards. Then, the player with the most points, when adding up all of his or her Entrees and Food cards, wins the game.