Stack O' Cats
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The FroGames Card
You draw a meeple from a bag. It's a sitting cat, or a lying one, or maybe the one with its tail up. You have to place it on the tower without making it collapse. Someone holds their breath, someone laughs even before you let go.
WHAT IT IS ABOUT
Wooden cats that do what they want
Stack O' Cats is a dexterity game designed by Magen Bain and illustrated by Sarah 'Freedz' Conlon. Released in 2025 via Kickstarter by NTSD Gaming, it brings to the table 40 wooden feline meeples — 32 unique shapes — and a simple challenge: stack them without the tower collapsing. No complicated rules, just unstable physics and cats that never cooperate.
In turn, you draw a cat from the Bag o' Cats, observe it (sitting? lying? with a crooked tail?) and place it somewhere on the stack. Then you score points based on the risk you took. The winner is whoever accumulates the most points, or the least — the game offers multiple variants to change style every game. There's also a solo mode and a cooperative one: you against gravity, or everyone against chaos.
What they say abroad
A party game that also works with young children, without ever boring adults. The shapes of the cats make each game different.
— FroGames
"Stack O' Cats is designed to make you laugh while you try to convince a wooden cat to stay still. You won't succeed, but you'll laugh."
— NTSD Gaming
Stack O' Cats
The game includes an official mode where you stack to beat your personal best or complete scoring challenges. It works well as a zen dexterity exercise, but it loses all the social interaction — the laughs, comments, bets on the collapse — that are the true heart of the game at the table.
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on rules, international reviews, and play sessionsWhat's in the bag
The feline protagonists
32 unique cats
Each meeple has a different shape: sitting, lying down, with a straight, crooked, or curled tail. None behave like the others.
Bag o' Cats
The bag from which you draw blindly. You never know if you're about to pull out a stable cat or a four-legged disaster.
Sturdy base
The pedestal from which the tower starts. Built not to wobble: if the pile collapses, it's your fault, not the table's.
Scoring variants
Different scoring modes to change approach: more points, fewer points, competitive, cooperative. Same game, different challenges.
Come si gioca
Video dimostrativo di gameplay.
🎲How to playThe rules in four steps▼
How to play
The flow of each turn
Each player draws a cat, stacks it, and earns points. When the tower collapses, the player who caused it to fall loses points or is eliminated (depending on the variant).
Reach into the Bag o' Cats and pull out a random meeple. You don't choose; you take what comes. Observe it carefully: is it sitting, lying down, does it have a straight or crooked tail?
Place the cat somewhere on the tower. You can put it on top, on the side, wedged between other cats. The important thing is that it doesn't touch the base: it must rest on other meeples.
The harder the position, the more points you get (depends on the variant chosen at the start of the game). Some setups reward risk, others stability. The manual offers several scoring tables.
If the tower holds, the turn passes to the next player. If it collapses, whoever caused the disaster loses points (or is eliminated). Rebuild and start again.
⏱️Your first gameThe chronicle, moment by moment▼
A game in five moments
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
First drawing round
Everyone draws their first cat. Someone finds a flat meeple and places it flat on the base, someone else pulls out a cat with its tail up and immediately curses. The tower begins to take shape, but for now it's stable.
The pile gets higher
After 4-5 turns, the tower is as tall as a hand. Someone starts mentally betting on who will make it collapse. The most difficult cats come out one after another and the balance becomes precarious.
The first thrill
A hand trembles, a cat sways, the tower leans by 10 degrees. Everyone holds their breath. Then it stabilizes. A relieved applause, and the turn passes to the next player—who now has double the pressure.
The collapse (or the miracle)
Someone places a sitting cat on a crooked tail. Physics says no. The tower collapses with the sound of rolling wood. Everyone laughs, even those who lost points. Or—a miracle—the tower holds and the table explodes into a "how?!"
Final count
Points are tallied (or remaining cats are counted, depending on the variant). The player who risked the most without collapsing everything wins. Someone immediately asks: "Shall we rebuild?".
🐸What to know beforehandThree honest things, from friends▼
What to know beforehand
Three honest things
Drawing a flat cat or one with its tail up changes everything. No skill can compensate for an unlucky draw 3 turns in a row. If you're looking for tactical control, this isn't the game.
After 15-20 minutes of play, the dynamic is clear: draw, stack, hope. Perfect as a filler or icebreaker, less so as the main course of an evening. Variants help, but the structure remains the same.
The game is genuinely playable from 3 years old: immediate rules, no text, manageable pieces. But it also means that an adult seeking depth will get bored after the second round. It's a true family game, not a disguised gateway game.
🏆Victory and defeatWhat the ending rewards▼
How it ends
How to win and how to lose
It depends on the variant chosen at the start of the game. The game offers setups for maximum score, minimum score, elimination, or cooperative mode.
Victory
- Point mode: accumulate more points than others without collapsing the tower
- Reverse mode: accumulate fewer points (by stacking easy cats) without collapsing
- Cooperative mode: the group reaches a target score without collapsing the tower X times
Elimination or defeat
- You collapse the tower: you lose points (or are eliminated, in some variants)
- Cooperative mode: the group collapses the tower too many times before reaching the target
- End of the bag: you run out of drawable cats and don't have enough points to win
Stack O' Cats is not a deep game. It's an honest party game that works with anyone, from 3 to 99 years old, and always ends with a photo.
💬Frequently asked questionsQuick answers before checkout▼
Frequently asked questions
Stack O' Cats FAQ
What mechanics does Stack O' Cats use?
Stacking and Balancing with a push-your-luck element: you decide how much to risk when placing the cat. It also includes official cooperative and solo modes.
Does it really work for 3-year-olds or is that just a slogan?
It really does work. The rules are immediate (draw, stack), the pieces are safe and manageable, there's no text. A 3-year-old can play without help. Of course, they'll understand the scoring strategy from age 6+ upwards.
How long does a game last?
It depends on the number of players and the variant. With 2 players, it finishes in 7-10 minutes, with 6 players it can reach 30-40 minutes if you play multiple rounds. Perfect as a quick filler or icebreaker.
Are all 32 cats really different?
Yes, each meeple has a unique shape: sitting, lying down, with straight, crooked, curled tails. The game includes 40 in total (32 unique + some duplicates). This ensures that every tower is different and unpredictable.
Is it available in English?
This edition is in English, but the game has no text on the components: only wooden meeples and a base. The rulebook is in English, but the rules are so simple that you only need to read them once or find a video tutorial.
The people behind the game
Who invented it, who designed it, who publishes it — and what else they've done.
Stack O' Cats is a dexterity party game for 1-6 players, ages 3+, lasting 7-42 minutes. Designed by Magen Bain and published by NTSD Gaming, the game features 40 wooden cat meeples (32 unique shapes) to stack without collapsing the tower. The main mechanic is stacking and balancing with a push-your-luck element: the harder the cat's position, the more points you earn. The game includes multiple scoring variants (maximum, minimum, cooperative, solo) to change the approach for each game. The sturdy base ensures stability, leaving the chaos entirely in the players' hands. Perfect as a quick filler or icebreaker for families and parties. Available on FroGames.it.
Stack O' Cats
Frequently Asked Questions
The answers you're looking for, no beating around the bush.
📸Do the images match the actual product?
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📦Does the content of the box match what is indicated?
We always strive to provide the correct content, but minor variations are possible due to reprints or updates. The information comes directly from the publishers. If you have any questions, please contact us!
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