Stack O' Cats
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- Arrives
- November 13, 2026
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The FroGames Review
You pull a cat from the bag. You stack it on top of the others. You hold your breath. Everyone holds their breath. The cat stays standing. For now.
WHAT IT IS
Trying to convince a cat to stay still is hard enough in real life
Stack O' Cats is a dexterity and balance game designed by Magen Bain and illustrated by Sarah 'Freedz' Conlon. Each player draws wooden cats from a bag and tries to stack them one on top of the other without causing the tower to collapse. Thirty-two different cat shapes, forty meeples in total, a solid base, and the tension of knowing that, sooner or later, everything will fall.
You draw a cat, stack it wherever you want on the tower, and earn points based on the placement. There are multiple scoring variants to change the way you play: most points wins, fewest points wins, cooperative, solitaire. Each cat shape behaves differently when you place it. Some stand on their own. Others don't.
What they're saying abroad
"Stack O' Cats is a balancing game, with a little press-your luck element thrown in."
— NTSD Gaming
It's a family game with a minimum age of 3, but the tension rises even when adults play: a crooked cat can ruin everything.
— FroGames
Stack O' Cats
The game includes an official solitaire mode where you try to beat your own point record or tower height. It works well as a personal dexterity challenge, but it completely loses the social tension of multiplayer: no one laughs when you crash, and no one watches you tremble while you place that crooked cat.
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on the rulebook, international reviews, and gameplay sessionsWhat you find in the box
Forty wooden cats and a stable base
32 unique cat shapes
Every meeple is different: sitting cats, stretching cats, sleeping cats, cleaning cats. Some have a stable center of gravity, others don't. You don't know what you'll draw until the very last second.
The bag
You draw blindly. You feel the shape with your fingers but you don't see what you're about to pull out. The reveal moment is when everyone at the table knows whether you're lucky or not.
Solid base
The tower starts from a stable platform that ensures a uniform starting point. It's not the table that's shaking: it's you. Or the cat. Probably both.
Scoring variants
You can play for more points (risking more for difficult placements), for fewer points (playing defensively), cooperatively (everyone against the collapse), or solo. Same game, four ways to experience it.
Come si gioca
Video dimostrativo di gameplay.
🎲How to playThe rules in four moves▼
How to play
The flow of each turn
A turn lasts thirty seconds or three minutes, depending on how much you shake.
Blindly. You don't see what you're pulling out until it's too late. If it's an easy cat, you sigh with relief. If not, the others laugh.
Wherever you want, however you want. You can place it on top of another cat, between two cats, balanced on one paw. The more difficult the placement, the more points it's worth (depending on the variant).
If the tower doesn't collapse, you earn points based on where you placed the cat. Variants change everything: sometimes you want more points, sometimes you want fewer, sometimes you just want the tower to stay standing.
The turn ends. The next player draws. The tower gets higher and higher, more and more unstable. Sooner or later, it will fall. The question is: when?
⏱️Your first gameThe play-by-play chronicle▼
A game in five moments
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
The first round is easy
The base is flat, the first cats stand without problems. Everyone stacks, everyone scores points. It seems like a child's game. It is, but not for long.
Someone draws the wrong cat
A meeple comes out with a heavy head and short legs. The person currently winning has to put it on top. They shake. They place it. The cat stands, but the tower now leans slightly to the right.
The tower starts to get high
Now, stacking requires getting up from your chair. Someone suggests where to put the cat, someone else says it's a terrible idea. The tower wobbles with every breath. Everyone watches in silence.
The collapse
A cat slips. Everything falls. Wooden meeples roll on the table, some laugh, some curse, the one who caused the collapse covers their face with their hands. Points are tallied. Whoever was second is now first.
Put the cats back in the bag
Five minutes to collect everything, one minute to decide whether to play with the same scoring variant or change it. Someone wants a rematch. Always.
🐸Good to knowThree honest tips from friends▼
Good to know
Three things you need to know
Luck decides half the game
You can be the king of dexterity, but if you draw three impossible cats in a row while others draw easy shapes, you lose. The bag isn't fair. Accept it or choose another game.
Minimum age 3 is true, but...
A 3-year-old can play, but don't expect competitive games. The tower collapses every two turns. That's perfectly fine if the goal is to laugh, less so if you want a challenge. From 6 years up it starts to get interesting.
After 10 games, the best player always wins
At first, luck levels everything out. After a while, whoever has steady hands and a steady wrist dominates, even with difficult cats. Variants help, but if you always play with the same people, the outcome becomes predictable.
🏆Victory and defeatHow the game rewards you▼
How it ends
How to win and how to lose
It depends on the chosen variant. You can win with the most points, the fewest points, or not win at all if playing cooperatively.
Victory
- Standard variant: whoever has the most points when the cats run out or the tower collapses
- Reverse variant: whoever has the fewest points (you play defensively, avoiding risky placements)
- Cooperative: the tower reaches a target height without collapsing, everyone wins together
Defeat or elimination
- You collapse the tower: you are out of the game (or lose points, depending on the variant)
- Cooperative: the tower collapses before reaching the goal, everyone loses
- Solitaire: you don't beat your record of points or height
Stack O' Cats is a game that takes five minutes to explain and twenty minutes to play, but it makes you laugh every time it collapses. That's the whole point.
💬Frequently asked questionsQuick answers before the cart▼
Frequently asked questions
Stack O' Cats FAQ
What is the actual minimum age?
The minimum age is 3 years old and that's not a lie: even a small child can stack a cat. But the experience is different. From 6 years old real competition begins; before that, it's mostly laughing when everything falls. With adults, it works perfectly as a filler or a light party game.
Do the 32 different shapes really make a difference?
Yes. It's not like other stacking games where the pieces are all the same. Each cat has different center of gravity and stability: some stand on their own, some slip, others lean. This makes every turn unpredictable and increases replayability.
How long does a game last?
From 7 to 42 minutes, but the average is 15-20 minutes. It depends on how many players you are, how cautious you are, and how quickly the tower collapses. Fast games (7-10 minutes) are those where someone collapses everything in the third round.
What mechanics does Stack O' Cats use?
It's a game of stacking and balancing (physical equilibrium) with an element of press-your-luck because you draw blindly from the bag. Variants include cooperative and solitaire modes. There are no complex mechanics: it's pure dexterity.
Is it available in English?
Yes, this is the Italian edition by Studio Supernova. The game is almost completely language-independent: they are wooden cats, there are no cards or texts. The rulebook is in Italian.
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 game of dexterity and balance for 1-6 players, minimum age 3, duration 7-42 minutes. Designed by Magen Bain and published by Studio Supernova, the game includes 40 wooden cat meeples with 32 unique shapes. Players draw cats from a bag and stack them on top of each other without collapsing the tower. The scoring variants allow for competitive (more points or fewer points), cooperative, or solitaire play. The main mechanic is stacking and balancing with press-your-luck, complexity 1.2/5 on BoardGameGeek. Each cat shape has a different center of gravity and stability, making every game unpredictable. Ideal as a family party game or light filler. 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?
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