Kyoto No Neko is a cute game where players play as Kittens.
Title: Kyoto No Neko
Year Published: 2024
Designer: Cédric Millet
Publisher: Matagot
Players: 2-4
Game Time: ~35 minutes
Set-up Time: ~5 minutes
Ages: 8+
Theme: Cats exploring Kyoto
Mechanisms:
How to win: Have the most medals at the end of the game.
Game Description
Players are kittens who explore the modern-day city of Kyoto, Japan through a series of independent, replayable scenarios. Kittens will evolve, developing their skills and gaining the ability to explore new parts of the map by climbing on bushes and rooftops.
How to play Kyoto No Neko
Learn how to play Kyoto No Neko in a quick and concise way!
Main Mechanisms
There isn’t really a main mechanism that dominates the game. There is a touch of set collection and movement points but nothing that jumps out.
USP
I don’t know of a game that tries to simulate a kitten growing up. I’m also not sure why Kyoto was picked as the setting. It’s a beautiful place but I didn’t see cats around when I was in Japan.
Theme
The kitten part of the game is thematic if you allow yourself to have a cartoon stye look at how cats live their lives.
Setup & Rulebook
The setup is OK, You have to put the 40 paws on the board which is fine. I find that I don’t like to do that until after I taught the game so I can show the paws as examples.
Components & Artwork
The card and wooden components are nice. The rubbery kittens are very cute and alongside the standees look good on the table.
The standees don’t all stand very well sadly, the little tabs fall out of the bottom easily on the bikes.
The art is cute. I would have liked something 3D to help point out the hedges and roofs.
Ease of Teaching
The game is easy to teach. You can explain the options for each paw token they flip over as they go.
Similar Games
It reminds me a lot of A Dog’s Life which was the subject of one of my first How to Play videos!
Kyoto No Neko Review
Positives
Simple gameplay.
A very cute and fun theme.
The scenarios mix things up a bit and can be mixed and matched for added replayability.
The standees and kitten toys make the game look good on the table.
Negatives
The rulebook is average.
Some elements on the main board are not as obvious as they need to be.
Kyoto No Neko Round-Up
A very fun and cute game with an interesting theme you’ll want to play just to see it on the table.
Rating
I give it 6/10