Kyoto no Neko: The Cat Board Game | Or a Feline Dungeon Crawler!

Reading Time: 7 minutes

What’s up, Chaos Heroes!
How can a cute cat board game also be a dungeon crawler? That is purely in the WTF category. Stick with me, and I’ll explain. In the Kyoto no Neko board game, don’t let the purring exterior fool you! Those soft paws can definitely hide some sharp claws.

What do you need to know about the Kyoto no Neko board game?

Our story takes place in Kyoto, where we start off as cute little kittens. We wander the streets, encounter all sorts of challenges, and sometimes even clash with each other. Meanwhile, we try to level up, learn from our mistakes, and grow (both in size and age).
(Note: Since this is a completely language-independent game, you don’t need to worry about reading text on the components—just grab the English rules and you’re good to go!)

Basic Data

Kyoto no Neko Board Game: Gameplay Experience

Your goal is to slip into the fur of a curious kitten, roam the streets of Kyoto, complete missions, collect bells, and become increasingly experienced (in agility, combat, friendship, and hunting).
By default, 5 missions are placed on the board that reward you with bells, but there are other ways to snag them too.

Every turn is a new adventure, and you never know what awaits you around the next corner.
When it’s your turn, you move your kitty (as many spaces as your age allows) onto a mysterious paw-print tile and flip it over. And this is where the chaos begins!
You might face a mandatory challenge where you have to roll the dice because, say, you ran into a dog. If you fail, no big deal—you learn from the faceplant, and one of your skills levels up. If you succeed, you keep moving.

But you might also find an optional action under the paw. Here comes the dilemma: do you stop to hunt down a bug? Or do you keep prowling in hopes of better prey? If you attempt one of these tests, your turn ends, whether you succeed or fail. See? It’s already starting to feel like a mini dungeon crawler…

Oh, and meanwhile, two crazy cyclists are circling the edges of the city on the road. If you don’t pay attention, they will flatten you like a freight train hitting a clueless ladybug! Honestly, they are hilarious—the bikes and this whole mechanic are just super fun.

The first player to collect five bells by completing missions wins. That’s the short essence of the game: the joy of exploration, pushing your luck, and a little bit of adventure.

Components Of Kyoto no Neko Board Game

The felines are freaking adorable, right down to their individual little boxes. The cyclists, however, are a bit wobbly; their bases weren’t cut out very well, so I upgraded mine with separate plastic stands. The main board and the neighborhood board are a bit on the thin side and prone to warping. There are a ton of tiny cardboard tokens (which are fine, by the way), but you have to sort them out yourself for every single scenario. So, it’s not exactly premium quality, more like the “it’ll do” category, but at least it’s cute as a button.

The Dicepool Scale

The WOW:

• Thematic: I genuinely feel like a cat in Kyoto no Neko. While I’m wandering aimlessly around a big city, I can get hit by a cyclist, chased by a dog, or I can just climb a tree. Anything can happen, just like in real life. The mechanics and the theme go hand-in-hand here.
• Unique Mechanics and Theme: It’s a weird combo. I think that’s the best way to describe it. I haven’t really encountered mechanics like this in other games. It has a bit of a dungeon crawler vibe, but wrapped up in a feline coat. We move, we roam, we fight, and we level up, yet the winner is whoever collects 5 bells first, just like in a Euro game. I couldn’t even pin down whether this is more Euro or Ameri(trash). It has that special uniqueness that earns it a spot in my sanctuary.
• Cuteness Factor: The design, the cat miniatures, the whole vibe is so adorable that it will melt the heart of even the most hardcore Chaos Hero. The table presence is gorgeous and maximally Dicepool-compatible. The little rookie gamers will go crazy for it.
• Snappy and Fast: There’s no boring downtime because you’re actually invested in what the other player is doing. The turns fly by. It’s the perfect warm-up before a serious brain-burner, or a cool-down at the end of the day.
• Easy to Learn, But With a Twist: The rules are simple; even an 8-year-old can pick it up.

The MEH…

Component Quality: As I mentioned earlier, the cyclists are on rather shaky ground, and the game board is thin.

• Interaction: This could normally be a positive, but here we can actually fight each other, which feels weird for a family game. Even worse, you can steal another player’s already acquired “little friend” right out of their home. What the actual Shogun?! Because of this, we’ve had someone actually get offended, and ironically, the friend-stealer won the game with that exact move. I think it’s unnecessarily confrontational; you can play it more amicably without the thievery, and I don’t feel like I’m missing out if we skip that part.
• Rulebook: There are specific parts that are just not clarified. The dog mission, for example, can be interpreted in multiple ways. In those cases, we just have to agree, “Okay, let’s play it this way for now.” Though honestly, sloppy rulebooks like this make me break out in a cold sweat.

(Don’t let the Hungarian text on the rulebook scare you. Frankly, given how vaguely some of these rules are written, reading it in English wouldn’t make you much wiser anyway!)

• Heavy Luck Factor: You might end up flipping over a series of terrible paws, while everyone else keeps pulling off perfect runs. The tile-flipping and dice-rolling are definitely a crapshoot. But I’ve also had moments where I got trapped between bushes, rooftops, and reaction tiles. I couldn’t move forward because I failed the test for the reaction tile, and I was “too small” to jump over the obstacles. That can get frustrating.
• Short: What kind of critique is that? Well… It’s such a short game that I often felt I wanted to keep wandering with my cat, but it ended way too soon—specifically in about 30 minutes. This is more of a filler game, and compared to that, it has quite a lot of components to set up.

The Dice Mage’s Verdict

Kyoto no Neko is an absolutely lovable, lighthearted, and eye-catching family game. The cute theme and snappy gameplay will instantly turn everyone into a crazy cat person. I love it despite its flaws. It’s not going to change the world, and it won’t be your deepest strategic experience, but it doesn’t want to be! The interaction (e.g., fighting, friend-stealing) obviously works better with 3-4 players, as you’ll naturally run into each other more often. The playtime really is short and matches the 20-30 minutes printed on the box. And well… the 8-year-olds are going to be obsessed with these adorable tabbies.

But how the Hades can a cute cat game be a dungeon crawler?
A dungeon crawler is your classic ‘I go down into the crypt, kick the door down to the next room, see what monsters are waiting for a goodnight kiss, and then scoop up the loot’ type of game. Its core is exploration, dice-chucking combat, and character progression.
And Kyoto no Neko does exactly that, except instead of dark dungeons, we’re roaming the streets of Kyoto; the heroes are cute kittens, and the monsters are dogs or other challenges hiding under the paw tiles that help us level up. The essence is the same: you move, explore, fight, and pray for good dice rolls. A true dungeon crawler light! Or rather, very light…

Who do I recommend it for?

A must-have for cat lovers! Families, beginner gamers, and anyone looking for a light, beautiful, and fun feline board game. It’s perfect if you just want a quick, yet somewhat tactical, cheerful game. A piece of advice: if you’re playing with family, don’t steal each other’s little friends. It’s a total jerk move in a game like this.

Who should steer clear?

Hardcore strategists and those who tear their hair out over luck factors. If you play it confrontationally, people who easily get offended should also avoid it.

Have you played this game yet? Did you play it aggressively, or keep it friendly?
Alright, bye for now, Chaos Heroes! Stick around, because the depths of Dicepool always have something new in store!