Cat Lovers Can't Get Enough of Boop
During the pandemic we officially became a cat family. Adopting cats became a very popular pastime in our house. And, in case anyone out there is keeping count, we’re up to 6 cats in the house now. And, judging by how many local shelters and rescues my wife follows on Instagram, I’m not sure we’re done yet.
There’s a very good reason we decided to collect our favorite picture books about cats and our favorite board games about cats into lists on the website - and that’s because the cats are running the house now and we’re just living in their world. And the cats are now demanding that Boop be named our Game of the Month for July 2023. So how can I say no?
To be fair, I love Boop, so I’d happily make it the Game of the Month even if the cats didn’t insist upon it. Boop is the perfect mash up of two of my loves - cats and abstract strategy games. You might have heard before that I’m a chess coach and so I’ve always had a soft spot for 2-player strategy games. And that simply makes Boop just a perfect little game for me.
It’s also a remarkably good-looking game. The cute little wooden cats and kittens are obviously the highlights here, but the design of the board (which uses the game box with a little mattress pad on top to turn it into a bed) is also very cute and clever. Quite frankly, it’s the type of game that draws people in knowing absolutely nothing about it.
Boop is also fun to say, so I’m going to go out of my way to avoid using pronouns as much as possible - and refer to Boop by the proper full name that Boop deserves. After all, imagining booping a sweet little cat on their nose every time you hear the name Boop is half the fun.
How to Play Boop
So what is this Boop all about? It’s a game of 3-in-a-row. Place 3 of your cats in a row and you win. But there are just a few complexities to keep in mind.
1) You start the game with 8 kittens. And kittens don’t turn into cats until you get 3 kittens in a row.
2) Every single time you place a kitten or cat on the board, it boops all the kittens or cats around it. This means they move 1 square away from the new cat you placed, provided there is an open square for them to move to or that they can fall off the board.
3) Kittens can’t boop cats.
That’s pretty much all there is to it, because it’s a remarkably simply game to explain - as all the very best abstract strategy games are. You can also turn 1 kitten into a cat if all of your pieces are on the board at once, and if you have 8 cats on the board at once that is an alternative way to win the game. And now you know basically everything. See that didn’t take very long, right?
Who is Boop for?
Boop is a gift from the heavens intended for all lovers of cats and/or strategy. If you love cats but not strategy, just use the cute cat pieces to decorate your desk. If you love strategy but not cats, we aren’t friends anymore, but I guess you can just squint your eyes and pretend they’re dogs. And if you love both cats and strategy, congratulations, you’re in for quite the treat indeed.
The box says ages 10+, but that’s overshooting it quite a bit. The concept of booping and getting 3-in-a-row is remarkably simple, and I honestly think kids as young as 4 or 5 could play this one. Granted, they probably won’t stand much chance against adults, but they could play each other. There’s even a recommended way to simplify the game by forgetting about the big cats completely and ending the game when you get 3 kittens in a row.
My wife insists that Boop is very hard and makes her head hurt, and maybe that’s what I love about it. It’s incredibly easy to explain but it’s delightfully complex to execute a strategy. Boop is really going to appeal to anyone who likes classics like Connect 4 or Othello - and it’s a perfect step up for kids who ask to play Tic-Tac-Toe all the time.
Just ask yourself, do you like going through mental gymnastics to find the best spot to place your piece? Does it sound like fun to go through a checklist in your head like:
1) Can I win or set up a forced win?
2) Is my opponent about to win if I don’t stop it?
3) Should I make my opponents position worse or mine better?
4) Can I do both?
If that sounds like your idea of a good time, and you like booping cats on their cute little noses, then Boop is for you.
And if you also happen to enjoy Halloween, then do I have great news for you. In just two months, publisher Smirk & Dagger is going to release a special Halloween edition called BOOoop. No longer just a “thinky” game for 2-players, but now “spoopy” as well. If you didn’t think I would buy another whole copy of Boop just to get cats holding pumpkins and wearing witch hats, then you don’t know me very well.
Cats? Strategy? Halloween? Someone at Boop headquarters has certainly done their research on all of my very favorite things. I suppose we’re going to need Christmas Boop too now. Just give me all the Boops and take my money.
You can find Boop for sale now at Dad Suggests in Fayetteville, AR. Have you played Boop before? Do you like booping cats on the nose? Let us know in the comments!
