A game that sets up in 30 seconds, provides a quick explosion of feverish fun, and comes fully loaded with rainbows and creative puns? That’s the game for me.

The latest Funtime from the creative masterminds at Exploding Kittens is A Game of Cat & Mouth, described as a fiercely competitive, magnet-powered, highly addicting, pinball-ish game — and it lives up to all of the above.

Exploding Kittens is well-known for its out-of-the-box, party-friendly card games, but A Game of Cat and Mouth is actually a two-player experience and doesn’t feature any cards at all. Instead, this game is all about using magnetic kitty paws to launch little balls through a cat’s mouth.

Designed for players ages 7 and up, the innovative game sets up in a snap, and the box becomes the game itself. A snap here, a slide there, and you’re good to go. No batteries, no punching out a million pieces, no unwrapping cards from plastic shrink wrap — none of it! We stan.

Players each start with four yellow balls on their side of the board, plus the black “nose” ball in the cat’s face, as well as three white “teeth” balls. Players can load one ball into their kitty launcher at a time, and try to flick it at just the right angle to get the ball through the cat’s mouth. The goal is to be the first to get all balls of one color onto the other side of the board: yellow, black, or white. The first to five points is the winner.

The game takes anywhere from 5-15 minutes to play, depending on how well you did in trigonometry and physics, or just how lucky you are. It’s really all about finding that “sweet spot” and then obliterate the competition. Balls will be flying, madness will ensue, and laughs will be had. The game includes a few extra balls should any go missing during your next death match friendly game.

A Game of Cat and Mouth is a totally different kind of game for Exploding Kittens, but it still delivers zany fun the company is known for. Perfect for kids, tweens, teens, and adults alike, this game is truly the cat’s meow (sorry, I had to).

About the author

Marissa Silva

Marissa Silva

Marissa Silva is editor-in-chief of the Pop Insider and the Toy Insider, the leading consumer holiday gift guide and toy review and news website. As a professional toy reviewer and an industry expert, she consistently reports on toy, entertainment, and pop culture trends and hot products. In addition to digital content management, Marissa contributes feature-length articles to the Pop Insider and leading toy industry trade magazine The Toy Book, providing retailers, manufacturers, and licensors with information on the latest in toy news. Marissa has been featured on the TODAY Show, Good Morning America, Fox and Friends, ABC World News Now, MSNBC, CBS, NY1, WPIX, and more. A board game fanatic and professional toy reviewer, she spends most of her free time shopping for superhero T-shirts, crushing at Mario Kart, and anxiously awaiting her Hogwarts acceptance letter. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @thattoygirl.

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