In playtesting · RageCon 2026 winner

Herding Cats

Pope Leo IX has lost his cats, and he cannot sleep without them. Unfortunately, the cats have plans of their own.

A search through the monastery

One player takes the role of the Pope while the others control cats attempting to remain free and make off with their toys. Each round, players privately commit to a destination, then reveal and resolve their choices together.

The indoor game turns the monastery into a network of rooms, passages, stairs, and hiding places spread across multiple levels. An outdoor scenario adapts the same contest to a large hex-grid garden with terrain and toy-hiding objectives.

Two settings, one elusive problem

  • Simultaneous hidden destination choices
  • Asymmetric Pope and Cat roles
  • Multi-level indoor monastery map
  • Outdoor garden scenario with terrain
  • Scenarios supporting different player counts

Award-winning prototype

Herding Cats took top honors at the RageCon 2026 Game Design Competition. Development continues through structured playtesting and revisions to maps, cards, and scenario balance.

Level two indoor monastery map for the Herding Cats tabletop prototype
Development preview: Level 2 of the current four-level indoor monastery map. Prototype layout and rules may change.