The Cat in the Hat has scattered things all over the house-can you pick up the most things before Mother gets home?
Components
- Game Board
- 4 Playing Pieces and Stands
- 40 Picture Cards
- Spinner Card
- Spinner Arrow
- Instructions
Object of the Game
To collect the most Picture Cards.
Setup
-
Each player chooses a playing piece, puts it into a stand, and places it at Start.
-
Each player uses the Player's Square closest to her/him. Player's Square for Player 1 Picture Card
-
Players place one Picture Card on each space on the board, so that the background color of the Picture Card matches the color of the space (e.g., place yellow cards on yellow spaces).
Game Play
The youngest player goes first. Players take turns spinning the spinner and moving the number of spaces shown. Play passes to the left.
Picking Up Cards
The first time that a player ends a move on a space with a Picture Card, s/he picks up this card and places it on his Player's Square.
Players pick up an additional Picture Card when they end a move on a space with a Picture Card that either:
- shares a letter with the top Picture Card on their Player's Square, or
- matches the color of the top Picture Card on their Player's Square.
Example: if a player's top card is "dish", s/he can pick up a Picture Card with a "d", "i", "s", or "h". He can pick up "fish", "house", "hat", or "milk", but cannot pick up "net", "gown", "man", or "umbrella".
If this player has a card with a red background he can pick up a card with a red background, regardless of the letters on the cards.
When a player collects a Picture Card, he stacks it on top of all the other Picture Cards on her/his Player's Square.
A player may only use the top Picture Card on his Player's Square to make matches; other cards can no longer be used and are kept stacked below the top card.
End of the Game
The game ends when the last player reaches Finish. Players count the number of Picture Cards they've collected.
The player with the most Picture Cards wins the game.
Educational Notes
The Cat in the Hat Game is designed for parents and children to play together. The rules are simple and the game is played in the same manner every time, so children can quickly become comfortable with the game.
This game teaches and reinforces early reading skills: children look for letters that form words and learn to recognize words as they see them paired with pictures. The game also features counting, matching, and introductory strategy skills.
Since the game is not over until the last player reaches Finish, every player stays involved in the game until the very end.
Parents' Rules Summary
Players take turns spinning the spinner and moving along the board from Start to Finish.
The first time that a player ends his move on a space with a Picture Card, he removes that Picture Card from the board and places it on her/his Player's Square.
From then on, a player picks up another Picture Card every time that s/he ends her/his move on a space with a Picture Card that shares a letter or color with the top Picture Card on his Player's Square. When the last player reaches Finish, the player with the most Picture Cards wins the game.
Continue Reading
