Cat Ladies of Maple St.

How to Play Cat Ladies of Maple St.

Cat Ladies of Maple St. is a deck-building card game for 2–4 players, ages 12 and up. You play as one of four quirky, competitive cat ladies—Betty Jean, Mary Beth, Rosa Maria, or Thelma—and your goal is simple: collect more cats than anyone else!

What’s in the Box

• 29 Cat cards, each ready for their forever home.
• 103 Market cards in 10 types: 34 Hard Candy, 21 Mystery, and 6 each of the other 8 types (see The Market Cards below).
• 4 Happiness Scoreboards and 4 Cat Tokens, one set per player.

Setup

1. Set up the Market. Place the Market cards (every card except the cats) in stacks in the center of the table, arranged in order of cost from least to greatest. Each card’s cost is on the price tag in its upper-right corner. All stacks are face-up except the Mystery Deck, which is shuffled and kept face-down (black question-mark side showing).
2. Make the Cat Deck. Place the Cat cards in a face-up stack beside the Market. They can be in any order.
3. Hand out scoreboards. Each player gets a Happiness Scoreboard and its color-matching Cat Token. Place the scoreboard at the top of your play area with your Cat Token on the Start space.
4. Deal starting decks. Deal each player 7 Hard Candy cards and 3 Cat cards. Each player shuffles these 10 cards into a personal Draw Pile, placed face-down to the left of their play area.

First game tip: Remove 6 Cats from the Cat Deck and take the Mystery cards out of the game (return them to the box for now). Add them back once you’ve got the hang of it.

Starting the Game

Choose a starting player (rotate each game). Everyone draws the top 5 cards from their Draw Pile as their starting hand. Play then goes clockwise, starting with the starting player.

Optional: to even out the advantage of going first, players can draw smaller starting hands for their first turn only. With 2 players, the first player draws 3 and the second draws 5. With 3 players: 3, 4, 5. With 4 players: 2, 3, 4, 5. After that, everyone draws 5 as normal.

Hearts and Coins

Every card you play gives you resources. Hearts (Happiness value) move your Cat Token forward on your Happiness Scoreboard toward adopting your next cat. Coins are your buying power at the Market. Some cards also have special abilities: just follow the instructions on the card.

Playing Your Turn

Each turn has 3 steps: Play Your Cards, Shop at the Market, and Clean Up & Draw 5 Cards.

Step 1: Play Your Cards

Play the cards in your hand in any order you like. You may play every card in your hand, including multiples of the same card. To play a card, lay it face-up in your play area and use its Hearts, Coins, or special ability.

• Once you’ve used a card, put it in your Discard Pile—unless it has Coin value, in which case leave it in your play area until Step 2.
• If a card tells someone to “Draw” a card, they take the top card of their own Draw Pile into their hand. Cards you draw during your turn can be played that turn, and there’s no hand limit.
• Tip: play cards with special abilities first, then Hearts, then Coins.

Step 2: Shop at the Market

Add up the Coin value of all the cards you played this turn. That total is your buying power. You may buy any combination of Market cards whose total cost is less than or equal to your buying power.

• Cards you buy go directly into your Discard Pile. You can’t play a card on the same turn you bought it.
• You don’t have to spend all your buying power, but unused Coins don’t carry over to a future turn.

After shopping, move the Coin cards from your play area into your Discard Pile.

Step 3: Clean Up & Draw 5 Cards

Put every card you played or bought this turn in your Discard Pile (except Mystery cards). Then draw 5 new cards from your Draw Pile for your next turn. If your Draw Pile runs short, draw what you can, shuffle your Discard Pile face-down to form a new Draw Pile, and finish drawing.

Adopting a Cat

Every time your Cat Token reaches the “Adopt a Cat!” space (space 8) on your Happiness Scoreboard, take the top card of the Cat Deck and put it directly into your Discard Pile. Then return your Cat Token to Start. If you still have Hearts left over, keep moving forward from Start until you’ve scored them all.

Example: On space 6 you play 5 Hearts: move 2 spaces, adopt a cat, return to Start, then move 3 more.

A newly gained cat can’t score its Happiness value on the turn you get it. Cats earned from cards (like Play BINGO! or the Milk pair) also go straight into your Discard Pile, and your Cat Token doesn’t move.

The Market Cards

Each card’s cost is on its price tag. Here’s the full Market, cheapest first:

• Hard Candy (costs 1) – 1 Coin. Your basic money card.
• Security System (costs 2) – blocks ATTACK! cards. When attacked, reveal it from your hand to protect yourself (it protects only you), then keep it in your hand, where it keeps protecting you. On your turn, play it to draw 1 card.
• Backhanded Compliment (costs 2) – ATTACK! Every other player discards 1 card from their hand (no replacement). You score its 1 Heart even if someone blocks it.
• Bridge Club (costs 3) – 2 Coins, and all players (including you) draw 1 card.
• Makeover (costs 3) – return 1 card from your hand to the Market and gain a new card costing up to 3 Coins more than the one you returned. The new card goes into your Discard Pile; neither card can be used that turn. You can’t return a cat, or the Makeover you’re playing.
• Mystery (costs 4) – see Mystery Cards below.
• Breakfast Menu (costs 4) – choose ONE each time you play it: 2 Hearts or 3 Coins.
• Catnip (costs 5) – 2 Hearts and 2 Coins.
• Play BINGO! (costs 6) – an opponent you choose shows you their whole hand. If they hold 1 cat, add 4 Coins to your buying power. For 2 cats, add 6 Coins. For 3 or more cats, you get a free cat! If they have none, the card does nothing that turn.
• Cruise Vacation (costs 8) – 5 Hearts.

Cats aren’t for sale; each one is worth 1 Heart when you play it. If a Market stack runs out, that card can’t be bought any more (unless someone returns one with a Makeover).

Mystery Cards

Mystery cards work differently from other cards:

• Buying: A Mystery card costs 4 Coins. When you buy one, draw the top card of the Mystery Deck, read it, and place it face-down near your Happiness Scoreboard.
• Playing: During the Play Your Cards step of any later turn (never the turn you bought it), you may play any or all of your Mystery cards. Place it face-up and follow its instructions, using any Hearts or Coins as normal.
• One-time use: Mystery cards never go into your Discard Pile or Draw Pile. After playing one, put it face-down on the bottom of the Mystery Deck, where it may be bought again later.

Keep your Mystery cards secret from opponents (you can look at them any time). They aren’t part of your hand, so they can’t be stolen. Here’s what’s in the Mystery Deck:

• Bottle of Milk + Milk Dish – collect one of each, then redeem the pair for a free cat.
• Cat Burglar – ATTACK! Steal 1 card, without looking, from 1 opponent’s hand (they may shuffle first). Play it this turn; then it’s yours.
• Scary Cucumber – ATTACK! Every other player discards 2 cards from their hand.
• The Cat’s Meow – all players draw 1 card, and you get 2 Hearts.
• Early Bird Special – draw 1 card, plus 1 Heart and 1 Coin.
• Gentleman Caller – 4 Hearts.
• It’s Your Birthday! – draw 3 cards.
• Savings Bond – 4 Coins.
• Take a Cat Nap – draw 1 card, plus 2 Coins.
• Trip to the Pet Store – this turn only, buy cats for 7 Coins each.

A Security System blocks all three ATTACK! cards: Backhanded Compliment, Cat Burglar and Scary Cucumber.

Ending the Game and Winning

The game ends immediately when the last cat is taken from the Cat Deck. Everyone counts their Cat cards. The player with the most cats wins!

If there’s a tie, the tied player who took the fewest turns wins. If they took the same number of turns, the one with the most unused Mystery cards wins. Still tied? The winning cat ladies celebrate their shared victory!

More Help

Want the full details? Download the complete printable rules (PDF), look up every card in the Cat Lady Encyclopedia (PDF), or check our Cat Ladies of Maple St. FAQs.