We’ve got an exciting review of Kittin and Tinderblox, 2 games coming to Kickstarter today from Alley Cat Games!

Is it just me or are dexterity games incredibly addicting? 

I can’t get enough of them. I love trying new ones and am always excited to share them with friends!

Something that always makes me super excited is when a fun game comes in compact packaging so that they are easily brought along, be it to a friend’s home, the park, or even to a restaurant! 

That’s exactly what Alley Cat Games is going for with these two mini-tin games Kittin and Tinderblox!

These two games are starting their Kickstarter campaigns TODAY! And thanks to the folks at Alley Cat Games, we’ve gotten a chance to preview them for you and let you know what we think! 

First Up: Kittin!

How to Play: 

• Players compete against one another to stack Kittin meeples into the arrangement depicted on the card. 
• Place all the Kittin meeples into the center of the table. 
• Flip over the top card from the facedown deck. 
• Then all players quickly grab the Kittin meeples they need to create the 3 dimensional stack shown. The first player to complete their stack and shout “Meow” wins the card.
• Once a person has claimed 3 cards they are dubbed the chief Kittin cuddler and win the game!

What do we think? 

This is a purr-fect traveling game! 

Throw it in your bag or keep it in your car; it’s a game you can easily pull out and play with anyone.

I’m not normally a fan of games coming in tin containers, but I am a fan of puns so this one gets my seal of approval. Honestly though, the tin is nice with a hinged lid that closes tight. A must for a game with so many little cat-meeples.

Now I’m no cat person, but I do love a good frenzied building sesh! Kittin takes just seconds to learn and is a lot of fun. I loved how much we were giggling while playing, it’s so silly! 

The wooden cats look really nice and are deceivingly difficult to stack when frantically rushing to beat your opponent. They are the exact right size. Not too big to make it easy, just small enough that it’s difficult to accurately balance the light pieces without them falling over while you’re rushing to be first. It’s nice, lighthearted fun that is very enjoyable. 

Kittin is a dexterity game that the whole family can enjoy together. Our kids have loved getting to play with all of the Kittin meeples; racing to stack them first. Our toddler likes it as a little activity and will work through each of the cards calmly at the table, focusing on getting the cats just right. It’s quite adorable to watch. 

I am always looking for games that you can open and start playing right away. Kittin fits that bill. It’s an excellent choice for those moments where you are needing to pass the time in a light, fun way. 

Next: Tinderblox

How to Play: 

• Draw a card from the fire deck. 
• Observe which hand, (dominant or weaker) you are to use during your turn. 
• Then use the tweezers to assemble all of the indicated wooden pieces on the card.
• Once assembled, take all of the assembled pieces and place them all together on any wooden piece already on the campfire.
• If successfully place your assembled pieces on the campfire you stay in the game. 
• If you cause previously placed or new pieces to fall down while adding to the campfire, you are eliminated
• The last player left in the game is the safest camper and wins!

What do we think? 

Who know holding tiny wooden logs with tweezers was so tricky?!

Tinderblox takes a different spin on dexterity and challenges you to build delicately and precisely. We really enjoyed the challenge of first building what the card instructs and then adding it to the fire all with tweezers. If you were to just add one piece at a time it would be too easy. Having to build it and then transfer it onto the fire is very difficult. You definitely don’t want to bump the table while playing this one. 

Tinderblox is a bit trickier for the kids. Not in a bad way, though. Holding tweezers just so and carefully transferring the pieces around makes for a really good skill that requires a fair amount of focus. I love how the game slows players down as they carefully seek out the best spot for their pieces.

The only downside to this one is that, while expected, the pieces tend to go a bit wild when they crash down despite never getting too high. I always seem to be picking them up off the floor and could see them getting easily lost if not careful. 

Summary

What I like about Kittin and Tinderblox is that they are both dexterity games, yet scratch two different itches. 

One is made tricky by the introduction of speed to create a kitten stacking frenzy! The other has players focusing and calling upon their fine motor skills to delicately build and stack small blocks on top of one another without knocking the whole structure down. 

These are two different styles of dexterity games and they both work really well. They are light, inviting, and the right combination of tricky and silly to keep you coming back for more. 

If I had to pick a favorite of the two, it would probably be Kittin due mainly to the more accessible nature of the game for younger players. Plus you can’t beat those adorable cat meeples.

If you are interested in learning more or backing these games, you can head to their Kickstarter where you can back either or both games during their campaign. 

Thank you to the great folks at Alley Cat Games for sending us prototype copies of Kittin and Tinderblox to preview. As always, our thoughts and reviews are our own. 

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