Catego
Written by Howard Fosdick © BestFreeNewGames.com
Overview: Catego is a simple but enjoyable family game for two to four players. Players compete to score in categories, with only a single player grabbing the points for each.
Players and Equipment:
2 to 4 players as individuals, or 4 paired into two partnerships. Requires 2 dice and uses this score pad:
(Print PDF score pad here, or print JPG score pad here).
Goal: To win the most points by scoring in the highest categories.
Play:
The first player rolls the two dice. He calculates their sum.
Then he writes that sum in any of the open boxes for his row of the scoring pad. And, it's the next player's turn.
Example: a player rolls 3-1, and decides to either their sum of 4 in his open box for the column labeled "3" in the score sheet.
So in each turn, a player will fill in an entry for a different column in his row of the score sheet.
Scoring:
After each column in the score sheet has all its boxes filled in, the player with the highest number for that column wins the points for that column.
Example: for the column labeled "5" below, all four players have filled in their entries. Player 2 wins the 5 points for that column since his entry for that column is the highest.
You can also see that all players have made their entries for column "10" as well. Player 1 grabbed the 10 points available for that column.
It's convenient to cross out any column where the entries have been completed and the points won.
If there's a tie for a column, then no points are awarded for that column.
One final rule: each player must place his first entry in a different column than his competitors.
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Alternate Rule:
Some players like to speed up the game by using a score sheet only with columns 1 through 10 (instead of 1 through 12).
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Playing Partners:
When playing as two opposing partnerships, add the results for partners in each column. The partnership with the higher total wins the points for the column. The team that scores the most total points wins the game.
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Tips for Play:
Use your best throws to secure the top-scoring columns, and your worst throws for the lowest-scoring.
You're in the strongest position when you can enter the last value for any column. Try to do this where you can.
If you're going to lose in the high-point column anyway, use that entry as a "throw-away" for a poor toss.
It often helps to focus on your strongest competitor. Grab a high-point column from him, and you've both diminished his score as you've increased your own.
There are 77 points total at stake in the 12-column game, or 55 points total if you play the 10-column version.
How big a part does luck play in this game? Well, you've recorded each player's rolls. So add up all rolls for each player to produce a total number for the dice they rolled. This tells who had better luck in the game (though it does not tell you the order of those rolls, which is also a factor). Comparing the ratio of the game scores to the ratio between the total dice rolls indicates who played the better game.
-----------------------------------Sources: Catego was invented by the great game inventor Reiner Knizia. These rules were compiled from internet sources and Mr Knizia's book "Dice Games: Properly Explained".
-----------------------------------License: Feel free to print, copy, and distribute these rules, so long as you retain this paragraph. Written by Howard Fosdick © 2024, distributed under Creative Commons License BY-ND. HOME