Publisher: KOSMOS
Designers: Fabien Riffaud & Juan Rodriguez
Artist: Emmanuel Malin
2-6 Players
Playtime: 20 Minutes
Everyone has dreamed of visiting the moon at some point in their lives, and now they finally have a chance. Catch The Moon challenges players to stack ladders to reach the moon without knocking down the ladders beneath them.
A Brief How To Play
Catch The Moon is a little stacking game with few rules. Two straight ladders are set up on top of the cloud in any of the slots available. The 7 raindrops are also placed on the table to be accessible to players. That’s it for setup!
On the player’s turn, they will grab a random ladder from the box and roll the die. If one ladder is displayed, they must place the ladder anywhere on the cloud so that it touches exactly one ladder. If a side with two ladders is displayed, the ladder must touch exactly two ladders. If the moon is displayed, the placed ladder must be the highest. The player must use only one hand and can manipulate the ladders in any way they need to as long as no ladder touches the cloud or table. When the player lets go of their ladder, if anything falls or their ladder doesn’t meet the die’s requirements, they must take a raindrop.
Turns proceed clockwise until all of the raindrops have been claimed. The player with the least raindrops wins. If all of the box’s ladders are used and there is a tie, players must stack the ladders that fell earlier (And thus were removed from the game) so that they are the highest until all tied players are eliminated. If every ladder is used up, the game ends in a tie.
Pacing and Interaction
Catch The Moon’s length varies based on the skill level of the players. Usually turns are quick regardless of how long the game lasts, as a turn just consists of rolling a die and placing a ladder. Turns are about the length of a Jenga turn, so players won’t experience much downtime, even at six players. Even when it isn’t a player’s turn, watching another player try to manipulate the ladders is entertaining.
There isn’t much direct interaction, but ladders can be placed so that they make things harder for the next player. Placing a ladder down so the next one can’t lay flat is always a great way to attempt to force a raindrop on the next player. Banter can help add pressure, but this is an otherwise solo game that just happens to be social.
Replayability
Catch The Moon is a game that is as replayable as the group demands. Every game has the same loop as the last, but the ladders tend to get placed in different ways every time. The game scales well at all player counts. Two-player games feel like a battle of wits for steady hands, while 6 player games are intense since so few players will get raindrops. It’s a lovely dexterity game that also feels competitive, which is rare outside of games like Klask or Crokinole. It might lose its appeal if players play daily, but it’s one of those games that will sit on the shelf and eventually call the player back like a Siren that just wants you to journey to the moon again.
Theme and Components
The wooden die feels nice, and the cloud isn’t anything special, but it is sturdy and does its job as a base. The ladders aren’t particularly sturdy but should hold up across many playthroughs as long as they are being handled decently. One ladder started to peel a little, but not in a way that would impact gameplay. It would be nice for the ladders to be made with sturdier wood, but for the price, Catch The Moon delivers in quality.
The theme is a dreamy one that stops Catch The Moon from being abstract like other stacking games. It’s silly, but the idea of stacking ladders to reach the moon just works.
Catch The Moon Is Great For Fans Of…
Fans of stacking games like Jenga or Rhino Hero will enjoy Catch The Moon. The various ladders are a nice spin on the mechanism that keeps it fresh.
Catch The Moon
Catch The Moon successfully blends whimsical theming with engaging dexterity challenges, offering a competitive yet accessible stacking game.
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Pacing and Interaction
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Theme and Components
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Replay Value
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Enjoyment
