Boop Review

The most realistic game I've ever played about cats on a bed.

Boop from Smirk & Laughter has players competing against each other to place their cats and kittens onto the bed. You'll start out with only kittens and they can be placed anywhere on the board. If you place a kitten next to other kittens, they'll get booped and pushed one space away. If there is two kittens next to each other, they won't get booped, however. If you get 3 kittens in a row, you'll remove them from the game and they get upgraded to cats. Kittens can't boop cats but cats can boop anything. The goal of the game is to simply get 3 cats in a row or get all 8 of your cats on the board at the same time. Whoever accomplishes this first is the winner.

The Good: Boop is a really simple game to learn but it's difficult to master. At first glance you'll think it's just a cute cat game, and it is, but you'll quickly realize it's also very cutthroat. You'll constantly be ruthlessly booping kittens off the bed with no mercy. You won't care if its your own kittens, you just want them cats. As someone that has a certain amount of cats I'm unwilling to disclose, the theme really resonated with me. I'm a big fan of the cat/kitten meeples. They have no business being that cute but they are.

The Okay: There's a shocking amount of thought that goes into this game and sometimes you just kind of screw yourself. In my one game, I went for a block and completely left the other player open to take the victory without even realizing it. Much like chess, if you play against someone that is just plain better at the game than you; you can get crushed.

The Not So Good: This isn't really an issue with the game itself but since you'll be using the box as the base for the board, the board will sink in in a spots because of the openings for storage. You can obviously play without the box but it takes away the aesthetic. I'd recommend looking for something you can fill the two holes with to place the mattress on top.

Final Thoughts: Boop is a fantastic game! I was legitimately surprised when I first played and I've wanted to play it constantly since. It's quick, it's simple, it's just fun. It's not perfect but it's so clever and cute that I just want to share it with everyone. I recommend Boop for anyone looking for a two player game that's extremely accessible. They even included rules for playing with younger kids that essentially eliminates graduating from kittens to cats. It's a great game.

Thanks to Smirk & Laughter for providing me with a review copy.