Meow is a silly card game for two to nine players by Chris Cieslik and Alanna Cervenak with art by Maya Lior and Will Pitzer. It takes 1 to 5 minutes to play (and sometimes less than a minute), and it works for ages 8 and up.
Meow is published by Asmadi Games and retails for $12 but can be found for less.
In Meow, players are trying to convince other players that they are a Meow, all the while accusing other players of being a Not Meow. Can such a silly premise be fun?
How it works:
The active player draws a card and says, “Meow,” regardless of whether that card is a Meow card or a Not Meow card. (Those are the only kinds of cards in the game.)
Any other player can accuse a player of being a Not Meow. If the accuser is correct, the accuser wins. If not, the accuser is eliminated, and play continues until there’s one player left or a player draws a second Not Meow card into their hand.
Why you might buy Meow:
If you can imagine how people sitting in a circle saying “Meow” could be funny, this game is for you.
It reminds me of church youth group games that required you to keep a straight face while doing something ridiculous. The straight face isn’t required, and it’s a good thing because people will start laughing.
This is the perfect late-night giddy game, great for slumber parties and kids and adults alike. Assuming they don’t take themselves very seriously.
It’s extremely simple, and the right group of people make its absurdity really funny.
It’s very fast, sometimes just one turn.
Why you might not buy Meow:
If you think sitting in a circle saying “Meow” couldn’t possibly be funny, move along. This game is not for you.
If you want a true strategy game, this won’t do it.
If you don’t like absurdity, this game will disappoint you.
My conclusions:
Meow definitely isn’t for everyone. It’s perfectly ridiculous.
That said, everyone I’ve played with (even the person who complained about how annoying it was) was laughing.
And that makes me think Meow does exactly what it intends to do. You’ll have to decide whether you like that style. I do. Not all the time, of course, but after a frustrating day or an intense strategy game, Meow will lighten the mood. I think that’s a gift.
Full disclosure: I received a review copy of Meow from Asmadi Games. I wasn’t required to write a positive review. These are my honest opinions.
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