How to Master Catch the Cat
TLDR: The cat always walks the shortest path to the nearest open boundary cell, breaking ties in a fixed direction order. Win by mapping escape corridors, blocking the critical cells first, and funneling the cat into a dead end before it slips off the edge.
Understanding the Core Challenge
Catch the Cat is a containment puzzle on a hexagonal board - descended from the classic “Circle the Cat” Flash game. The cat starts in the middle; a few cells start blocked at random. Each turn you tap one empty cell to block it, then the cat takes a single step along the shortest path to any open boundary cell. Wall it in completely and you win; let it reach the edge and it escapes.
The cat plays a fixed, knowable strategy: breadth-first search to the nearest boundary, ties broken in a consistent direction order. That makes the game fully deterministic - the same board and the same moves always play out identically. Your edge over the cat is that its strategy is readable. Learn to trace its path and you can always stay one step ahead.
Hexagons matter here. Each cell has six neighbors instead of four, giving the cat genuine path-finding choices and forcing you to think about multiple corridors at once. Smaller boards leave fewer moves before the cat escapes; larger boards give it more room to weave.
Reading the Board: Map Escape Routes First
Before placing your first block, analyze the board. Find the cat’s position, note which cells are already blocked, and identify every open boundary cell - those are the cat’s targets.
Trace potential paths from the cat to the boundary. The cat always takes the shortest available route, so your job is to find “critical” cells: ones that, if blocked, eliminate an entire escape corridor or force a significantly longer path.
Distance mapping: Identify all open boundary cells, then work backward - which cells are one step from the edge? Two steps? This distance map reveals the shortest routes the cat will prioritize, and those are the corridors to close first.
Each block you place changes the cat’s optimal path. The sequence matters: block cells that eliminate the easiest escapes and force progressively longer routes. Think about the overall shape of remaining playable space after several blocks, not just the next single move.
The Art of Defensive Positioning
The most common mistake is blocking reactively - placing cells near where the cat just moved. Defensive play means blocking cells ahead of the cat’s path, before the corridor becomes urgent.
Think about the boundary, not just the cat. Blocking near the edge often eliminates more routes per tap than blocking near the cat. A single cell on the outer ring can cut off an entire wedge of escape options.
The Funnel Strategy: Block cells on one side of the board to remove options in that direction, forcing the cat’s path toward a corner or dead-end. Then tighten the noose turn by turn. Funneling requires fewer blocks than surrounding because you’re eliminating whole directions rather than individual cells.
The Perimeter Defense: On larger boards, block cells near the boundary first and shrink the playable space inward toward the cat. This uses fewer total blocks because each outer block seals off multiple potential exit cells at once. Work from the outside in rather than the inside out.
Predicting the Cat’s Move
The cat uses a fixed tie-breaking rule - typically north, northeast, southeast, south, southwest, northwest - when multiple shortest paths exist. If you internalize this order, you can predict the cat’s exact next step when it has several equally short routes.
Watch the cat’s movement after each block. Notice which direction it favors at choice points. Use this to pre-empt several moves ahead: if you know the cat will prefer northeast when routes are equal, place a block that forces it northeast into a tighter space.
Don’t trust intuition about the cat’s intent: The cat is mathematical, not emotional. It doesn’t “want” to go right; it picks the geometrically shortest route. Always trace the actual path rather than assuming the cat will move toward or away from you based on feel.
Early Game: Set the Containment Shape
In early turns you have time and space. Use them to establish a containment shape, not to chase the cat. Look for natural choke points - narrow regions connecting the cat’s area to the boundary. These are premium blocks because they force longer paths with a single tap.
Your opening moves should eliminate the easiest escape routes. A good early block forces the cat to take a path two or three steps longer. A bad early block closes a cell the cat would never use anyway.
Think five blocks ahead: After placing each block, imagine what the board looks like five taps from now. Can the cat still reach the edge? Where would it go? Block there next rather than reacting to where it moved.
Mid Game: Tighten the Trap
As the board fills and the cat’s options narrow, prediction becomes critical. Play several moves ahead - anticipate which corridors the cat will use and close them before it arrives.
The pattern: the cat walks the shortest available path to the boundary. Block cells along that path; the cat recalculates and picks the next-shortest route. Block methodically, and the cat’s available paths grow progressively longer until it has none.
Mid-game check: By halfway through your block budget, the cat’s escape should require at least 8-10 steps. If it can still reach the boundary in 3-4 steps, you need more blocks on active escape corridors now.
Spiral inward on large boards: Block cells from the boundary inward toward the cat rather than outward from the cat toward the boundary. This seals exits using fewer total blocks and is much harder for the cat to route around.
Late Game: Final Containment
In the final phase you are a few moves from winning or losing. If the cat still has any path to the boundary, you must cut it on your next turn or it escapes. This phase requires absolute clarity about which cells are critical.
Before placing each final block, trace the cat’s current path fully. If blocking cell X forces the cat to cell Y, and Y has no exit except through Z, win by blocking Z on the following turn. Plan two moves ahead whenever possible.
Every block must count late: On harder boards the cat moves fast and your head-start walls are thin. Don’t waste taps on cells that don’t directly reduce escape options. One misplaced block can hand the cat a corridor you thought was closed.
Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them
Surrounding too tightly too soon. Wastes blocks and may create pockets where the cat hides. Focus on eliminating long escape corridors first.
Ignoring the boundary. Many players focus on the cat’s position and forget the goal is to trap it. Blocking near the boundary is often more effective than blocking near the cat.
Playing reactively. Blocking the cell the cat just moved to is always too late - it already moved there. Block cells ahead of its path, not behind.
Not tracing the actual path. If you leave a five-cell corridor open, the cat will find and use it. Trace paths yourself rather than guessing.
Post-move analysis: After each block, watch the cat’s move and ask whether it went where you predicted. If not, re-examine your escape route map. The cat always reveals the shortest remaining path to freedom - use that information to plan the next block.
Difficulty and Board Size
Difficulty controls how many cells start blocked at the beginning: easy rounds give you more head-start walls, harder rounds start almost bare. Higher labyrinth levels expand the hex board, giving the cat more room to weave and making your early moves far more consequential.
Start on easy/small boards to develop intuition for how the hex grid works and how the cat’s pathfinding behaves. On medium difficulty, spend 10-15 seconds analyzing the board before your first block. On hard, treat each turn as a logic puzzle: “If I block here, does the cat still reach the boundary?” If yes, block elsewhere first.
Mastery goal: When you can predict the cat’s move three to five turns in advance and consistently trap it with blocks to spare, you have internalized the core skill. Harder boards become exercises in applying the same logic at greater scale.
Catch the Cat rewards patience and planning over speed. The cat’s deterministic behavior is your advantage - use it.
Catch the Cat
Block cells on a hex board to wall the cat in before it slips off the edge. A pure logic puzzle · bigger board, fewer head-start walls
Play nowWorks on any device.
