Catch the Cat
About Catch the Cat
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, and the cat then takes a single step along the shortest path to the nearest open boundary cell. Wall the cat in so it has nowhere to go and you win · let it reach the edge and it escapes.
The cat plays a fixed, knowable strategy. It always walks the shortest route to the boundary, breaking ties in a fixed direction order. That makes the game fully deterministic · the same starting board and the same moves always play out identically. The skill is reading the board: spot the escape routes, anticipate which one the cat will pick, and close the right cells first.
Why hexagons. On a square grid, each cell has only four neighbours · the cat has too few escape options, the puzzle becomes too easy or too forced. Hexagonal cells have six neighbours, which gives the cat real path-finding choices and forces the player to think about multiple routes at once. The same reason most strategy board games use hex grids for movement: more genuine decision space per turn.
Difficulty thins the head start; level grows the board. Easy rounds give you a smaller board with more cells already blocked at the start. Harder rounds start with fewer free walls in your favour. Higher labyrinth levels expand the board · more room for the cat to weave through, so you have to think further ahead and accept that early plays now matter many turns later.
Part of the PlayMemorize family of brain-training games. Runs entirely in your browser, works offline as a Progressive Web App.
FAQ
Q: How does the cat decide where to move?
It runs a breadth-first search for the shortest path from its current cell to any open boundary cell and takes the first step along that path, breaking ties in a fixed direction order. With no path out, it is trapped and you win.
Q: Can I block a cell next to the cat?
Yes · you can block any empty cell on the board, including ones touching the cat or out on the edge. Closing off the cat's likely escape routes early is usually the right idea.
Q: Is every round solvable?
A round is always winnable in principle, but a hard board with few head-start walls can be unforgiving · if the cat reaches the edge it escapes and the round is lost. The board and the cat's moves are fully deterministic, so the same seed is the same puzzle.
Q: How does difficulty change it?
Higher difficulty starts you with fewer pre-blocked cells. Higher labyrinth levels grow the hex board, giving the cat more room to manoeuvre.
Q: Does it work offline?
Yes. PlayMemorize is a Progressive Web App. Install once and Catch the Cat works without an internet connection.
