Our step-by-step guide to the rules of how to play Fort Cats and Dogs Expansion. This is the first expansion for the popular management and deck building board game Fort that is small but comes with a lot of bite (animal joke). These two different modes are light but add new dimensions to the gameplay. The game is for 2 – 4 players at ages 10+. The rules for how to play Fort Cats and Dogs Expansion are easy. The two modules are just enough of a twist to switch up gameplay to an already breezy title.
FOR MORE: Fort Page | Fort Cats and Dogs Expansion Review
HOW TO PLAY FORT CATS AND DOGS EXPANSION – WHAT IS IT?
You’ve begged and pleaded with your parents and finally… it’s time to get a pet! Dogs are loyal. If you play one, it will (usually) stay in your doghouse. But, neglect a dog, and it will wander off. Cats are fickle. Their actions happen at specific times, and they move around a lot. At the end of the game, score points for having the most dogs in your doghouse and for each cat in your yard. You can use one module, or both!
DOGS MODULE – HOW TO PLAY STEP BY STEP
This is a step by step guide for how to play the dog module, one of two game changes in the first Fort expansion Cats & Dogs. Additional notions and special rules can be found below the list. These will be referenced for your convenience.
1. SETUP | Setup Base Game As Normal
Follow the original base game instructions and complete setup as normal.
2. SETUP | Shuffle 18 Dog Cards
To kick off how to play fort expansion dogs module setup, shuffle all the dog cards to form an initial deck for players to pull from.
3. SETUP | Give Each Player A Doghouse Board
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4. SETUP | Initial Draw Is Different
Instead of drawing 8 kid cards to start, draw 5 kid cards, 3 dog cards and then add your two best friends. Return all unused dogs to the game box. For the advanced variant, you would draft the 3 dogs and 5 kids together.
5. GAMEPLAY | Dogs Go To Discard At Start
In the initial cleanup phase at the beginning of the turn, dogs in your yard go to the discard pile of the player to your left, not to your own discard pile.
6. GAMEPLAY | Play A Dog Instead Of A Kid
You can play a dog if you fulfill its need, shown above the dotted line on its action box. A dog’s action cannot be followed.
7. GAMEPLAY | Making Sure Dog Needs Are Met
Many dogs need you to add suits or cards. As normal, you can add from your hand and Lookout, and cards added from hand will get discarded. For some dogs, you can only add from your hand. You must declare coins you add as other suits, but they can be the same suit or different.
8. GAMEPLAY | Discard Dogs Like Kids To Use Suit
Just like a kid, you can discard a dog to the leader. (Dogs discarded in this way go to your own discard pile.) Dogs remaining in your hand go to your Yard during your Discard phase, and dogs can be recruited.
9. GAMEPLAY | Dogs Cannot Be Trashed Like Kids
Unlike kids, dogs cannot be trashed or put in your Lookout. This is on-theme as animal cruelty is not ok.
10. GAMEPLAY | The Doghouse
Almost always, a dog’s action ends with tucking the dog under your doghouse. A doghouse can hold any number of dogs. Whoever has the most dogs in their doghouse when the game ends gets a +7 point scoring bonus. *One dog, Loki, tucks under a rival’s house.
11. GAMEPLAY | Play Game As Normal
Play the game as you normally would. Except now you have new dog options throughout the game and a final 7 point scoring bonus to give you new things to think about.
12. WINNING | End Game Score
Look to the end game score to determine the winner as usual, just make sure to now also include the end game bonus for the most dogs in doghouse.
CATS MODULE – HOW TO PLAY STEP BY STEP
This is a step by step guide for how to play the cats module, one of two game changes in the first Fort expansion Cats & Dogs. Additional notions and special rules can be found below the list. These will be referenced for your convenience.
1. SETUP | Setup Base Game As Normal
Follow the original base game instructions and complete setup as normal.
2. SETUP | Shuffle Cat Cards & Choose Random
To kick off how to play fort expansion cats module setup, shuffle all 8 cat cards. Randomly deal out a number of them that is equal to the number of players in the game. These will be the cards used in game. Return the unused cats to the box. In the advanced setup variant, do this BEFORE you draft.
3. GAMEPLAY | Cats Are Not Cards Like Kids or Dogs
Cats have no suit and cannot be played, discarded or trashed. These stay in the center general supply and are attracted to players on their own based on what they are doing. They go over to their side when this happens, not into their hand.
4. GAMEPLAY | Triggered Ability
Each cat has a triggered power that says when it happens and what it does. Many cats trigger before you play a card, which means just before. If you have multiple cats with triggers, use them in any order of your choice.
5. GAMEPLAY | Attracting Cats
At the end of your turn, check whether you attract any cats on the table based on the condition at the top of the cat. Count coins as coins, not other suits, for this. Put cats you attract face up on the player board,
6. GAMEPLAY | Scoring Cats
At the end of the game, players each points for how many Cats they have on their side. 1 Cat = 1 Point | 2 Cats = 3 Points | 3 Cats = 6 Points | 4 Cats = 10 Points.
7. WINNING | End Game Score
Look to the end game score to determine the winner as usual, just make sure to now also include the end game bonus for the most dogs in doghouse.
HOW TO PLAY FORT CATS AND DOGS EXPANSION – KEY INFORMATION
PLAY SEPERATE OR TOGETHER
Within the Fort Cats and Dogs expansion there are two different game (Cats and Dogs). You can play each one of these sepeately or together. What is nice is that they effect two different areas of the game (and are very on theme), so you do not have to make any changes if you are playing both at the same time. The two games work together. If you are doing it, there are no additional changes needed outside of what is listed in the above how to play steps.
GAME CONTENTS
- 4x Doghouse Boards
- 18x Dog Cards
- 8x Cat Cards
- 1x Rulebook
HOW TO PLAY FORT CATS AND DOGS EXPANSION – IN CLOSING
We hope you can now say you know how to play the new Fort board game expansion Cats and Dogs. This package the size of a deck of cards comes with two explosive modules that are very on theme. You can either deal with loyal but fussy dogs, fickle cats or both. For a game about getting your school yard chums together to earn pizza and toys, this first expansion in a fantastic addition. This is an expansion, you do need the base game to play it if that was not clear by now.
