So sorry... this game is SOLD OUT 😢

Tinderblox and Kittin have arrived! I absolutely LOVE these two, tiny, tin-residence, dexterity games!!

This offering includes two SWEET dexterity games by Alley Cat Games! Buy one… or buy them both… you will not be disappointed!

The Tinderblox Night Edition comes in a Kickstarter exclusive tin and features 10 advanced cards that were voted on by backers during the campaign.

Kittin comes in the standard tin (they only made one art type) and includes the Kickstarter exclusive instruction cards; these were also voted on by backers during the campaign.

Fun Games. Cool bits. Tin Game Boxes. 🎉🎉

Class dismissed.

So… I’m browsing around Kickstarter (as I often do… not surprisingly)… and I see this campaign for two tiny dexterity games; each featuring a tin game box containing a bunch of cool, little wooden bits. I’m intrigued – obviously – and can already picture me playing the games with my family and giving them to people as tiny gifts to bring a little joy onto their kitchen table…

But then my “This is a business, darn it!” alter-ego interjects. “Darn it… I really want to offer this to people in the shop… but smaller games don’t usually sell that well… and at some point I really need to work on at least breaking even from a money standpoint… right?”

SHUT THE SCREEN DOOR!

It was then that I had an epiphany… or, being a tad less dramatic, a brief and insightful thought… haha. ⚡️💡

My concern about the “bottom line” irritated me.

I staretd Upstart to offer cool games to people at fair prices and to help get smaller publisher content out there! There was no way I was going to let concerns about what might and might not fly off the shelves influence what I backed! No, no, no!

And so, although they are completely unaware of this, Caezar and Kuly at Alley Cat Games (and these awesome little games) are responsible for reminding me why I started Upstart… and helping me to keep those priorities in line! 😊❤️

I created Upstart to help people find Kickstarter-driven board games without having to pay outrageous prices. And helping to get those games to the table at a fair price has made this “entirely uninformed and insane foray” an amazingly rewarding experience!

I have met so many wonderful humans… and formed more than a handful of new and lasting friendships; all as a result of Upstart Boardgamer! So onward we go!

So… thank you, Caezar and Kuly!! If you’re reading this… then you now know that you’ve influenced my universe in a positive way, and I appreciate you 😊❤️

OK Drew… enough with the emotional divulgence… tell us about the games!

Let’s start with Tinderblox.

This little gem is a light and fun dexterity game that involves adding tiny wooden logs and fire cubes to a communal campfire. And honestly… when you open the tin game box there’s a moment where your olfactory system tells you that you’re smelling a warm, welcoming campfire. The visual of the wooden bits jumbled together at the bottom of the tin is THAT amazing! 🪵🔥

OK…OK… that could be a bit of exaggeration… but still!

A basic 3-log campfire base is set up atop the campfire card. Easy enough, right?

Then, each player (in turn order) reveals a card from the Tinderblox deck and adds those components to the fire. Each card displays some combo of wood or fire bits that you must select from the tin box of bits and add to the growing campfire.

The game comes with official tweezers that MUST be used to handle the wooden bits… and some cards even direct you to use your non-dominant hand to craft your campfire add-ons! Yikes!

Ambidextrous people UNITE! You will rock this game! 👉👈

If your additional campfire components topple the growing stack of wooden-bit goodness (aka the camp fire stack) or you drop any bits onto the campfire card while ineffectively attempting to increase the burninantion… you’re out.

Thanks for playing. Please take your wet socks and return to your tent. Hehehe. 🧦🏕

Last camper standing wins.

This is an amazingly fun and fast-moving game that will bring a smile to the faces of the people playing… will appeal to virtually anyone in your circle (unless you’ve got some exceptionally  curmudgeonly peeps in there)… and that scores an A++ on presentation!!

And the other game?!?!?

Ah yes… Kittin! 🐱

Another awesome-wooden-bits-in-a-tin-box wonder!!  Each round a card is revealed that displays an image of kitten meeples stacked in a very specific manner.

When this card is revealed, each player grabs whatever wooden cat meeples they need from a communal pile in the center of the table, and starts stacking bits in an effort to recreate the exact pattern shown on the card. The first player who believes they have stacked all the cats properly shouts “Meow!”

At this point everyone stops stacking and judges the accuracy (ahem… worthiness) of the self-declared winner’s cat pile-on! If the stack is spot-on, that player takes the card for that round and places it beside their play area.

If their assumption of self-greatness was in error (and their stack isn’t actually the same as the one represented on the “blueprint” card) then they are out of the round and the other players continue stacking until another player declares “MEOW!”

The first player to have three cards in their play area (indicating three victories) is the winner!

Videos for micro games!

For those of you who scroll straight to the video links in each game description… this one is for you! Tom from Slickerdrips takes a look at both games. You can find his video HERE.

A dramatic unboxing of Tinderblox night edition by Tabletop Games Blog can be found HERE. I felt like I was watching the type of unboxing that M. Night Shyamalan would produce. NICE!

And finally a video where The Offline Gamer unboxes both games and chats about them a bit. A nicely done video with all the info you need to decide if these might be up your Alley! 😉 You can find the video HERE.

Happiness in a tiny tin 😁❤️

Tiny, tin box contains wondrous wooden bits!

I don’t think that’s actually a Haiku… but by gosh, it sure should be!  🤣 These games are a huge hit with my family… and with me!

Light, palate-cleansing fare that really delivers on the overall fun experience. Everything just works. The games are smooth, challenging, and enjoyable… and they will have everyone involved smiling from ear to ear… and perhaps talking a little smack here and there… hehehe. I mean, who doesn’t love a little toppled-cat-stack smack talking once in a while? 😼

These games may not be the 34-pound Tainted Grail King’s Pledge with sun drop treated minis… but they deserve a tiny place on every Upstart’s game shelf… or gift list. 😁

 

Ages: 6+
Players: 2 – 6 (8 for Kittin) 
Play Time: 3 – 15 minutes
Designers:
Artists:
Publisher:
SKU: ALLEY CAT GAMES 001
MSRP:
$9-14 on a variety of sites
at the time of this listing (FEB 2021)
[n.b. the Tinderblox on these sites is not
the Kickstarter Exclusive]
Our Price:
$8.25 – Tinderblox Night Edition
$8.00 – Kittin
Links to BGG:

 

This product is currently out of stock and unavailable.



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Description

Tinderblox and Kittin from Alley Cat games!!

Amazing little games in mint-tin packages!! Buy one or buy them both – you will not be disappointed…

The fun mint-tin sized dexterity game gamers and non-gamers will love!

Tinderblox sets players in a campfire setting, where each player will attempt to grow the fire!

But watch out! Place the blocks badly and you risk burning down the camp!

Each turn players will draw a card from the campfire deck. The card will instruct them to place on the campfire a log, a fire block or any combination of the two (or more) in various orientations. Players use tweezers to “Play with fire” in a shared pool, however, once all pieces have been put together and are off the ground the player must carefully place this on the campfire!

The player who is the most careful with fire wins!

In Kittin, it’s a mad dash to stack the kittins!!

You’ll flip a card then all players will compete in a simultaneous fast-paced race to grab the cat meeples and match the arrangement.

The player who is quickest at grabbing and best at stacking will win the cat-stacking race!

~description from the publisher

Additional information
Alley Cat Games

Tinderblox Night Edition, Kittin

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