Guest Author - Lynn Little

Ages 6 and up

Players 2 -4

Playing Time 10 minutes

The object of Rats is to be the first person to have all of the ratty cards. Players do this by taking turn playing cards. A big fat rat might win you the big fat playing area.

Rats is essentially the game of War. Cards are shuffled and all cards are then dealt to all players. Players place their cards in a pile facedown in front of them and then take turns revealing the top card of their pile.

There are two types of cards: random rats and big fat rats. Random rats are cards showing a couple of cartoon rats doing random things that cartoon rats might do like eating or making silly faces. The big fat rats feature on cartoon rat and a number. When a big fat rat is played, the next player can flip over the number of cards noted on the big fat rat. If she flips over a big fat rat, then she collects the cards in play and places them at the bottom of her deck. If she does not flip over a big fat rat, then the player who played the big fat rat collects the pile of cards.

Play continues until one player has all the cards, much like the game of War. What makes this type of game fun is that you can be on the verge of losing and then have your luck turn around. Simple doesn't necessary translate into boring. This type of game can be a fun game to play at a party or just for two people.

Rats is fast paced and takes just a few minutes to play a game. The rules are easy enough for young players to master this one. The rat characters on the cards are comical and fun to look at. Too bad you play with the deck facing down. You can always enjoy looking at the cards after a friendly game or two. There is even a travel version that comes with a durable, plastic case, so families can take the fun of Rats! on their next trip.