The Ratcatcher Q&A

The Ratcatcher - Questions and Answers Section

Tactical tips: If you find the game tricky, remember a few things.

Catch Rats: It sounds basic but, make sure you're spending them out of your rat cage to gain dice, tokens and cheese whenever possible. If you cannot do anything else in your turn, place traps, and catch rats these will give you more tactical choices as you proceed.
Deny the Rats: Place traps on cheese, even if you don't plan on taking that cheese. It can buy you time. There are a fair number of ratcatcher abilities that will also assist in this tactical option.
Township value: Pay attention to the value of the townships when placing them and occupying them, if you are behind, don't trigger large expansions. If you can move off to a reduced value township to do so, it can give you an element of control over the volume of the rat spread.
Attack dice: Choose the number of dice per attack carefully, if no black rats are present, roll a single dice per attack.

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Ratcatchers

Can I upgrade an attribute or ability repeatedly?
Each attribute may only be upgraded a single time. Special abilities may have two allocations for Magic Cheese, each will have a different effect (see below)

How do Special abilities upgrades work?

The first cheese token placed in an abilities upgrades slot will unlock that ability, as part of the unlock fill that abilities token slots with the maximum number of required cubes.
If a second cheese token is placed it will fill the abilities token count to the maximum.
Each Ratcatcher special ability must be unlocked before any of the relevant tokens may be collected.

In terms of rules: The yellow ability is the more potent and may alter the rules for the purple one if both are combined.

Traps

Where do the attack dice come from when traps attack?
Dice for traps and special abilities are drawn from the reserve dice pool.

Where do Rats caught by the traps go?
Proudly place them in your rat cage you clever ratcatcher.

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Madam Cage:

Ability “Toxic Ruse”: Where do I place the yellow tokens?
The cube for Toxic Ruse must be placed in a zone of the Ratcatchers occupied township that does not contain a Magic Cheese. Rats are simple, but not complete idiots. When given the direct choice, they smell something is off and eat the blue one instead.

Trap “It’s a Trap”: If I discard an attack die, I have to reroll all attack dice? Cage is an inventor and her inventions should help in rat-catching. So technically you can choose whatever dice you like to reroll, but we recommend you only reroll the misses. We keep the other idea for the upcoming hard mode.

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Miss Black:

Trap “Rat Snatcher”: How many dice does one roll for Miss Blacks trap?
A lot. If you're lucky. Take a regular six-sided dice (D6) and roll it. The result tells you how strong the trap will be. Roll as many dice as the result tells you. For every rat you capture by this move, you get to roll another die. Only one additional round of rolls. Indefinitely spraying is another Ratcatcher’s speciality.

What's up with Miss Blacks trap upgrade?
Black is never a good thing. Reminds a ratcatcher of black rat fur. No upgrades for this trap. Isn't it already strong enough for you?

Ability “Perseverance”: Can it increase my attack dice beyond the maximum?
No. It's called Perseverance for a reason. It makes you stay in the game for longer, not cheat your maximum capability.
Nor can this ability be used to add attack dice to an unresolved attack action.

Ability: “Rise to the Top”: Does “all results” include Traps?
Yes.

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The Pied Piper:

What is the cost of the pied pipers trap upgrade?:
The cost is 1 magic cheese. It appears that rats have eaten the magic cheese icon off the Pied Pipers character board (even printed magic cheese seems to attract them)

The story on the back of this characters board doesn’t match?:
Yes, sorry for that one. My fault. Here is a link to the correct image, feel free to print it out for your personal use.
Included in the updated files available above

Otherwise, there are plans to release the full board as a replacement during a later Kickstarter campaign. (yes, that means there is more Ratcatcher coming!)

Trap “Music Box”: Can the upgraded Music Box reduce White and Black Rats Speed to 0?
Yes, a clever apparatus, right? It “traps'' them and then catches them. With music. What a delight!

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Professor Fume:

Ability “Just a Spritz”: Can I target all adjacent zones or one of my choice?
Just one of your choice. It has to be connected or adjacent. Fume is a Professor, not a Superhero. And he doesn't like spritzes on his clothes.

Ability “Fumigation”: Does “any dice” include dice from traps and abilities?
Yes. That's the wonder of Fume's invention. It just keeps spraying and spraying.

Can it go on forever?
No. After you return 11 dice to your board, Fume's tanks explode and you suffer a wound. Also, check your dice, they might be rigged.

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Sister Constantine

How many traps does she have?
Just two. It's a misprint in the upper right corner (version 1).
Edits are included in the updated files available above

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Guild Master Horace:

Ability “Avatar of Fear”: Do I apply the hits to all zones on the Township card or do I choose only a single zone per hit?
You make a single attack roll and apply the hits to EACH zone on this ratcatchers currently occupied township card.

Ability “Rat Slayer”: Does it apply also to Traps?
Yes, “Rat Slayer” when active, affects both traps and abilities of Horace. Effectively it affects any dice rolls you do.

But what if I combine that with Avat…
Shh! Don't blabber secret war-tactics here!

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Rats

How many “hits” are required to catch a rat.
White and brown rats require a single successful “hit” dice result to catch.

Black rats require 2 successful “hit” dice results to catch.

What is the target for Brown Rats?

The ratcatcher. Brown rats ignore magic cheese, they are out for blood!

Do brown rats consume magic cheese?
No, they do not count to the required number of rats for consumption, nor are they removed from a zone when cheese is consumed by other rats.

When do Black rats spawn other rats?
Black rats spawn more rats both when they are placed and also during the Rat: Spawn phase.

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Spawning:

Which icons spawn rats and when?
The standard icon spawns rats only when the township is initially placed.

The continual icon (with arrows) is used any time that spawn occurs.

At the end of the rat phase rats are spawned including on the inactive Township cards?
No, inactive township cards no longer spawn rats.

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Nemesis Rats

The Rat King:

What happens if I roll a mutation result that has already been upgraded?
Allocate the upgrade to the next available slot in descending order of value. Note: A unavailable slot value of 1 would become a 6.

Abyssal Rat:

When is the Abyssal Rats “Absorb” ability used?
Absorb is activated during the consumption part of this nemesis turn.

Brood Mother:

When do I have to roll the die for Endless Tide?
Do it first during the Spawning Phase.

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Peculiar Rats

Ratypus:

When I slay him, can I upgrade an already upgraded stat?
No, that’s crazy talk. No upgrading upgrades.

Note: If you have Peculiar Rat Deluxe Upgrade Set draw from the sack instead of drawing from the Peculiar Rat deck

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Magic Cheese

Can I eat the magic cheese tokens provided?
As delicious as they look, I would advise against eating them. Think of them as a forbidden fruit, just more sparkly and delicious looking… No, don’t eat them.

Can I collect cheese with Rats in the same zone?
No, even a solitary rat is not going to give up its prized magic cheese to a human. Yes, that applies to the brown ones too.

What if I run out of Magic Cheese?
You're in on a hard one, hm? If the 18 Magic Cheese Tokens aren't enough, you can remove all but the highest from the Nemesis Board.

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Townships

Where is township card 25?
This is the hard mode starter card which was printed on the back side of card #00

Can a township card be placed in any orientation? Yes. As long as there is a complete connection made.

How do I move between township cards?
The only valid path for the ratcatcher or rats to move from one township to another is via a completed connection (2 half icons for a single connecting icon).
The pathways in the artwork are for illustration purposes only.

How many township cards are placed in an expansion?
The number of township cards placed is indicated by the small roman numeral located in the top left corner of the township currently occupied by the ratcatcher.

What is the correct order for the expansion city?

One at a time draw a township card and connect it to a viable connection point on the ratcatchers currently occupied township card. If there are no viable connections then the player may select any available connector in the city.
Place any “?” tokens required. Revealing each “?” token and placing any relevant cubes onto them when required.
Place a magic cheese token on each denoted space on the township.
Populate the township with rats. During the townships initial placement all rat spawn icons are used to spawn rats.

Do I need to keep inactive townships on the table?
Indeed you do (officially).

This is due to how the townships connect and the options of connecting townships to any viable connection (if no adjacent connections are available). Also depending on the movement of the game, a Ratcatcher may reconnect or active these townships at a later stage in the game.
(Unofficially) I understand that not all play spaces are created equally and that this may make the game more manageable in your gaming space. In that case, please do whatever makes it easiest for you to enjoy the game.

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Clean up phase:

Which special tokens are removed during clean up?

Remove only the cubes used by the ratcatcher for their special abilities.
Uncollected cubes remain in play as long as the township card they reside on remains active.

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