Cat Me If You Can is a cosy cat photography puzzle adventure built around a simple, appealing task: explore a mostly monochrome town, find hidden cats, and photograph them to bring colour back. In her PC review for AltChar, published September 8, 2026, Emina Zulic rated it 8/10 (“Great”), praising its hand-drawn look, visual clues, puzzles, and varied themed stages while noting occasional camera and item-finding frustrations.
What kind of game is Cat Me If You Can?
AltChar reviewer Emina Zulic describes Cat Me If You Can as a black-and-white, noir-inspired adventure in which an in-game Polaroid camera is the key to restoring colour. The central loop is exploration and observation: search each environment for cats, frame them in the camera, and watch them regain their colour.
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Colour also serves as a practical visual signal. The world remains mostly monochrome, while interactable objects stand out, helping direct attention without turning the search into a conventional map-following exercise. Basic movement includes running, jumping, and crouching, but Zulic characterizes the challenge as finding and noticing things rather than demanding platforming.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsHow the cat hunts and puzzles work
The game is divided into several themed stages, each with three levels. AltChar names settings including Land of the Rising Meow, the Meowdieval Era, and Purramid Kingdom. The themed progression gives the search a change of scenery and supports a variety of cat designs.
#1 Best Overall
- BUILDS PLANNING & SEQUENTIAL THINKING — Cats & Boxes develops five STEM-connected cognitive skills with every puzzle: planning, logic, spatial insight, problem solving and concentration. Because you move the box pieces one at a time — and each must fit back on the board before the next move — you have to think several moves ahead and picture the whole sequence, the multi-step reasoning that underpins mathematics, coding and logical thinking. It's so much fun to play, you'll forget you're building real skills.
- DESIGNED FOR AGES 7 TO ADULT — 60 CHALLENGES TO WIZARD LEVEL — Starter challenges solve in just a few moves; Wizard challenges make you cover a cat with a box only to move it again later, and genuinely test adults. Early challenges welcome a 7-year-old; the hardest push seasoned puzzlers. One game the whole family puzzles through together, each at their own level.
- MOVE THE BOXES, HIDE THE CATS — These cats are dying to get into a box! Choose a challenge and place the cats and box pieces on the board as shown. Then move the box pieces around — one at a time, each fitting back onto the board before you move the next — until every cat is tucked snugly inside a cardboard box. Plan the order carefully, because you'll often need to cover one cat, then shift that box later. One solution every time.
- THE PERFECT TRAVEL BRAIN GAME FOR EVERY GENERATION — Everything packs into the compact case with a lid — just close it and go. It's ideal for planes, road trips, restaurants and grandparents' houses, with no loose pieces to lose. The same puzzle that builds a child's planning gives adults a satisfying screen-free challenge and offers older adults an engaging mental workout that helps keep the mind sharp and active — a purr-fect, thoughtful gift across generations.
- AWARD-WINNING BELGIAN DESIGN — Cats & Boxes comes from Raf Peeters, one of SmartGames' most celebrated designers, who set out to create something complex from very simple rules. From SmartGames, the worldwide leader in multi-level logic games, with 30+ years of award-winning design from Belgium, trusted by families, educators and puzzle lovers in 80+ countries. Portable case included, plus a free companion app with hints for the trickiest challenges.
Regular cats and special cats
Regular cats are hidden around each environment and are found by looking carefully. “Epic” cats add a puzzle layer: their quests can involve locating associated objects, photographing certain objects, or collecting items and bringing them to a specific place. These objectives make the game more than a repeated camera hunt, though the extra search can also be less clear than finding a cat in the open.
Radar and journal
A radar helps point players toward cats, and its cooldown is adjustable. The journal keeps track of objectives, quest items, photographs, and collected relics, giving the player a way to follow the threads of a level.
Rank #2
- Trusted By Families Worldwide - With Over 50 Million Sold, Thinkfun Is The World'S Leading Manufacturer Of Brain Games And Mind Challenging Puzzles
- Develops Critical Skills – Gameplay Provides A Stealth Learning Experience, Where Players Learn Critical Reasoning And Logical Deduction Skills As They Solve The Increasingly Difficult Challenges
- What You Get - Components Are Well Made And Durable, Includes A Game Board, 6 Cat Pieces, 6 Crime Tokens, 40 Challenges And Solutions For Players Aged 8+, With A Fun Theme And Hilarious Artwork
- Clear Instructions – Easy To Learn With A Clear, High Quality Instruction Manual You Can Start Playing And Solving Right Away
- Skill level: intermediate
The radar is not a universal answer to every search. Zulic notes that it does not locate objects needed for special-cat quests; when a task involves collecting and delivering an item, it points to the destination instead. That distinction matters if a quest stalls: the missing object may still need to be found by examining the environment.
What works well
- Hand-drawn atmosphere: The distinctive art and noir-inspired monochrome setting give the game a clear identity.
- Readable visual language: Colour draws attention to interactable objects, making the world itself part of the puzzle design.
- A satisfying core loop: Finding a cat, photographing it, and seeing colour return provides a straightforward reward that fits the cosy tone.
- Varied stages and puzzles: The themed environments and special-cat objectives add variety to the repeated search-and-photograph structure.
Where the experience can snag
Zulic reports that the camera sometimes does not take a picture immediately, which can interrupt an otherwise simple interaction. The review also flags quest objects as difficult to distinguish or locate. Because the radar does not search for those objects, the special-cat errands can demand more environmental scanning than the regular cat hunts.
Rank #3
- Cat vs Mice: Strap squeakers to your feet and steal the cheese from the blindfolded cat without getting swatted. It's one of the silliest halloween activities and party games for kids around.
- The Big Cheese: Bank 5 small cheeses on your Home Base first, then make your move for the Big Cheese to win. These physical games for kids and movement games for kids keep them active and off screens.
- Built for Chaos: Gather the kids. From birthday party games for kids to summer games for kids, indoor recess games, and family game night, this is the game they will be begging to play over and over.
- How to Play: A bildfolded cat guards the cheese while the sqeaky mice try to steal it. Bank 5 small cheese and the big cheese to win. Family games for kids and adults don't get sillier than this.
- What's Inside: Every box includes 20 small cheese, 1 Big Cheese, 4 Home Base Cards, 1 Blindfold, 1 Inflatable Paw, and 4 Squeaky Paw Pads. A kids gifts and fun gifts pick ready to play out of the box.
These are specific friction points in the review, not evidence that the camera consistently fails or that every quest is unclear. The overall assessment remains positive, with the visual style, puzzles, and central loop outweighing the occasional input and search frustrations for the reviewer.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.AltChar’s verdict and platform information
AltChar published its review by Emina Zulic on September 8, 2026, and awarded the game 8/10 (“Great”). The review states a September 8, 2026 release date and identifies the reviewed version as PC (Steam). It lists Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series S/X versions as expected in Q4 2026; that is the review’s stated window, not confirmation that either console version is currently available.
Rank #4
- PUZZLE MASTER: Turn snack time into playtime with this cat food puzzle that challenges your furry friend's brain and keeps them entertained as they hunt for treats
- LEVEL UP: This cat puzzle features five different compartments and difficulty levels that keep clever companions challenged and coming back for more
- SLOW & STEADY: This puzzle feeder turns mealtime into a fun challenge, encouraging slower eating habits and helping manage your cat's weight naturally
- STAYS PUT: Non-slip rubber pads keep this food puzzle securely in place while your cat explores and searches for treats without chasing it across the floor
- EASY CARE: After your cat's adventure with this treat dispenser, cleanup is quick and easy with handwashing or top rack dishwasher placement
The review identifies Cosmic Stag Games as the developer and Cosmic Stag Games and Craftmos Games as publishers. Zulic says she played on PC and that the review key came from the publisher. Read the AltChar review for the original assessment.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- THE WORLD IS FLAT: Cats know it!! To prove it, they are going to knock stuff off the edge of the world.
- OBJECT OF THE GAME: In this light family strategy game, use your cards to move cats across the Earth and knock your opponent’s houses over the edge.
- MORE CATS: Every time you shuffle the draw deck, another cat is added to the board.
- BEWARE: Special cards can cause more chaos than just cats themselves.
- WINNING: The last player with any houses left on Cat Earth wins the game.
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