Magical Kitties Save The Day Review
Wow, what a surprisingly good game. Magical Kitties Save The Day might be my new favourite RPG. Written and made by many legends, one of which includes Justin Alexander from the Alexandrian blog, the game advertises itself as a great first time roleplaying game, but secretly offers much, much more. The game revolves around Magical Kitties that are set out to solve problems for their humans and hometowns, all while keeping their powers secret. This is a great premise for kids who can latch on easily. But also adults who want something lighter to play.
The book offers clear goals for NPCs, characters, and the world, addressing problems for all three elements. The heroes are the kitties, which is awesome, but there's also a spot that allows you to play as any animal. The game provides clear and defined abilities, along with a system for their improvement. Flaws, powers, talents all allow for a little depth, but easy roleplay. There is also an easy resolution system that can be adapted for other game systems.
It's particularly well-suited for one-on-one games and boasts a great, simple theme that anyone, even non-gamers, can easily get into. Surprisingly, the game deals with human problems in a way that is both real, heartwarming/breaking and engaging. Additionally, there are multiple additional world settings (hometowns) and power-up books to enhance the gameplay experience.
The deluxe edition of the game stands out with its high-quality tokens, sheets, cards, and more, making the game not only engaging but also physical and immersive. The game master section is incredible, especially suitable for kids but offering more game-able content that is easier to parse compared to many other games. There are multiple game adventure templates/structures, solid advice for sessions, when to roll, narratives, challenge ranks, human issues, handling players and many other staples like random tables and a monster section. It has features that offer clear advice for when you need to succeed with a consequence in the narrative, which is not commonly seen in many TTRPG books. My partner found it less daunting to run a session for the first time, thanks to the abundance of tools provided in this game. I have never seen a book that: is this easy to read; clearer in formatting; inspiring images and solid great advice.
I have experienced the game as both a player and game master. Both in one-on-one games. The game I ran was dealing with the problem from the River City Hometown book. Dealing with the toymaker was an issue. The kitty that the player played was one that could see really far distances. She had a cute old man owner that was sad he was alone. She had to deal with dogs, spy possums. Once in the toy store she had to fight the toymaker and his cat Mythbuster that could control electronic toys. I hope one day to pick this game up as game master again, to deal with more of her human’s issues.
Playing the game as a player, I made a kitty that could shrink and grow in size. This was in reference to my fave childhood superhero Ant-Man. I had to solve the problem of missing kids who were being held captive by a witch with a magic dollhouse. I met many kitty friends and fought a kitty who could duplicate herself.
Give it a go and play if you have never played a rig, or you want something to reignite your imagination. I can’t wait to try more hometowns and more kitties with friends.
