Mischief Meowfia

ABOUT THE GAME

Mischief Meowfia is a strategy and social chaos board game for three to six players where cats pull jobs, plant evidence, and outsmart The Law.

THEY CALL IT A HOME. YOU CALL IT TERRITORY.

PULL JOBS. FRAME RIVALS. DODGE THE LAW.

ONLY ONE CAT WALKS AWAY THE BOSS OF THE MEOWFIA.

The inspiration for Mischief Meowfia came from my three cats: Mr. Bean, Calliope, and Cheese. There have been countless times when my girlfriend Ann and I heard a loud crash from another room, rushed in, and found a scene of chaos while two cats casually walked away. That constant moment of wondering which one caused the mess became the heart of the game: house cats creating mischief, but no one knows who is guilty.

My goal for this project was to create something I could be genuinely proud of, a game people could grow to love the same way I love this hobby. I wanted players to have memorable and humorous experiences every time they play.

The game took a little over a year to design and playtest, with many iterations, rewrites, and adjustments along the way. My family, especially my brothers Luke and Max, played a major role throughout the process. They tested every version, helped build the original prototypes, and contributed ideas that shaped the game. Max even came up with the name Mischief Meowfia, and the other three cats in the game are each based on one of my siblings’ Cats.

Once the gameplay felt solid, I began looking for an artist. I put together some sample images to show the style I wanted and posted an open call on Reddit. Around fifty artists responded. After reviewing the work and narrowing the list, I chose to work with Judas Benedikas. This was his first large scale project and his first board game, and he was incredible to collaborate with. He was creative, responsive, and fully committed to bringing the world of the Meowfia to life. It truly felt like we were building the game together.

I am incredibly proud of what this project has become, and I am grateful to everyone who helped me reach this point. My family, Ann, our friends who play tested, and now you for taking the time to learn about my game. Thank you for supporting Mischief Meowfia.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX

• 7 Character Standees — 1.5" x 2.33"
• 7 Standee Bases
• 120 Cards — Standard Poker Size (2.5" x 3.5")
• 20 Job Markers — 1.25" Circular
• 48 Claim Markers — .88" Square
• 6 Player Boards — 5" x 7"
• 1 Game Board — 18" x 18" (Quad-fold)
• 2 Dice — Standard
• Rulebook
• Game Box — 9.85" x 9.85" x 2"

Printing in partnership with AdMagic!

HOW IT PLAYS

Setup

• Start by placing the Game Board in the center of the table.
• Shuffle all Job Markers and place them face-down on the paw print spaces around the board.
• Each player chooses a Cat Standee and matching Player Board, Claim Markers, then takes their deck of Mischief Cards.
• Shuffle your deck and draw seven cards to start your hand.
• Next, place The Law Standee in the Living Room and set the Law Deck in its space on the board. 
• Roll to determine who goes first

Turn Order

 On your turn, you’ll do three main things: Move, Act, and Draw.

Step One: Move.

•  Roll two six-sided dice for your movement.
• You can split your movement however you like — move, act, then finish moving.
• You cannot move through red tiles (danger zones). You may only enter them to Pull a Job or hide in a Safehouse.

Step Two: Act.

• You can play up to two Mischief Cards during your turn.
• Cards might let you Pull Jobs, Frame rivals, or Stir Up Trouble to manipulate The Law. But you may only play one Pull a Job card.
• When standing on a face-down Job Marker, you can Pull a Job to flip it face-up and earn Respect — but that room gains Heat, making it riskier when The Law moves.

Step Three: Draw.

• At the end of your turn, draw one card.
• Then roll to see if The Law activates this round.
• If your roll meets or beats the activation threshold for your player count, The Law takes a turn.

The Law

• When The Law takes a turn, flip over the top card on the Law Deck. 
• If it enters a room with cats inside, the one holding the hottest job gets Busted — losing Respect, equal to the total amount of heat in the room, while the evidence, or Job Markers, in that room are cleared.
• So stay quiet... or make sure someone else looks more guilty.

Win Conditions

• The game ends when the Law Deck runs out or when every Job Marker has been revealed.
• The cat with the most Respect wins — becoming the new boss of the Meowfia.

So pull smart jobs, frame your rivals, and time The Law just right. Because in Mischief Meowfia, it’s not about staying out of trouble, it’s about making sure someone else takes the fall.

WHY IT'S FUN

The heart of Mischief Meowfia is the player interaction. Every round creates surprising, dramatic, and hilarious moments as cats sabotage each other, plant evidence, and desperately try to avoid The Law’s attention.

Unpredictable, Hilarious Chaos

Some of the funniest moments come from the chain reactions players accidentally create. In one playtest, a player forced The Law to act with Stir Up Trouble. The Law busted a rival in the hottest room… but because the Heat was high enough to trigger the cards repeat effect, The Law immediately moved to the next hottest room — which happened to be the room the triggering player was in. They ended up busting themselves in a comedic backfire.

Moments like this happen constantly: huge busts, lucky escapes, tense dice rolls, and the table erupting when someone realizes Drop the Bag + Zoomies is, in fact, a poop joke.

Mean, Clever Sabotage

Interactions in Mischief Meowfia can get deliciously spicy. Players regularly set traps, steer suspicion, or plant evidence before forcing The Law to pounce. One of the most satisfying combos in the game is setting someone up with Set Up a Fall Guy, then triggering the Law with Stir Up Trouble and sending them straight into a high-Heat disaster of your own making.

Different Every Time

Because the 20 Job Markers are randomized across the board each game, there’s never a single “best path” or predictable strategy. Each session plays out differently, with new routes, new hotspots, and new schemes.

Easy to Learn, Fun Immediately

Most groups understand the loop after the first round. It has a cozy chaos, silly sabotage, light strategy, party-game energy that clicks quickly, especially for cat lovers.

Mischief Meowfia creates laughs, surprises, dramatic turns, and giddy moments of perfectly timed revenge. It’s designed so that when the game ends, players look around the table smiling and say:

“Lets play again.”

WHO IT'S FOR

Mischief Meowfia is for anyone who enjoys light strategy, social interaction, and a bit of chaotic fun. If you love cats, you will immediately connect with the theme and the personalities behind every card. The game shines with groups that enjoy table talk, bluffing, and making dramatic plays that get everyone laughing.

It is easy to teach and becomes fun within the first round, which makes it great for casual groups, mixed skill levels, and families who want something fast and replayable. There is enough strategy to keep experienced players engaged, but not so much that it overwhelms new players.

If your favorite game moments are the ones where something unexpected happens, someone pulls off a wild combo, or the whole table reacts at once, this game is built for you. 

MY BACKSTORY

My name is Zane, I am a game developer born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, where I grew up with my parents, two older brothers, and an older sister. Games have always been a major part of my life, whether it was video games, tabletop RPGs, or board games around the table. That interest grew even stronger in high school, where I met my longtime girlfriend, Ann, and many of the close friends I still play with today. We started a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, and that experience is what pulled me deeper into tabletop design.

I graduated from Ohio University with a degree in Game Development. While in school, I created a tabletop role playing game called Ascendant Archives, inspired by Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition and set in a world influenced by Greek and Roman mythology. Designing that game solidified my love for creating systems, stories, and player experiences. After college, Ann and I spent two years living in Maine, and during that time we adopted our three cats. Eventually we moved back home to Cincinnati, where we later moved into our first house together and adopted our dog Artemis (Artie for short). 

Over the past year, I have been developing my newest project, Mischief Meowfia, and turning the ideas I have carried with me for years into something real. This game represents my passion for design, the people who inspired me, and the experiences that made me want to create games in the first place.

Check out more at - https://www.mischiefmeowfia.com/