You are a cat and have recently arrived in a new home. Now you're alone in this unfamiliar environment for the first time and set out to explore it. Will your exploration be cozy and cute or chaotic and destructive? (GM-less/solo TTRPG for 1-4 players)
You are a cat and have recently arrived in your new home. Now you're alone in this unfamiliar environment for the first time and set out to explore it.
Is your exploration going to be curious and cute? Or are you a cat that's out for chaos and destruction? How are you going to interact with the environment and what are you going to discover? Play to find out!
In Catcrawl, you collaborate to tell the story of the cat's exploration by using an apartment map with 24 squares the cat can visit.
Players take turns playing the cat, and describing its environment and the consequences of the cat's actions. Roles rotate with every new square and several prompt lists support your exploration and narration.
Catcrawl is a GM-less or solo role-playing game for 1-4 players and a play time of 30 minutes to 3 hours (as you like). It needs no prep - just open the zine and start playing!
"Catcrawl is a cute, cozy game about exploring a house as a cat. It's a perfect game for those moments you want something quick and easy: a last-minute game, or something to play when a player doesn't show up. The rules give you enough support without bogging you down. It plays really easily online too, which is always a plus! I had a great time playing this and absolutely recommend it. It's light-hearted, fun and will probably be one of the cutest games you own!" - Jazy (playtester)
We're funding the digital and physical production of the game in English.
This includes the fees for translating, proofreading, and printing, and half of the artwork and layout costs.
At the beginning of this campaign, the game is already fully written, playtested, illustrated, and layouted in German. The translation into English is in progress and will use an adapted version of the existing layout. The writing, translation, illustration, and layout are of course 100% human-made.
We expect the English version of the zine to be finished and shipped out by mid-April 2025. The German version will be released for the local Free RPG Days in mid-March 2025 (as a free PDF and locally available limited print run). After crowdfunding fulfillment, both versions will be regularly available through Plotbunny Games and our retail partners.
Mockup of the cover and two interior pages (subject to change)
These are our current plans for the zine:
Format
28 pages, A5 format (148 x 210 mm / 5.8 x 8.3 inches)
Full-color cover and interior
Zine: Staple-bound, uncoated paper
PDF: Screenreader-ready with tags, image descriptions, and clickable internal references and external links
Contents
Complete instructions for play
Original artwork, including a lovingly detailed apartment map with 24 squares to explore
Descriptions and consequence prompts for all squares
Ideas for cat actions
Extra material (free downloads for everyone)
Printable apartment map (A4 sheet)
Cat minis (A4 sheet with 3 different cat figures to cut out and fold into minis)
Playsheet template for playingcards.io
Mockup of the playsheet and cat minis (subject to change)
Besides the cover artwork, apartment map, and cat minis by Andrea Rick, the artwork in Catcrawl has been created by the wonderful Plotbunny Games Discord community and their families.
Sixteen people (Arcess, Carabas Crafts by Brigitte Massek, Ilkao, Jasmin Neitzel, Jolie, Jonas Richter, Joy, Knurrkater, Kuchenklau, Marino, May-Britt Ilse, Moni Massek, naerrin, Nairi, Serina, and Tali) have contributed over 30 black-and-white cat drawings in a glorious variety of styles and drawing techniques.
All of their cats are included in Catcrawl's layout. Together, they show the creativity of our community, the individuality of their creators, and their support of our games. They also illustrate what we lose if we don't cherish human-made art in all of its diversity and stages of proficiency. (Yes, this is an anti-AI statement.)
Because all cats are beautiful. And we need our communities now more than ever.
Mockup of two interior pages with community cat art (subject to change)
We're keeping this campaign very simple to allow for quick and easy fulfillment. You can get the game as a PDF or as a printed zine (PDF included). You can also use the 1 € level to support us in spirit. This also gives you access to the add-ons (see below).
Thank You - 1 € / ca. $1.03
Catcrawl as a PDF - 9 € / ca. $9.30
Catcrawl as a printed zine and PDF - 16 € / ca. $16.50
Shipping will be charged additionally after the campaign through BackerKit. Actual costs for shipping, packaging, and handling will be calculated when we move into fulfillment.
Shipping costs for 1-3 zines are likely to be about (currency conversion estimates as of Feb. 3rd, 2025):
Germany - 6 € / ca. $6.20
Rest of the EU - 9 € / ca. $9.30
Switzerland, Great Britain - 10 € / ca. $10.30
USA, Canada, Australia - 12 € / ca. $12.40
Rest of the World - 15 € / ca. $15.50
VAT is already included in the pledge/add-on prices where it applies. Backers will be responsible for any additional import taxes, fees or tariffs (if any) on their end.
Plotbunny Games is an award-winning indie TTRPG publisher from Berlin, Germany. We publish both translations and German originals. Great games by marginalized creators are especially dear to our heart. You can find out more about us on our website (German-only so far) and on our Itch.io page (English and German). You can also follow us on social media.
Andrea Rick (she/her) — Game Design, Artwork, Layout, Translation
Andrea Rick is a game designer, graphic designer, translator, and editor and the sole owner of Plotbunny Games. You can find her games on Itch.io, including Miss Bernburg's Finishing School for Young Ladies and Viva la QueerBar, as well as a bunch of smaller games. She previously wrote and published four other games together with Jasmin. You can find her on various social media.
Jasmin Neitzel (she/her) — Game Design, Crowdfunding Consulting
Jasmin Neitzel is a veteran of the TTRPG industry; she has done about everything one can do with a game, from editing to line development to marketing and community management. She has worked on The Dark Eye, The World of Darkness and designed Against the Monster with Andrea. You can find her socials and podcast here.
Members of the Plotbunny Games Community — Further Artwork
Arcess, Carabas Crafts by Brigitte Massek, Ilkao, Jasmin Neitzel, Jolie, Jonas Richter, Joy, Knurrkater, Kuchenklau, Marino, May-Britt Ilse, Moni Massek, naerrin, Nairi, Serina, and Tali contributed further cat drawings to the project.
Marx Shepherd (they/them) — Proofreading
Marx Shepherd is a freelance editor and writer who makes weird games for cool people and cool games for weird people. They're also the community manager for Far Horizons CoOp, the former host and producer of Yes Indie'd Pod, and the former cat herder for the in*die zine. They're perhaps best known for their editing work on Anamnesis by Blinking Birch Games, Valiant Horizon and Apocalypse Frame by Binary Star Games, and Terminus by Bright Bard Games.
Would you like to feature Catcrawl on your blog, podcast, or stream? Please get in touch - we'd be happy to give an interview or play a session with you!
