#Caturday: Boop - the cat-based board game beating Monopoly as UK’s most searched game for Christmas 2022

This Christmas’ hot board game involves cats kicking each other out of bed. Or, as it’s referred to, “booping”. Happy #caturday everyone!
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Board games may not be due a comeback, as some tabletop gaming fans will attest to as it never went anywhere. But with families set to spend Christmas together and the cold weather doing anything but inspiring people to leave their homes, the humble board game is currently one of Google Trends leading topics in the last week.

One game in particular has seen a rise in interest in the UK especially; Boop, touted by creators Smirk and Dagger as “a deceptively cute, deceivingly challenging abstract strategy game for two players.” Like many things on the internet, the involvement of cats, especially the idea of herding cats, has naturally gotten people abuzz with excitement.

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Originally known as Pounce House during its prototype testing, the aim of Boop is to push every other player’s cat one space away from your own. Every time you place a kitten on the bed, it goes “boop.” Which is to say that it pushes every other kitten on the board one space away. Line up three kittens in a row to graduate them into cats and then get three cats in a row to win.

“Can you “boop” your cats into position to win? Or will you just get “booped” right off the bed?” creators of the game have asked customers. The response has been overwhelmingly positive with 322 users on tabletop gaming website Board Game Geeks registering that they wish to own the game.

Dicebreaker, who reviewed the game earlier this month, said: “Boop looks to rightfully throw more of the spotlight on one of tabletop gaming’s true hidden gems from the last five years.” Perhaps it’s time to put that old checkers board and Mouse Trap set with missing pieces to one side this Christmas?

Boop - where to buy

Boop has currently sold out its allocation at a number of online board game retailers, however Zatu Games are expecting a restock of the game, though perhaps not in time for Christmas.

Christmas 2022: Most searched for board Games according to Google

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For those who have a keen interest in board games, you’ll be intrigued to know that over the past twelve months, the tabletop card game Secret Hitler has been one of the most searched games of the year. Boggle and Wingspan were also top searches for 2022, while board game cafes such as Draughts Waterloo also saw a rise in interest.

The top trending board games on Google a week before Christmas are:

  • Chess
  • Twisted
  • Mice and Mystics
  • The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim The Adventure Game
  • Sequence
  • Shut the box
  • Frostpunk: The Board Game
  • Road Runner Game 
  • Parks
  • Splendor
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