Quick Summary
Deal four cards face down to each player and set aside the remaining cards as a draw deck. Each person's four down cards are arranged in a horizontal line. All players can peek at their two outer cards, once only. On their turn, each player can take the top card from the draw deck or the face up card in the discard pile. They can exchange this card for any of their four face-down cards but without peeking. At any time, a player can end the round and give each other player one more turn. The goal is to have the smallest point value when your four cards are added together.
Peek, Swap, and Draw Two cards add an extra twist. According to the game's creator, as children play Rat-a-tat Cat, they develop a sense of timing and an understanding of basic, but essential, mathematical concepts. They learn ways to remember their cards and strategies to figure out what cards other players might have. They also begin to develop an intuitive sense of probability. Rat-a-tat Cat requires skill, strategy, and awareness, challenging both young children and adults.