Whack A Catgirl: An Anime Fandom Time Capsule

• Author: Borealis Capps

• Editor: Samantha Ferreira

In this day and age, convention attendees are likely to spot the Asmadi Games logo adorning titles like One Deck Dungeon, Innovation, or perhaps We Didn’t Playtest This At All in the tabletop gaming room. Even so, only those versed in the most ancient lore can delve deeper into the company’s back catalog to unleash the essence of anime conventions of the aughts. The treasure they seek, Whack a Catgirl, contains the vibes and excitement of a Saturday night at the local con inside a single cardboard deck box. 

Published in 2007, Whack a Catgirl contains what game designer Chris Cieslik and artist Valerie Fisse thought would resonate most with anime convention goers of the era. And, for the most part, reviewers at the time felt the duo succeeded, which makes it a fascinating time capsule of fandom norms at the time. For example, Board Game Geek’s Simon Hammar described the experience as, “played with people who are already initiated in the typical anime clichées (sic) surrounding catgirls and anime conventions, this game is one of the best 10-minute fillers around.”

Get Into The Game

It all starts with the “lol random XD” vibes of the game’s overview: 

“Neko-chan the catgirl is cute. Annoyingly cute. Because of this fact, she needs to be pelted by various objects, each worth a variety of points. Whomever has the most points at the end of the game is the Champion of Everything. And you want that.”

Among action cards, which feature relics of the era like brick-like Nokia phones and ninjas referencing buying Naruto shoes off eBay, are a wide selection of items players use to whack Neko-chan with. Players can pelt her with fan-made plushies of Kagome and Inuyasha, or tempt her with yaoi manga fanzines (which score negative points if you’re caught with them at the end of the game). At the same time, contenders will also need to avoid perilous fangirl stampedes while clinging to their precious boxes of Pocky. Each card has unique flavor text that will absolutely make you groan or grin while remembering the fandom humor of the era.

While some things have changed, it may be even more fascinating to see how things have stayed the same. Cards like “Waiting Game” lament spending all day waiting in massive lines. Meanwhile, the Shinies card features magical girl toys that could appear on store shelves today. Then there’s the “Tentacle” card which… Well, the continuing sales of a certain questionably named grape soda are to be believed, some of our fandom in-jokes have barely changed. There is also, admittedly, a bit too much comfort surrounding ogling women and cosplayers in inappropriate ways within the flavor text jokes as well, something that conventions still struggle to combat. 

Neither Whack a Catgirl nor its small expansion are readily available for sale today, which certainly makes sense. It’s hardly a surprise that people would rather lock memories of the era of yaoi paddles and excessive glomping away deep in the recesses of their minds instead of reliving jokes that won’t exactly land with today’s anime fans. While this is understandable, I can’t help but miss the kind of earnestness needed to make cheesy Gurren Lagann intros while reviewing an anime convention parody card game, without caring what others think that was readily available in the aughts. 

While the opportunities to play Whack a Catgirl may be slim, it still has a place on my board game shelf. As such, I can’t help but recommend that any anime fan who has the opportunity to experience this odd curiosity at least once. Sure those times were less than perfect, but even without rose tinted glasses, there are still parts of them that are worth enjoying.