What is the Mouse and Cats Game?
The Mouse and Cats game (Ratón y Gatos) is an entertaining strategy game played on a chess board. This implementation uses CLIPS (C Language Integrated Production System) as an expert system to provide intelligent AI for the cats, making it a challenging single-player experience.
The game features asymmetric gameplay where one player controls a mouse trying to escape, while four cats work together to trap it.
Board Layout
The game is played on a standard 8x8 chess board:
- Only black squares are used for gameplay
- White squares are not accessible to any pieces
- The board contains 32 playable black squares arranged in a checkerboard pattern
- Row and column numbers (1-8) are used to identify positions
The game uses diagonal movement only, similar to checkers, which is why only black squares are used.
Piece Setup
Initial Position
Two players are needed to set up the game:
The Four Cats:
- Positioned at one end of the board (row 8)
- Occupy all four black squares in the first row
- Specifically placed at positions: (8,1), (8,3), (8,5), and (8,7)
- All cats use the same color pieces
The Mouse:
- Positioned at the opposite end of the board (row 1)
- Can start on any black square in the first row
- Default starting position: (1,4)
- Uses a different colored piece from the cats
------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
| /\\_/\ | | /\\_/\ | | /\\_/\ | | /\\_/\ | |
|( o.o )| |( o.o )| |( o.o )| |( o.o )| | 8
| > ^ < | | > ^ < | | > ^ < | | > ^ < | |
------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
| | . . . | | . . . | | . . . | | . . . |
| | . . . | | . . . | | . . . | | . . . | 7
| | . . . | | . . . | | . . . | | . . . |
------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
| . . . | | . . . | | . . . | | . . . | |
| . . . | | . . . | | . . . | | . . . | | 6
| . . . | | . . . | | . . . | | . . . | |
------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
| | . . . | | . . . | | . . . | | . . . |
| | . . . | | . . . | | . . . | | . . . | 5
| | . . . | | . . . | | . . . | | . . . |
------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
| . . . | | . . . | | . . . | | . . . | |
| . . . | | . . . | | . . . | | . . . | | 4
| . . . | | . . . | | . . . | | . . . | |
------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
| | . . . | | . . . | | . . . | | . . . |
| | . . . | | . . . | | . . . | | . . . | 3
| | . . . | | . . . | | . . . | | . . . |
------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
| . . . | | . . . | | . . . | | . . . | |
| . . . | | . . . | | . . . | | . . . | | 2
| . . . | | . . . | | . . . | | . . . | |
------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
| |(_)_(_)| | . . . | | . . . | | . . . |
| | (o o) | | . . . | | . . . | | . . . | 1
| |==\\o/==| | . . . | | . . . | | . . . |
------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Turn-Based Gameplay Flow
The game follows a strict alternating turn sequence:
Mouse moves first
The mouse always takes the first turn. The player controlling the mouse selects a valid diagonal square to move to.
Cat responds
After the mouse moves, the AI (or second player) moves one of the four cats. The cats can only move forward.
Turns alternate
Play continues with the mouse and cats alternating turns until one side achieves their victory condition.
In this CLIPS implementation, the cat AI is designed to win 100% of games when playing optimally, making it a challenging puzzle for the human player.
Game Objective
- Mouse Goal: Reach any black square on row 8 (the cats’ starting row)
- Cats Goal: Trap the mouse so it has no legal moves available
The game combines tactical movement with strategic planning, requiring the mouse player to find creative paths while the cats work cooperatively to close off escape routes.