About this game
Zero Cats is a free number puzzle card roguelike. Every round has a target between 20 and 120. You draw 10 operation cards from your deck and play once, in order: you must land on exactly 0, and your score must reach the round's target score. Score = base (the sum of the numbers on your played cards) × the multiplied mults of three form families. The math is never changed: a card that says −5 always subtracts 5. 15 cats (Monk, Blind Gambler, Abyss Walker, Collector…) bend the rules or the scoring and shape your style, like Minimalist, Mental Math or Poker. There are 12 rounds and 3 hearts, no coins and no shop; every two rounds you pick one of three rewards. Your run and best score are saved in this browser, and it plays on desktop and mobile with no download.
How to play
- Each round has a target number and a target score. Tap 1–6 operation cards from your 10-card hand in order; the path updates live, and once it lands exactly on 0 you see the three forms and the score for that hand.
- Press Play to score it. Land exactly on 0 with a score at or above the target score to clear the round. If you miss 0 or fall short, you lose 1 heart and move on. Lose all 3 hearts and the run ends; clear 12 rounds to win.
- Score = base × mult. The base is the sum of the numbers on the cards you play (÷2 counts as 2). The mult comes from three form families; each family counts its best form and the three multiply: Face (Pair, Small Straight, Two Pair, Big Straight, Three of a Kind, Flush, Full House, Four of a Kind), Parity (Even Chain, Odd Chain, Long Even Chain, Long Odd Chain, Zigzag) and Flow (Minus Run, Downhill, Sandwich, Rebound).
- Minus can't take the number below 0, and ÷ has to divide evenly. You get 2 discards per round: select cards you don't want and press Discard to draw the same number of new ones. If a hand really can't be solved, press Can't solve it to lose 1 heart and move on.
- Adopt a cat to start; you can keep up to 3. After every two rounds, pick one of three: a new cat, a form upgrade (mult +1), a gold or wild card, or removing a card from your deck. Tap a cat to see its effect, a tip and what it has stacked up.
- Keyboard: 1–9 and 0 pick cards 1–10, Backspace takes one back, Enter plays.
Zero Cats tips
- Find a way to 0 first, then look for a prettier one: a hand often has several ways to reach 0, and one form level can multiply your score several times. The result screen tells you the best score the hand could make.
- The three families don't compete: one path can be Three of a Kind, Zigzag and Downhill at once, and all three mults multiply.
- ÷ only works when it divides evenly, and minus can't take you below 0 (except with Abyss Walker). Each card shows what the number becomes if you play it next; cards you can't play are greyed out.
- Cats decide your style: Monk wants short paths, Weaver wants all 6 cards; Echo wants the same form every round, Rebel wants something new each time. Tap a cat to read it and see what it has stacked up.
- Discards are limited: 2 per round. Swap out cards you can't use to make room for the form you want.
Where it comes from
Zero Cats is an original game made for this site, redesigned from our Zero Joker: targets stay small so every hand has several solutions, coins and the shop are gone in favour of form multipliers, and the jokers became 15 cats that change how you think.
It was inspired by a countdown-to-zero entry from GMTK Game Jam 2026 and by card roguelikes. The cat illustrations were generated with AI and then hand-picked and cropped.
FAQ
How is it different from Zero Joker?
Zero Cats is a redesign: targets have only two or three digits, so most hands can reach 0 in several ways; there are no coins or shop, and your score comes from form multipliers; the jokers became 15 cats that change how you think. The math itself is never changed.
Can every round be solved?
The deal is checked so that your 10 cards always have at least one way to land exactly on 0. Whether you also reach the target score depends on the path you find and the cats you bring.
Is my progress saved?
Yes. Your current run is saved in this browser automatically, so you can close the page and pick it up later. Your best score is saved locally too.