Explain a hexagonal path game in four parts: define the board, give the player one valid barrier placement per turn, explain the cat’s automatic shortest-route movement, and state the win and loss conditions.
For a concrete example, use Trap the Cat, Lizely’s deterministic browser puzzle. Its seven-row by seven-column hex field contains a cat in the middle and a disclosed horizontal corridor. Keep the explanation specific to this edition: the exact board, tie-breaking order, and scoring are implementation choices, not universal rules for every puzzle described as a hexagonal path game.
The four-part explanation
Put the core rules in this order so the other player can understand what to do before learning the exceptions:
- Board: The field is a 7×7 hex grid. The cat starts in the middle, most cells begin blocked, and a seven-cell horizontal route remains open through the center.
- Objective: On each turn, block one open cell. Your aim is to remove every route by which the cat can still reach an edge.
- Cat’s response: After a valid barrier, the cat takes one available step along a shortest route to the boundary. The browser evaluates reachable distances with breadth-first search.
- End states: You win when no open neighboring step can still lead to an edge. You lose immediately if the cat lands in the outer row or column.
A concise explanation is: “You place one barrier per turn to remove escape routes. The cat then moves one step toward an edge by the shortest available route. Trap it by eliminating every path before it reaches an outer row or column.”
How the hex field should be described
The board uses offset hex neighbors rather than an ordinary square grid. An interior cell can have six adjacent cells, while cells along an outer edge have fewer available neighbors. If hex geometry matters, show the highlighted cursor moving between adjacent cells instead of relying only on directions such as “left” and “right.” The cat follows these hex-neighbor connections when it searches for a route.
Use the fixed corridor to make the first lesson concrete. Point out that the seven-cell horizontal route is reproducible, not shuffled between rounds. Blocking its left approach makes the cat move right; blocking the remaining right exit on the next turn traps it. Because the fixture is disclosed, you can teach the solution without pretending that every possible hex board has the same shape.
The familiar block-one-cell, cat-moves, edge-loses premise is also described in the Google Play Trap the Cat listing and the independent CoffeeBreak Games rules explanation. Treat those as background references; they do not define this browser edition’s corridor, pathfinding tie-breaking, or score.
Demonstrate the two-turn solution
Run the example once before asking the other player to take over:
- Identify the route. Point to the seven open cells crossing the center of the field and show that the cat occupies the middle cell.
- Select the left approach. Use the arrow keys to move the highlighted placement cursor to the open cell on the cat’s left, then press Space or Enter to place a barrier. Mouse and touch users can select that cell directly.
- Let the cat respond. The valid barrier consumes one turn. With the left approach closed, the cat takes its available shortest step to the right.
- Locate the remaining exit. Point out the open cell that still provides a route toward the right edge. This is the second end of the central corridor that needs closing.
- Place the second barrier. Move the cursor to that remaining exit and press Space or Enter again. This valid barrier removes the cat’s last route to an edge.
- Identify the result. No open neighboring step can now reach an edge, so the cat is trapped. The game freezes on the win state, and movement and blocking are disabled until Restart is selected.
For a broader explanation of evaluating candidate cells, use the guide to choose your next step in a hexagonal path game. In this fixed browser fixture, however, the disclosed two-turn sequence is the shortest demonstrated solution.
Make win, loss, and score explicit
Do not describe proximity to an edge as a loss. When the cat reaches an outer row or column, it escapes and the player loses the round. That loss is terminal: no later barrier can recover the same round, so Restart is required. A win also freezes the board, but it occurs when the cat has no neighboring open route that can still reach an edge.
The score starts at 1,000, and each valid barrier costs 100 points. The complete formula is max(0, 1,000 − 100 × valid turns). For the clean two-turn solution, the calculation is 1,000 − (100 × 2) = 800. Invalid attempts to block the cat or an already blocked cell do not consume a turn and do not count as valid barriers.
Translate loose wording into exact rules
| Loose explanation | What it may mislead | Precise wording |
|---|---|---|
| “Put a wall around the cat.” | It suggests that barriers must form one continuous wall. | “Place one barrier on an open cell each turn and remove every route to an edge.” |
| “Block the cat to catch it.” | The cat’s current cell is not a legal barrier target. | “Trap the cat by closing its remaining routes; you cannot block its current cell.” |
| “The cat chooses any open neighbor.” | It omits the automatic pathfinding rule. | “The cat takes one available step along a shortest reachable route to an edge.” |
| “The cat loses if it gets near an edge.” | Being near an edge is not the terminal condition. | “The cat escapes when its move lands on a cell in the outer row or column, and the player loses the round.” |
| “Each round has a different maze.” | This edition is deterministic and does not randomize the board. | “This edition always starts with the disclosed seven-cell corridor.” |
Using precise language also prevents a common board-design misunderstanding: barriers occupy individual cells, and the cat may still have several geometric neighbors even when only one of them offers a useful route.
Show controls, restart, and saved information
The keyboard workflow is straightforward: arrow keys move the highlighted placement target, and Space or Enter places a barrier. Mouse and touch users can select a cell directly. The full 49-cell grid is exposed as an accessible grid; each cell announces its row, column, and whether it contains the cat, is blocked, or remains open. A visible outline identifies the current keyboard target.
After a win or escape, select Restart to return the cat, cursor, corridor, score, and turn counter to their initial values. A completed best score may be stored under a game-specific key in browser localStorage. It is not uploaded, attached to an account, or shared with other players, and clearing site data or changing browser profiles can remove it. There is no timer, public leaderboard, login requirement, or network opponent.
The shared game shell also has a boss key. Press Escape twice within 400 milliseconds to cover the puzzle with a simulated operations spreadsheet, then repeat the double press to return to the unchanged board. The cover is visual only and sends no data.
Finish with a teaching script
End your explanation with this spoken summary: “The cat starts in the center of a short, fixed hex corridor. You get one barrier placement per turn. After each valid placement, the cat moves one step by the shortest available route to an edge. Close every route before it lands on the outer row or column. If no neighboring path can reach an edge, you win; if it reaches the edge, you lose and must restart.”
Then ask the other player to point to the left approach, name the cat’s likely next step, and identify the cell they would block on turn two. If they can complete that sequence, they understand the complete supported workflow. Present Trap the Cat as a brief deterministic path-planning challenge, not as a measure of intelligence or attention.