How to Play:

• On the colorful board, select two tiles with hidden pictures, one after the other. If they match, they stay revealed and you keep going. If they don't match, the pictures hide again.
• When every picture is revealed (cats, fruits, and X's), the game is over.
• The board is divided into colored blocks. Each color has one cat and one fruit hidden in it. The rest of the tiles are X's.
• Since there's no single winning strategy, every player figures out their own.
• On the side, you'll find the difficulty level buttons:
• Chill - 3x3 grid with two colors, two cats, and two fruits.
• Easy - 4x4 grid with four colors, four cats, and four fruits.
• Medium - 6x6 grid with six colors, six cats, and six fruits.
• Hard - 8x8 grid with eight colors, eight cats, and eight fruits.

Every round has a different combination of colors and positions. The fun is always a brand-new challenge!

Teacher Information

Olly Olly Cats is a playful educational resource designed for early math skills. It helps children practice counting, sequencing, and visual memory, while also reinforcing pattern recognition and logical thinking in a fun, low-pressure way.

Subject: Math

Grade Level: Early Childhood – Pre-K

Learning Focus:

• Strengthen visual memory and spatial awareness through pattern recognition.
• Encourage kids to develop their own problem-solving strategy through trial, error, and planning.
• Encourage independent and collaborative learning.

Learning Benefits:
This game combines a lighthearted memory challenge with meaningful math objectives. It promotes counting and sequencing skills while fostering focus and strategic thinking — making it a versatile tool for both classroom use and at-home learning.

About the Game:

Memory games are great, but the more tiles on the board, the bigger the challenge. The strategy comes down to trying your luck and remembering positions. Just like in Battleship, every move gives you useful information toward winning.

In Olly Olly Cats, the cats are the same in every color, so any cat can match any other cat. The fruits, on the other hand, only match their own kind, like apple-apple or watermelon-watermelon.

Since there's no timer, your mind stays relaxed, which makes room for intuitive planning instead of pressure.

The game was designed for kids 5+, but it's just as fun for adults and seniors looking for a casual game.

And why hide cats in the first place? Anyone with a cat at home knows they're masters of hiding, always one step ahead of any kid, and endlessly driving their humans a little crazy. And with the space kitten Xoxo, it's no different!

Each round takes about one to two minutes, making it perfect for classroom use, but it also works great as a cognitive activity for any age.

Fun Facts About Hide and Seek:

Origin
Hide and seek dates back to Ancient Greece more than 2,000 years ago, with the first written record coming from the Greek writer Julius Pollux in the 2nd century. Its name was a real tongue-twister: 'Apodidraskinda,' Ancient Greek for the act of escaping and hiding. Even though it's just a game today, some believe it may have started out as a spying tactic - can you believe that?

The Name Around the World
In the US it's called 'Hide and Seek.' In Spanish-speaking countries it's often 'Escondidas' (Hidden Ones), and in France it's 'Cache-cache' (Hide-hide) - a fun little repeat, like the game itself! In Germany it's 'Versteckspiel' (Hiding Game). The name changes from place to place, but the game itself is always the same!

Olly Olly Oxen Free
The phrase 'olly olly oxen free' is one of the biggest linguistic mysteries of the playground. The strange part is that it doesn't really mean anything literal - it's the result of centuries of cultural game of telephone. One theory traces it back to 'All ye, all ye, outs in free' (meaning it's safe to come out now). Another possible origin points to German, 'Alle, alle, auch sind frei' (Everyone, everyone is also free). But honestly, it doesn't matter what it means - it's just really fun to shout!

Safety Tips

Hide-and-seek is best when it's safe and fun for everyone! A few quick tips: set clear boundaries before you start (which rooms or areas are okay to hide in), skip tight spots like closets or cabinets, and agree on a signal or time limit so no one stays hidden too long. And always keep an adult nearby to help keep an eye on things.