Dungeons & Kittens

Dungeons & Kittens is a family-friendly fantasy TTRPG where players are young kittens exploring a rebuilt animal world long after humans have disappeared. The tone is cozy, colorful, and adventurous rather than grim: kingdoms, forests, castles, magic, and odd dangers are filtered through small heroes trying to help their communities.

The English Core Rulebook from Edge Studio expands the French game Donjons & Chatons by Studio Deadcrows into a 288-page hardcover with setting lore, character creation, magic, Storyteller advice, ready characters, and four complete adventures. It is best treated as an all-ages fantasy adventure game with real campaign support, not only as a novelty game about cats.

What The Game Is

The table plays kitten adventurers in the Kingdom of Cats, a medieval-fantasy animal society built over the remains of the vanished human world. One player is the Storyteller, while the others make kitten characters with childhoods, abilities, skills, traits, tools, and optional meowgic. The official age guidance is 8+ with an adult, which matches the teaching-first structure of the Starter Set and the lighter Core Rulebook rules.

Publication History And Editions

Donjons & Chatons was first released in French in 2023 by Studio Deadcrows. Edge Studio and Asmodee brought the line to English with a Starter Set and the Core Rulebook. ICv2 reported the English Core Rulebook for hobby retail release on March 27, 2026, and The Gaming Gang reported it in stores in April 2026. The 2026 ENNIE Awards later gave the Starter Set Gold for Best Family Game/Product.

What You Need To Play

The Core Rulebook is the full game: rules, setting, advice, character options, pregenerated kittens, and four ready-to-play adventures. The Starter Set is the easier first box if you want physical teaching aids, maps, tokens, 24 dice, five character sheets, three learn-as-you-play adventures, and two longer adventures. Edge also provides official downloads for maps, reference sheets, character sheets, pregenerated sheets, and a Quickstart Adventure.

Core Rules

Dungeons & Kittens uses a simple 3d6 System. When an action is uncertain, a player rolls three six-sided dice and counts successes against the relevant ability. The three central abilities are Strong, Smart, and Cute, so the game keeps character identity readable for children and first-time players. Skills, traits, tools, and circumstances can improve the roll, add a die, or let characters help one another.

Characters track Heart points and Furr-endship points. Traits can create an advantage or give another kitten a Furr-endship point, which keeps the game pointed toward cooperation rather than solo optimization. Magic, called meowgic, is divided into paths tied to abilities, and spells are spent until the next in-game day.

Play Structure

Adventures are structured around travel, problem solving, social scenes, exploration, and non-grisly danger. Conflict can happen, but the official materials separate intimidation, claws, and other forms of catfight from graphic violence. The result is still an adventure game: players make plans, take risks, spend resources, learn about places, and gain experience between adventures.

Character Creation And Advancement

Players build kittens from childhoods, cattributes, skills, traits, and tools. The Core Rulebook lists 18 childhoods and enough guidance to help a new player understand what their kitten is good at without reading a large menu of combat options. Between adventures, characters can spend experience to improve, learn new skills, and grow into more capable young heroes.

Running The Game

The Storyteller role is intentionally supported. The Core Rulebook includes advice for running the game, while the Starter Set teaches both players and the Storyteller through introductory adventures. That makes Dungeons & Kittens a strong candidate for family tables, school clubs, library programs, and adults introducing younger players to TTRPGs.

Campaign Fit

Dungeons & Kittens can run as a one-shot, especially from the quickstart or starter adventures, but the stronger table fit is a short-to-medium campaign. The world gives kittens communities to protect, strange places to discover, and recurring consequences without asking the group to manage a dense tactical build system. It pairs well with episodic adventure arcs where each session can still feel complete.

Reception And Awards

Public rating data is early. Asmodee's store listed three positive Core Rulebook reviews during research, while BoardGameGeek had only very small rating samples for the Core Rulebook and Starter Set. The stronger external signal is awards recognition: the Starter Set won 2026 ENNIE Gold for Best Family Game/Product. Use that as a signal of family-table fit and presentation, not as proof that every group will prefer its gentler tone.

Where It Is Strongest

Dungeons & Kittens is strongest when the table wants fantasy adventure that is easy to teach, gentle enough for mixed-age play, and still structured enough to support real sessions. It fits groups that like talking animals, cozy danger, creative problem solving, and a GM-led game that does not ask new players to learn a large rules engine before play begins.

Where It May Frustrate

Avoid it if your group wants tactical combat depth, harsh survival pressure, adult horror, or character-build optimization. The cat premise and all-ages tone are central. Groups that want a grim post-apocalyptic campaign may find the setting too soft, while groups that want a generic fantasy replacement for D&D may want more mechanical breadth.

Best Starting Path

For children, family tables, classrooms, and brand-new Storytellers, start with the Starter Set or the free official Quickstart Adventure. For an adult GM planning a longer campaign, use the Core Rulebook first and treat the Starter Set material as teaching support and ready scenario fuel.

Research Notes

Last checked September 10, 2026. Sources reviewed included the official Edge Studio Core Rulebook page, Edge's official downloads page, Edge's introductory article, Asmodee's Core Rulebook and Starter Set store pages, ICv2 retail coverage, The Gaming Gang release coverage, the approved Dungeons & Kittens wiki, BoardGameGeek listings, and 2026 ENNIE results coverage.