Pangur Bán is a turn-based strategy board game about three heroic cats defending a shadowy barn from endless waves of hungry mice. You play on a 5×5 grid: cats move like chess queens, mice sneak along the edges, and every decision about where to stand or strike matters.

Each cat has its own role and stats. Pangur is your aggressive striker with high catch (attack). Baircne is a  balanced fighter who gets extra catch when standing near  Pangur. Breoinne, the Guardian, brings big meow (deterrence) at the entrances, scaring mice out of the incoming wave before they even set paw inside. Together they must clear resident mice while holding key entrance squares.  

The mice aren’t passive targets. They move, attack, and if they end their turn on shadow tiles, eat grain and evolve  into tougher 2/2, 3/3, or even nastier threats. Each wave  brings six more mice; your meow at the gates determines how many flee and how many make it onto the board. Let too many feed and your grain loss meter climbs toward game over. 

Pangur Bán is designed as a focused tactics puzzle: small board,  clear rules, and escalating pressure from the incoming  waves. Each run is about reading the board state, chaining  cat moves and attacks efficiently, and deciding when to  commit a cat to a gate versus cleaning up the interior. It’s  playable in short sessions but has enough depth to reward careful planning and experimentation.