There's a charming new game called 'The Minister's Cat'. It's very funny. You'll all get very angry when you lose.
- Scrooge (1970)

The Minister's Cat is a party game that is also a great way to pass the time on long journeys.

How To Play

All players sit in a circle, or if this is impossible (such as during a car journey) the order in which the players take turns is decided. Which variation of the game is used and whether the rhythm method¹ will apply will then be agreed.

Variation One: Consecutive Letters

In this version the players go through the alphabet consecutively while playing. So the first player has to say something beginning with the letter A, the second beginning with the letter B, the third person C and so on. The first player says 'The minister's cat is an' and then describes the minister's cat with any adjective that starts with the letter A, completing the sentence with the word 'cat'. For example: 'The minister's cat is an attractive cat'. The second person would then say 'The minister's cat is a boring cat', the third person 'The minister's cat is a cute cat' and so on. When you reach X, you may use words beginning with 'ex'.

Anyone who can't come up with an adjective is out of the game.

If you make it all the way through the alphabet, the game might sound something like this:

• The minister's cat is an abnormal cat.
• The minister's cat is a brittle cat.
• The minister's cat is a cantankerous cat.
• The minister's cat is a dubious cat.
• The minister's cat is an evil cat.
• The minister's cat is a frisky cat.
• The minister's cat is a gregarious cat.
• The minister's cat is a helpful cat.
• The minister's cat is an iconoclastic cat.
• The minister's cat is a jovial cat.
• The minister's cat is a kitschy cat.
• The minister's cat is a luminous cat.
• The minister's cat is a magnanimous cat.
• The minister's cat is a nostalgic cat.
• The minister's cat is an optimistic cat.
• The minister's cat is a pleasant cat.
• The minister's cat is a quarrelsome cat.
• The minister's cat is a rambunctious cat.
• The minister's cat is a satiated cat.
• The minister's cat is a tumultuous cat.
• The minister's cat is an undesirable cat.
• The minister's cat is a vulnerable cat.
• The minister's cat is a waxy cat.
• The minister's cat is an extravagant cat.
• The minister's cat is a yellow cat.
• The minister's cat is a zealous cat.

Variation Two: Same Letter

In this version of the game the players use the same letter until someone is out. The first player says 'The minister's cat is an' and then describes the minister's cat with any adjective that starts with the letter A, for example: 'The minister's cat is an adorable cat'. The next player must also use the letter A - such as 'The minister's cat is an antisocial cat' followed by the next player suggesting, say, 'The minister's cat is an angry cat' and so on all the way around the circle and continuing until someone is unable to think of a word beginning with 'A'. Again, anyone who comes up blank or repeats a word that has already been used is out.

In the next round the letter B is used - example: 'The minister's cat is a bashful cat', 'The minister's cat is a boastful cat'. Continue through the alphabet using a new letter in each round.

Rhythmic Enhancement

Of course, someone will come up with an answer just as everyone else thinks they are out. How can you avoid this? A common way to play is to a clapping rhythm, usually involving slapping knees as well as clapping hands, and the answers must be given before the final clap.

To demonstrate this, Bold represents a hand clap and Italics to represent a knee slap:

The minister's cat is an ADJECTIVE  cat.

If the player doesn't answer by the second cat clap, they are out. This not only solves arguments but also ensures that the game moves at a reasonable pace, especially as you can choose to increase the rhythm's speed as the game goes on.

Greater Challenges

As with many games, The Minister's Cat is infinitely adaptable and can be tweaked for any occasion. Do you want a more challenging game? Then play a version in which the word you say must begin with the last letter of the previous word. For instance if the round begins 'The minister's cat is an ambitious cat', as 'ambitious' ends with 's', the next person's adjective must begin with 's'. The round might then continue 'the minister's cat is a scary cat', 'the minister's cat is a youthful cat', 'the minister's cat is a loving cat' and so forth². As before, someone who is unable to find an adjective, or uses an adjective beginning with the wrong letter, or repeats one previously said, is out.

Another way of developing the game is to introduce the option of changing direction. For example, if player two uses an adjective such as 'sanctimonious' that begins and ends with the same letter, instead of it being player three's turn next it would be player one's go again.

Did You Know?

This game is great for developing children's vocabulary as well as teaching timing and rhythm.

The game The Minister's Cat had a resurgence in popularity after it featured in the 1970 film Scrooge, a British musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol. In it the Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge to see his nephew Fred, who is playing this game with friends. Scrooge enjoys the game even more than counting money. In the words of the film's catchiest tunes:

Thank you very much, thank you very much, that's the nicest thing that anyone's ever done for me.