Just a link for you today: Chat Noir is a fun game where you try to trap a cat before it escapes. It’s quite mathematical, too. Can you figure out strategies for trapping the cat? Can you always win, or are there starting configurations from which it is impossible to catch the cat? Does the size of the playing field make a difference?

Instead of playing against the computer, you can also play against a friend. Just print out some hexagonal graph paper, use some sort of marker (e.g. a coin) to represent the cat, and take turns moving the marker and crossing out grid cells. (Teachers: this would make for a fun math activity!) What are good strategies for the cat?