Magic Cat Academy, the Google mini-game that combines drawing and sorcery

Mix Google developers, magic and a black cat and you get Magic Cat Academy, a mini-game not unlike a famous wizard.

To celebrate key dates, historical figures or major annual celebrations, Google does not lack imagination. The developers compete in ingenuity and create doodles as wacky as they are playful and colorful.

Thus, they had marked the spirits by creating a 90s-looking J-RPG to mark the start of the Tokyo Olympics. They also created mini-games for introduce children to coding or simply in honor of the creation of garden gnomes among other things.

But the most popular doodles are often those related to popular holidays. If Christmas is celebrated with drawings of gifts, the developers have chosen to create a mini-game for the Halloween party.

Just like the game for the Olympics, he honors a cat. But this one has a particularity: it is student in a school of magic.

When a brave kitten thinks he’s Harry Potter

Slightly inspired by the universe of Harry Potter, the title takes place in a school of magic for young animals. The game begins with a short cinematic in a very soft graphic style where we can see the hero of the game, a young black cat in a wizard’s robe, studying.

Suddenly, his magic book flies away and a mysterious ghost appears. Terrorizing the students and staff of the school, the young cat witch then sets off in pursuit. His goal : eliminate all the ghosts that lurk in the school in order to restore peace and recover his book.

The Magic School isn’t the only Hogwarts-inspired element in this mini-game. Indeed, the witch cat must use his magic wand to cast spells and defeat ghosts. In fact, one of the spells is reminiscent of Harry’s famous scar.

Nevertheless, these elements remain very classic and circumstantial given that the game is released for Halloween 2016. And in order to make it accessible to as many people as possible, the developers have imagined a short adventure but above all playable on PC, mobiles and tablets.

How to play Magic Cat Academy?

Starting the game

Just like all of Google’s Doodle games, Magic Cat Academy is playable for free and without downloading on your browser. To find the game and launch it, two options are possible:

• First, you can type “Magic Cat Academy” on Google. The game will be the first result of the list and above its frame, it is possible to see the mention “Halloween 2016”
• You can also type in the Google search bar “Doodle Cat game”. This will allow you to access the game… but also its sequel!

The gameplay of the game

The aim of the game is eliminate all ghosts on the screen. To do this, you must cast the corresponding spell(s) appearing above their head.

In order to make a spell, just draw it on the screen. The drawing can be done with the finger on touch screens or with the mouse on PC. The adventure is thus divided into 5 levels taking place in emblematic places of the magic school: potions lessons, refectory, library…

The first 4 are made up of a wave of ghosts to be eliminated before facing a mini-boss. As for the last level, it is the confrontation against the final boss of the ghosts.

Via the spell system, it is possible to perform combos and improve your score if you are quick! But you can also take advantage of some bonuses. There are 4 classic spells to draw: a horizontal line, a vertical line, a V and an inverted V.

But you may also see lightning appear. If cast, it will eliminate all ghosts on the screen. There’s also a heart-shaped spell that pops up if your wizard cat ever gets into trouble.

Be careful to watch over your hearts

Even though it seems that cats have 9 lives, your wizard cat actually only has 5 symbolized by hearts in the top left of the screen. If a ghost touches you, you lose a heart.

It is usually at this moment that a heart spell can appear on the screen to raise your life bar. But be careful because if all your hearts disappear, you lose the game. However, the game saves your progress and it is possible to resume at the level in question by pressing “Restart”.

Magic Cat Academy: a mini-game that had a sequel

Very popular when it was released in 2016, the little witch cat was entitled to a second game simply titled Magic Cat Academy 2. Still free and playable on a browser, it is released for Halloween 2020.

A direct sequel to the first, we find the beaten ghost boss falling into the open sea. Having regained his strength, he haunts the seas with his horde of specters.

As the witch cat celebrates his victory with his friends, he sees the scene and dives into the water to save the seabed. One of his friends has just enough time to cast a water breathing spell before the witch cat arrives in the water.

A new adventure with some bonus spells and surprises

Gameplay-wise, Magic Cat Academy 2 is identical to the first game. The player must always draw spells with the mouse or finger to eliminate the monsters on the screen. As in the first game, the adventure is divided into 5 levels symbolized by different depths.

Enemies encountered include possessed sea creatures, vampire fish or even a lantern fish particularly hungry. But the novelties do not stop there. The game also includes new spells like a spiral to ward off enemies or a circle to activate a shield.

Very soft in its graphics, easy to master and playable by children, Magic Cat Academy is a little adventure that we take pleasure in discovering. So young furry wizard, repeat your best spells because the ghosts are ready to fight!