Land Ho! An Overview of The Isle of Cats

Land ho! A mysterious island appears on the horizon, and legends tell of an ancient race of fierce, wise, and playful cats that made this land their home. But it is threatened by the approaching armies of Vesh Darkhand, who will stop at nothing to destroy the island — trees will burn and ancient rocks may be broken, but with your help, these noble creatures can be saved!

Welcome to The Isle of Cats. Published by The City of Games and designed by Frank West, this award-winning tile-placement board game tasks players with rescuing exotic cats and fitting them just so onto your boat. But this is a task that’s easier said than done — you will need to keep cat families together, manage your resources well, make room for valuable treasure, and more!

The Isle of Cats Digital, releasing March 26th on Steam (with mobile platforms soon to follow), brings the cat-collecting fun to computers, phones and tablets. For those who have never sailed to the fabled island, keep reading to learn more about the gameplay that has made The Isle of Cats such a beloved game.

Load Your Boat with Cats!

At the heart of The Isle of Cats is a tile-placement game where you’re carefully collecting Cats from the island, and placing them onto your boat. But we all know how fickle cats can be, which means there’s quite a bit of strategy in placing them optimally. Additionally, you’re always choosing from a random selection of Cats that vary in color, shape, and size, so each game plays out a little differently!

(Psst… all players are encouraged to pet the Cats)

The game plays out over five rounds, with each player taking turns rescuing Cats from the island and loading them onto their ship. Here are some important factors to consider when placing your Cats:

• Keeping Families Together: Cats come in five different colors, and these Families always stick together! The more cats of one color you group together, the more points you’ll earn at the end of the game.
• Pest Control: Each boat has 19 Rats on board, so put your cats to work! Cover up Rats with Cat tiles wherever you can, because you’ll lose points for each uncovered Rat at the end of the game!
  
  
• Filling up Rooms: Boats also have a variety of Rooms, and to ensure safe passage for feline friends, you won’t want them wandering about all over the place. Like Rats, you’ll lose points for every Room that’s not completely filled — so be wise in the way you lay those Cat tiles!
  
  
• Collecting Booty: You’ll also find five Treasure Maps on board, each one with its own color. If you cover up a Treasure Map with a Cat of the same color, you’ll gain a Treasure! As smaller tiles, they can be useful for filling out hard-to-reach spaces in your boat, and may even score you some extra points!

At the end of five rounds, players will compare their boats, adding points for each Cat Family, and subtracting for exposed Rats and unfinished Rooms. Whoever has the most points wins!

Seems pretty simple, right? Well hold up, traveler, because there’s more to The Isle of Cats than meets the eye, and there’s work to be done on the island before you start hauling feline friends into your boat. The rules above represent the Rescue Phase, which is just one part of the day!

Island Discoveries

You’ll be spending five Days on the Isle of Cats, each one representing a full round. But before you get to rescuing, you’ll need something to lure the Cats with, so at the beginning of each round, each player gains 20 Fish. And after that, it’s time to collect some Discovery Cards — valuable boons from the island that will aid in your cat rescuing efforts, including, but not limited to the following:

• Baskets: You’ll need cozy Baskets for your Cats, and once you run out, no more Cats for you!
• Boots: Boots determine the turn order of the game; if you have the most, you’ll get the best pick of the litter!
• Lessons: Ancient lore around the island provides valuable Lessons, or in other words, end-game scoring objectives that can have a significant impact on your Cat placement strategy.
• Other Discoveries: The island contains many more secrets which may manifest themselves as one-time bonus cards, point-scoring Rare Treasures, and the rarest, most elusive Cats of all — the legendary Oshax Cats!

This all happens in the Explore Phase, where Discovery Cards are dealt to each player in a random hand of 7. From here, you’ll draft two for yourself, pass your hand to the next player, and rinse and repeat until all cards have been dealt out. 

You’ll draft Discovery Cards before you start rescuing Cats each round. Some of them, like this one, contain endgame scoring conditions that can give you an objective to work towards when you’re placing Cats on your boat. Others are useful in their own ways, such as Baskets, which are required to rescue Cats.

These cards represent Discoveries you made wandering the island, and you’ll need to choose which ones you bring with you into the Rescue Phase. But be warned — it’s not an easy choice to make, as each card comes with a cost!

Cards or Cats? The Strategic Dilemma of The Isle of Cats

In the Isle of Cats, Fish are worth their weight in gold. Both Cats AND Discovery Cards cost Fish, which means you have to be judicious in your spending. Spending Fish on Discovery Cards opens up a lot of options for you in the Rescue Phase, but spend too much, and you won’t be able to afford the Cats you need!

The mystical Oshax Cat costs a hefty amount of Fish, but it can be a boon to your tile placement — Oshax Cats are “wild” Cats and can therefore be placed as any color, and they cover more space than the normal Cats in the common area!

As a recap, let’s take at the order of operations for any given Day (round) in The Isle of Cats:

1. Fishing Phase: Each player gains 20 Fish
2. Explore Phase: Players draft Discovery Cards, which contain end-game scoring bonuses, Baskets for holding Cats, single-use bonus actions, and more. Players then spend Fish to keep the cards they want, and discard the rest.
3. Rescue Phase: Players spend Fish to rescue Cats, pulling them from the common area and placing them onto their boats. 

Fish is the common denominator between the Explore Phase and the Rescue Phase, and to play the game effectively, you’ll need to carefully determine which Discovery Cards are worth keeping, while preserving enough of your Fish income to “buy” as many Cats as you can. This push and pull makes up the strategic heart and soul of The Isle of Cats — along with placing them on your boat effectively, of course!

Because of the variability of the Discovery Cards, each game of The Isle of Cats has its own unique flavor. Endgame scoring objectives will vary from game to game, and it’s up to you to determine which ones you want to play with! Requiring careful balance between the expenditure of Discovery Cards and Cats, only the player who runs the tightest ship (literally!) will achieve victory.

This player is discarding two Discovery cards, and keeping the rest, which leaves him with 8 Fish. That means that he can only afford to rescue two Cats maximum. But that’s okay, because each Cat requires a Basket, and the player only has two anyway — one that he starts with, and one from his Discovery Cards. 

Family Mode – Just the Cats

While the tight balancing act of Discovery Cards and Cats defines the strategic core of The Isle of Cats, Family Mode also exists for players who crave a simpler experience. In this mode, there are no Fish or Discovery Cards — you’re just grabbing Cats from the island and placing them as best you can! Whether you’re learning the game for the first time, playing with youngsters, or simply prefer a more rules-lite experience, this mode trims the game down to its tile-placing basics.

Set Sail for the Isle of Cats

There’s more to say about The Isle of Cats, and we hope players will have fun diving into the game’s rich mechanics when The Isle of Cats Digital releases on March 26th. An interactive tutorial awaits new players, ready to get them playing as quickly and easily as possible, and special modes give experienced players new ways to play, such as Challenges, daily Rescues, versus AI games, and more!

It’s the Month of Cats at Dire Wolf as we prepare for The Isle of Cats Digital to arrive, we’ll have more to say about the game in additional upcoming previews! In our next article, we’ll be looking at some of the Challenges waiting on the island for players to enjoy. In the meantime, be sure to wishlist the game today!