The Story of the Isle of Cats: Connecting Theme with Gameplay

The Isle of Cats Digital is now available on Steam, Google Play, and the App Store!

In The Isle of Cats Digital, you’re on a quest to save as many cats as you can before the evil Lord Vesh arrives at the island — the story plays out in a spatial tile-placement puzzle where players must optimally choose cats and place them into point-scoring configurations.

One of the trickiest and most skill-testing dilemmas of the game is balancing your fish wisely between cats and cards. Let’s take a look at how connecting theme and gameplay can help to inform your strategic decisions!

The Point of it All: Rescuing Cats!

Legends tell of a fabulous island where a race of ancient, wise, fierce and playful cats made their home. But it is threatened by the approaching armies of Vesh Darkhand, who will stop at nothing to destroy the island and the rest of the world. Trees will burn and the ancient rocks will be broken — but there’s a chance that these noble creatures can be saved!

Connecting Theme with Gameplay – Always Remember what Generates Points!

It’s important to remember above all else that the purpose of your adventure is to save cats! In that sense, points can be seen as a representation of how successful you are in this venture. The cats not only need saving, but they also need to be content in order to ensure a safe voyage! As you play the game, remember not to get sidetracked by endeavors that don’t actually result in very many points! It might feel nice to hoard a bunch of treasure or achieve Tetris-like precision in your cat placement, but those things won’t always have a meaningful impact on your score.

There are many ways to score points in The Isle of Cats Digital; make sure you’re checking the scoring tab to keep track of them!

Each Round is a Different Day on the Island

At last! There, rising out of the mists, are the mysterious headlands and treetops of the Isle of Cats. You’ve gotten a headstart over Lord Vesh, giving you five days to rescue as many cats as possible. But this is no small isle, and on your journey, you’ve been poring over ancient smugglers’ accounts and ancient maps, debating the best spots to discover the island’s rare and elusive beasts — each day will bring you to a new location!

Connecting Theme with Gameplay – Cards and Cats Reset Each Round!

Each “day” represents a round in The Isle of Cats Digital. And because you’re meant to be covering different areas of the island each day, it means you’ll be making new discoveries and encountering new cats every single round! That means, if you see a card or a cat that you really need, grab it before someone else does, because it won’t be coming back next round!

Imagine that you’re exploring a different region of the island every day — that means you’ll be seeing different cats each round! If you see one you want or need, act quickly!

Cards: The Discoveries You Make Exploring the Island

Rescuing cats is hard work, and you have to make sure you’re prepared! That’s why, before you rescue cats each day, you’ll explore the island to uncover its strange and wondrous secrets that can assist you in your venture. But there’s a problem — the feline locals aren’t willing to let their secrets go so easily, so if there are any prizes you really want to take with you, you’ll need to lure their protectors away!

Connecting Theme with Gameplay – Be Wise in Choosing Which Discoveries to Pay For!

The card drafting round represents your day exploring the island, each card being a discovery that you deemed notable enough to be of interest. But just because you saw a bunch of cool stuff doesn’t mean you can take it all home! The only way to grab these prizes is to lure their cat protectors away with some fish — and since you need those fish to bring cats to your boat later, it means you have to be prudent with your spending! Be wise in choosing how many cards to pay for, and how many to discard. You’ll want to save enough fish to be able to fill your baskets with cats in the next phase! 

These cards represent the many discoveries you made exploring the island… but they’re protected by cats of their own, so you’ll need to spend your fish in order to grab them! Don’t overspend, because you’ll need those fish later!

Baskets: Claw-Resistant, and Irresistible to Cats!

All around the island, there are traces of a long-gone people, their artifacts still scattered about the land, woven baskets being among the most ubiquitous. These baskets are old and fragile, but quite claw-resistant — they will undoubtedly be useful for bringing cats to the boat. After all, what kitty can resist the allure of an open container?

Connecting Theme with Gameplay – Bring Only as Many Baskets as You Can Afford to Fill!

In the Rescue Phase, you’re limited by how many baskets you have. No baskets? No cats! After all, have you ever tried to forcibly remove a cat from its surroundings? The only way you’re getting cats on your ship is by luring them into a nice cozy basket with fish. But keep in mind that most of these baskets are fragile and a bit cumbersome to haul around the island — for that reason, it’s generally wise to only bring as many baskets as you’re able to fill with your remaining fish!

It’s not always easy to balance your baskets and fish! This player has a leftover basket from the previous round. Combined with their starting basket and one from the explore phase, that’s three baskets, with 13 fish left. That leaves enough fish to fill all of the baskets, along with some wiggle room in case the player needs to buy the more expensive cats!

Lessons: The Ancient Wisdom of Cat Stewardship

In the hot midday sun, there is a brief chance for you to rest from your labours and study the old scrolls of the Keepers who once lived here. In them, this long-lost race explained their science of cat stewardship. You will have to study them carefully to ensure that your precious cargo makes it safely back to Squall’s End.

Connecting Theme with Gameplay – Lessons Generate the Majority of Points!

Thematically, Lessons represent old scrolls that contain the secrets of cat stewardship. In the game, this translates into endgame point bonuses. If your points are a representation of how “successful” your cat rescuing mission is, then the cats’ contentment is one of your top priorities! You don’t want to find out what a boat full of unhappy cats looks like, which is why following the wisdom of Lessons is of tantamount importance. As the biggest source of points in most games, they’re not something that should be ignored!

Revealing the ancient secrets of cat stewardship, Lessons account for the majority of points in most games. It’s important to keep those cats happy!

Treasure: It’s Nice to Have, But…

There is no shortage of glistening treasure waiting to be found on the sprawling island, and any adventurer would be remiss not to take advantage of such a golden opportunity. But while treasure undoubtedly has its uses, it’s important to remember not to lose sight of your main goal — rescuing as many cats as possible!

Connecting Theme with Gameplay – Treasure is Situationally Useful, but Not More Important than Cats!

Treasure tiles can be useful in The Isle of Cats, but they usually don’t amount to a whole lot of points — a reminder that your true mission is rescuing cats and ensuring their survival! So, when you’re prioritizing treasure, make sure there’s a useful purpose for it! Treasure can fill out tight spaces, helping to complete rooms, and can quite often generate additional points if you have treasure-related Lessons. 

Treasure isn’t worth a lot of points on its own, but it can still be useful. See the green room on this boat? It’s impossible to fill without the aid of a small treasure piece! 

Save the Cats!

Theme, aesthetics, and storytelling are not only fun ways to add flavor to a game, but they can quite often be instructive in helping to understand the logic of the mechanics. In games like The Isle of Cats that provide you with many different choices, understanding this context can help players to make sense of an assortment of options that may otherwise feel arbitrary. 

So, what are you waiting for? The cats need your help, and Lord Vesh will be arriving to the island in no time! Embark on your adventure by downloading The Isle of Cats Digital today, now available on Steam, Google Play, and the App Store!