Isle Of Cats Board Game Review
The Isle of Cats is a card-drafting and tile-placement game designed by Frank West and published by The City of Games in 2019. It ranks 30th among family games on BoardGameGeek, with a 7.6 average from over 25,700 ratings.
The game seats 1 to 4 players aged 8 and up and takes 60 to 90 minutes. This review covers the components, rules, mechanics, and who should buy it.
The Isle of Cats Overview: Theme and Goal
Players are citizens of Squall’s End racing to rescue cats before the evil Lord Vesh arrives in five days.
Each cat is a unique polyomino tile in one of five colors. You fit cats into your boat, keep color families together, cover rats, and fill rooms.
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Designer | Frank West |
| Publisher | The City of Games |
| Year Released | 2019 (revised edition in 2024) |
| Players | 1 to 4 (up to 6 with the Late Arrivals expansion) |
| Age Range | 8+ |
| Playing Time | 60 to 90 minutes (family mode 30 to 60) |
| Game Type | Card drafting, polyomino tile placement, set collection |
| Complexity | 2.37 / 5 (BoardGameGeek weight) |
What’s in The Isle of Cats Box?
| Component | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Unique cat tiles (17 per color) | 85 |
| Oshax tiles | 6 |
| Rare treasure tiles | 25 |
| Common treasure tiles | 44 |
| Cat figures | 30 |
| Player boats | 4 |
| Discovery cards | 150 |
| Solo cards / family cards | 47 / 18 |
| Fish tokens / basket tokens | 42 / 10 |
| Island board, Vesh’s boat, discovery bag, scorepad | 1 each |
| Rulebooks (standard and family) | 2 |
The cat tiles are thick cardboard with unique artwork. Each boat has its own layout of 7 rooms, 19 rats, and 5 treasure maps.
One weak spot: the room borders on the boats are thin and hard to read across the table.
The Isle of Cats Review: Pros and Cons
Pros
- Every placement is a puzzle. A red cat might cover two rats and grow a family, or block a room you need.
- Standard, family, and solo modes come in one box.
- Your 20 daily fish pay for cards and cats, so buying four cards can leave you short.
- Private lesson cards give each player different goals.
- Fields scale with player count, so two-player games stay tight.
Cons
- Teaching takes a while. A first game can run close to two hours.
- Bag luck matters. The orange cat you need may never come out.
- Interaction is limited to turn order and taking a tile someone wanted.
- Setup and sorting 160 tiles takes around 10 minutes.
How to Play The Isle of Cats: Rules and Turn Structure
Setup
Place the island board with Vesh’s boat on space 5 of the day tracker. Put common treasures and Oshax tiles below it. Shuffle the discovery cards, bag the cats and rare treasures, and give each player a boat.
Fill the Fields and Gather Fish
Draw 2 cats per player into each of the two fields. Cats in one field cost 3 fish, the other 5. Every player takes 20 fish.
Explore: The Card Draft
Each player gets 7 discovery cards, keeps 2, and passes the rest. Repeat until everyone holds 7 new cards. Cards pass left on days 1, 3, and 5, and right on days 2 and 4.
Pay the fish cost of each card you keep and discard the others.
Read Lessons
Play all blue lesson cards. Public lessons go face up and score for everyone. Private lessons stay with you and score only for you.
Rescue Cats
Green rescue cards give baskets and speed. Higher speed goes first. On your turn, spend one basket plus 3 or 5 fish to take a cat.
Each new tile must touch one already placed. Covering a treasure map with a matching cat earns a bonus treasure.
Rare Finds and Final Scoring
Yellow treasure cards and brown Oshax cards come out last. Oshax tiles count as any color you choose.
After day five, three touching same-colored cats score 8 points, and bigger families score more. Add lessons and rare treasures. Subtract 1 point per visible rat and 5 per unfilled room.
The Isle of Cats Gameplay Mechanics and Strategy
The draft works like 7 Wonders, except every card you keep costs fish. Strong lessons are worth little if you cannot afford the cats to complete them.
Tile placement feels close to Patchwork, but color matters as much as shape because families score only when cats touch.
Speed adds a race. A slow hand saves fish but lets rivals take the big cats first.
Who Should Play The Isle of Cats?
The Isle of Cats suits players who like spatial puzzles with a planning layer, including couples, solo players, and families using the family rules.
It sits between Calico and A Feast for Odin in weight. For a cooperative follow-up, read our Race to the Raft review.
Skip it if your group wants direct conflict or a game under 45 minutes. Families who prefer teamwork can browse our cooperative board games for families instead.
Where to Buy The Isle of Cats
| Platform | Region | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The City of Games webstore | Worldwide | Publisher store with expansions |
| Amazon | US, UK, others | Check for the 2024 edition |
| Miniature Market | US | Stocks expansions, Duel, and Explore & Draw |
| Zatu Games | UK, EU | Base game and accessories |
| Meeples Corner | UK | Listed at £39.95 |
| Board Game Oracle | US, UK | Price comparison across stores |
| Local game store | Varies | Often able to order it in |
A digital version adds rotating Rescues with seasonal leaderboards, ten Challenges with two difficulty levels each, and 15 achievements.
FAQ
Is The Isle of Cats good for beginners?
Yes, with the family mode. It cuts much of the standard game’s complexity and simplifies setup, so new players and children can learn in one sitting. The standard game has more steps per round, so most groups play one or two family games before moving up to the full rules.
How long does The Isle of Cats take to play?
A standard game runs 60 to 90 minutes, and family mode takes 30 to 60. Expect your first game to take longer while everyone learns the five card types. Four-player games with slow planners can stretch past the 90-minute mark.
What is the best player count for The Isle of Cats?
The game plays well at 2, 3, and 4 players because the fields scale with the player count. Two players get 8 cats per day and four players get 16. Higher counts add draft variety, while two players cut downtime.
Are there expansions for The Isle of Cats?
Yes. Late Arrivals adds boats, cats, and lessons for 5 and 6 players. Kittens & Beasts adds kittens, beasts, and event modules. The Boat Pack adds new boat layouts. The Isle of Cats Duel and Explore & Draw are standalone spin-offs.
What games are similar to The Isle of Cats?
Patchwork shares the polyomino tile fitting, and 7 Wonders uses a similar card draft. Calico is a lighter cat-themed tile game. Race to the Raft, also by Frank West, is set in the same world but is fully cooperative and built around scenarios.
