The Isle Of Cats Board Game – Leave No Cats Behind

Remember the fabulous island – where a race of ancient, wise, fierce and playful cats made their home? Yes, the last time, we did an extraordinary job in rescuing them from the armies of Vesh Darkhand. Even though these noble creatures are safe now, we are not done with our mission yet. According to the latest scout Yanna Stormtree, her ancient friends are on the way to the Isle of Cats again, seeking for refugees from the previous attacks. No one knows what hardships are waiting for us this time. One thing we know for sure, they are in danger. Our citizens have been preparing the fleets, food and all the necessities for this mission. We are ready to sail. Oh, one more thing, this time, we will leave no kittens behind. 

The core Isle Of Cats game still remains the same – a card drafting and cat placement board game. Players will still take place as citizens of Squall’s End with a mission to Isle Of Cats to rescue the legendary noble creatures. Players will have 5 days – or 5 rounds – to bring and fit as many cats as possible on their own boat. Each round will also have 5 phases: fishing, exploring, reading lessons, rescuing cats and rare finds. Following is a recap of each phase: 

1. Fishing: all players will take 20 fish tokens from the supply. 
2. Exploring: this phase is split into two parts : selecting discoveries (cards) and purchasing them. For the discoveries selection part, it is basically a card drafting, when players receive a collection of cards, keep two and then repeat until they have 7 on their hands. Then in the second part, they will pay the cost of the discoveries with the fish token. The cost is indicated on the top left of the discovery cards. 
3. Reading lessons: Lesson cards are blue frame cards. There are public lesson cards and non-public lesson ones. The public lessons apply to all the players, while the non-public only benefits the owner of the card 
4. The most anticipated phase of the game – rescuing the cats. At the beginning of this phase, players will tally all the rescue cards that they have. The higher the points, the sooner they can start their turn. After every one figures out the order of play, each player will take turns to rescue the cat. In order to rescue the cat, players will need one basket and enough fish to lure the cat in. Everyone should have one permanent basket already. Players can also have more baskets by using the card, or combine two broken baskets as one normal basket. After getting the cat, players will place him/her on the boat. There are also restrictions and rules about cat placement as well. 
5. At last but not least, it is the rare finds stage. Players will play the yellow cards to take the treasure or take the legendary Oshax. 

The game will keep going after 5 days. Then, everyone will start accumulating their points based on their boats: rats, rooms, the number of cat families, rare treasures, public lessons and non-public lessons. 

In the newest Kickstarter, there are three more additional modules for the base game: Kittens, Beast and Event. 

1. Kitten module: this module introduces the kitten area, where the kittens hang out. They are much smaller in size, compared to the normal cat tiles. Players can also use fish to rescue the kittens as well. 
2. Beast module: players discover that there are more creatures than Cat on the Island. Players can only rescue the beast on the first day of their journey. Each beast tile has 3, or 4 cat families that the beast wants to be friends with. If players can match the corresponding color to the cat color on the beast, they will score additional points. 
3. Event module: at the beginning of the game, there will be 5 random events selected and placed in order. Each event will happen and activate its effect for each day, following the order that they are placed. Some of the events can totally change the mechanics of the game. 

In addition to the new three modules, the campaign also has the pledge for the “Big 2-minute box”. With this box, players can set up the game within 2 minutes or less. This box is big enough to contain all the components of the game, from the base to all the expansions. 

The Kickstarter Campaign will end on June 24th, at 2PM CDT. Here is the link to the campaign. 

Dang Ton

If you can’t find me at the table coding, then you can find me at another table playing boardgames. I want to share the fun, the intense, the `ah-ha` moments, the sabotage, the nerve wracking experience … that Boardgames can offer to the community.