Solo mode can be a little fiddly when you first try it and your ‘sister’s’ random tile selection doesn’t always feel fair, but even if you don’t normally play solo board games it’s well worth trying for that push-pull of the scoring mechanic. End of the Isle The Isle of Cats" is a fantastic choice for families, cat lovers, and anyone seeking a game that combines strategy, resource management, and adorable cat-themed adventures. It's an excellent gateway game for introducing new players to the world of board gaming. Conclusion: It’s curious that in a game that’s so overtly about collecting cats, choosing which tile to buy is, in isolation, the least interesting part of the game. Of course, which tile you buy bleeds into where you intend to place it… Placing Cat Tiles – The Satisfying Decision Cats rescued must immediately be placed on the player’s ship. After the first cat, all subsequent cats must be played adjacent to a previously played one. The goal is to group cats of the same color together for more points, to cover rats on your ship (negative VPs), and to fill up rooms. At the end of each day, any cats that weren't rescued from the fields scurry away and are removed from the game. Unclaimed treasures (common and rare) are not removed and remain below the island. Draw new tiles from the bag until there are 2 cat tiles per player in each field to the left and the right of the central island. Any rare treasure tiles drawn are placed below the island.

As simple as, er, herding cats? Rescue cats before their island is destroyed in this puzzle game with a surprisingly dark premise. | Image credit: The City of Games/Ross Connell You will then look at your 7 cards and decide which to buy and keep. The cost for each card is displayed in its top left corner. If you wish to keep a card, it must be paid for in fish.This isn’t a huge expansion where game play is significantly altered forever. I for one am glad of that because I enjoy The Isle of Cats as it is. It adds (as well as the additional players) the ability to extend the life of the game play. Keeping things fresh and fun whilst preventing predictability. All these factors mean that there’s never a right decision – any one cat tile can be slotted into a multitude of places and still reward or cost you. When it goes right, boy does it feel satisfying: In addition to cats, players will be drafting special Oshax cats, ancient lesions and treasures. Lessons are end game scoring opportunities which can score points if the required criteria are met. Strategy Tip: Fish are used as currency to both buy cards and to rescue cats. You must find a balance between how many cards you buy in the Explore phase and how many cats you wish to rescue in the Rescue phase!

A cat board game about cat people, for cat people Cat Lady is a game about rescuing cats and keeping them happy. Image: AEG In The Isle of Cats Kittens and Beasts, there are 3 different expansions included in the box. Initially, the rules suggest just playing with one of them at a time but then you can build them all into the game over time if you wish. Explore & Draw has a solo mode with some slight tweaks to gameplay. As part of setup the solo colour cards are drawn and laid out in a row with the first one being revealed. For the easy mode, three solo lesson cards are revealed. For advanced play more lesson cards are revealed. A player’s turn runs pretty much in the same way as in multiplayer. At the end of each day the next card in the solo colours row is revealed. All other rules described above are unchanged for solo play. After each player has selected a column and resolved all the cards, The Island is discarded and a new round is set up. A new Island is created, the Vesh token moves along one space and then play continues. The game ends when the Vesh token moves to the last space and end game scoring is triggered. Lesson cards give you points for filling your boat in a certain way. Perhaps you’ll need exactly five red cats or to have placed cats all around the edge of the boat. Some lessons benefit everyone around the table, others just you.

Board games for cat lovers

Despite having written four paragraphs of flaws, none of them are a major issue and most are barely noticeable after a couple of games. Think of them as more the quirks of owning any cat – occasionally frustrating but never enough to stop you from loving it. Family Mode Patchwork meets pussycats Sew together comfortable quilts with the right patterns to attract cats in this wholesome puzzle game. | Image credit: AEG/Kevin Russ Despite its slightly downbeat starting premise, The Isle of Cats is a brain-teasing tile-placement game about rescuing cats and using your ship’s space efficiently to help animals - making it a deeply satisfying experience for cat fans.