Urban legends have long whispered of a wondrous island, home to a race of ancient, wise, fierce, and playful cats. But now it faces invasion by the forces of Vesh Darkhand, who will stop at nothing to destroy the island and the rest of the world. Trees will burn, ancient rocks will crumble… yet there’s still a chance to save these noble creatures!

Exploring the island, you’ll rescue cats and hunt for treasures. Cats and treasures come as tiles of various shapes, and you must think carefully about how to place them on your ship. Try to keep families together, complete objectives, and leave space for new finds.

About the Board Game “The Isle of Cats”

This charming Tetris-like strategy game is all about saving adorable cats, featuring stunning illustrations and wooden figures. “The Isle of Cats” belongs to the family board game category thanks to its low-conflict design: each player arranges rescued cats and treasures on their own ship board, rarely interfering with others. No wonder this 2019 game ranks in the Top 25 family board games on “BoardGameGeek.” It’s already spawned expansions that enhance variety without overloading the core experience.

Worth noting: the sizable box includes solo mode rules and a family mode. From his experience playing with kids, Galu the Rooster is confident the family mode suits children as young as 6—not just 8, as suggested—though it depends on the child and their interest in the game.

Gameplay

Before starting, each player gets a ship board and a basket. The island board goes in the table’s center, with Vesh’s ship figure placed on day “5” of the day track—that’s the number of rounds you have to save the cats. Treasure tiles and legendary oshax cats are placed near the island. Cat tiles and rare treasures go into a bag.

After setup, players decide the first player and pick a cat figure color, placing it on the turn order track. Each day (round) has five phases:

Fishing Phase

Each player takes 20 fish from the supply.

Exploration Phase

A classic draft. Each player gets 7 exploration cards, keeps two, and passes the rest to their neighbor. This continues until everyone has one card left. Each player ends with a face-down stack of 7 cards.

But cards cost fish. Each card’s top-left corner shows its price. Players review their 7 chosen cards and decide which to keep and which to discard. Fish are the island’s currency.

Reading Objectives Phase

Personal objective cards are placed face-down in front of players; shared objectives go face-up for all to see.

Cat Rescue Phase

Players take turns picking rescue cards (green) to play, placing them face-down by their ships. Once everyone’s chosen, they reveal them simultaneously. These cards set turn order (boot symbol) and add baskets for rescuing cats.

The first player picks a cat tile, pays its fish cost, and uses a basket to bring it to their ship. You rescue just one cat per turn, but can take multiple turns until you run out of baskets, cats, fish, or choose to pass.

After everyone gets a chance, the first player goes again. This repeats until all pass.

Upon rescuing a cat, you must place its tile on your ship immediately. The first tile goes anywhere; subsequent tiles must connect orthogonally, staying within the ship’s edges without overlapping (like a puzzle).

Rare Finds Phase

Starting with the first player, treasure and oshax cards bought in phase two are played. Each player takes the matching tile and places it per standard rules. When placing an oshax, they choose its family color and top it with the matching cat figure.

At day’s end, unrescued cat tiles are discarded. Vesh’s ship moves one space.

Scoring

After the fifth day (round), when Vesh’s ship reaches the island, the game ends, and players tally points:

• Each visible rat on your ship costs 1 point.
• Each unfilled cabin deducts 5 points.
• A cat family is three or more same-color tiles touching orthogonally. Points for rescued families: 3 families = 8 points, 4 = 11, 7 = 25.
• Each rare treasure gives 3 points.
• Victory points come from completed personal and shared objectives.

The player with the most points wins.

We recommend checking the video rules in the “Video” section and, if desired, exploring the illustrated PDF rules in the “Files” section.

One Last Note

Online, you’ll find heaps of glowing reviews for “The Isle of Cats”—it’s truly perfect. Galu the Rooster’s only tip: grab card sleeves with the game. Not just for the draft mechanic, but because the box will keep opening for more games… and for your house cat (if you’ve got one at home).

Yes! The box has a special spot for your kitty!