The Isle of Cats

Players are citizens mounting a rescue mission to an island threatened with destruction. Each cat is a unique polyomino tile that must be placed aboard a personal boat while keeping family groups together. Gameplay uses card drafting to explore the island and draft cats, plus polyomino placement to fit rescued cats and treasures into limited boat space. Players also collect lessons and befriend helpers to unlock additional scoring methods. The game runs five rounds; players manage resources, complete lesson objectives, and arrange tiles to maximize points, with the highest score determining the winner.

Players: 1–4 best 3
Playing time: 60–90 min
Age: 8+
Complexity: 2.4 / 5

7.4 on Ludoya from $29.89AnimalsPuzzleSolo / Solitaire GameClosed DraftingIncome

Play it with Ludoya Where to buy it

Where to buy it

Shop prices and second-hand copies, checked every day.

Compare all prices in Ludoya

On Ludoya's tables

Full stats in Ludoya

1,014
Plays logged: 846
Players: 1h 10m
Average play: 252
In collections: 37
On wishlists: 1
Pre-ordered

7.4/10

from 121 Ludoya reviews

Fun8.3
Interaction6.0
Replayability7.4
Uniqueness9.1
Looks9.1
Accessibility9.1

Garfield8.0
#2 BGExpansions im Dach Very nice tetris-like puzzle game. [c] Theme: ★☆☆☆☆  Gameplay: ★★★☆☆  Interaction: ★★★☆☆  Artwork: ★★★★★  Luck: ★★★☆☆  Strategy: ★★★☆☆  Components: ★★★★☆  Play duration: ★★☆☆☆  Easy to teach: ★★★☆☆  Rules quality:  Setup time: ★★★☆☆  No downtime: ★★★★☆  Replay value: ★★★☆☆  [/c]
Sebashi9.4
One of my favourite board game with an excellent quality and brilliant original theme. Always joy to play with it.
Vardak7.2
It's a brilliant and cute polyominoes game that includes an easier version for kids. Different ways to obtain points that you must keep on account while managing the space on your ship.

Read the reviews and rate it

Rules questions

Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.

Can I rotate or flip cat tiles, and can they hang over the edge or overlap other tiles?

You may rotate and flip tiles, but every tile must be placed entirely inside your boat without overlapping other tiles and must touch the boat interior or other tiles as required by placement rules (p.7).

How many fish does it cost to rescue a cat — what’s the left/right cost and can I use fish from my basket?

Cats on the left cost 3 fish and cats on the right cost 5 fish to rescue; you may use fish from your basket to pay these costs but the basket is discarded/used when spent as described (p.13).

How is turn order determined in the Rescue phase when we play speed cards, and what if speeds are tied?

Turn order is determined by the total speed values on revealed rescue cards (higher speeds go earlier), and when speeds tie the players keep their previous relative order (p.12).

What happens to cats and treasures at the end of the day — do treasures get removed with the cats?

At the end of the day all cats on the island are removed, but treasures you rescued remain on your boat (p.15).

If I draft/place an Oshax, can I put a family cat on it and what does that count as?

When you place an Oshax you may put a family cat on it; that cat counts both as an Oshax and as a member of that cat family for scoring and effects (p.14).

When drafting Discoveries, do I have to pay fish to keep a card and what happens to the ones I don’t keep?

You must pay the fish cost shown to keep a Discovery card; cards you don’t pay for are returned/discarded as specified (kept cards cost fish returned to supply, others are discarded face‑down) (pp.9–10).