The Isle of Cats
Draft lessons and rescue tools, spend fish to save cats, then fit polyomino-shaped families onto your boat before Lord Vesh reaches the island.
Draft lesson, rescue and action cards, spend fish to rescue cats, then place polyomino cat tiles onto your boat.
Scoring rewards cat families, completed lessons and covered rooms while exposed rats and unfilled rooms create penalties.
Why We Love It
The Isle of Cats combines card drafting with a spatial rescue puzzle. Every cat has to fit on the boat, but families, rooms and lesson cards all compete for the same limited space.
About The Isle of Cats
Draft lesson, rescue and action cards, spend fish to rescue cats, then place polyomino cat tiles onto your boat.
Scoring rewards cat families, completed lessons and covered rooms while exposed rats and unfilled rooms create penalties.
Game at a Glance
Draft the Plan
Choose cards that define lessons, rescue options and special actions.
Rescue Cats
Spend fish and baskets to bring cats onto your boat.
Fit the Boat
Place polyomino shapes efficiently around rooms and rats.
Build Families
Connect cats of the same color while completing lesson goals.
What is The Isle of Cats?
The Isle of Cats is Frank West’s competitive rescue game for 1–4 players. The City of Games lists a 60–90 minute standard game and also includes a simplified 30-minute family mode.
Players are citizens of Squalls End trying to rescue cats before Lord Vesh arrives.
How the game works
The game runs over five days. Each round includes gaining fish, drafting discovery cards, choosing lessons, rescuing cats and playing rare treasures or Oshax.
Rescued cats are polyomino tiles placed on your boat. Families of matching colors, completed lessons, rats, rooms and treasure coverage all affect final scoring.
The decisions that define it
The drafting phase determines which tools, scoring goals and rescue opportunities you can afford, while the placement phase determines whether those investments fit efficiently on your boat.
Fish is both currency and tempo: overspending on cards can leave you unable to rescue the cats those cards were meant to support.
Who is it for?
Choose The Isle of Cats if you want card drafting plus a substantial spatial puzzle, official solo play and a nature/cat theme.
Choose Calico for a shorter cat puzzle or Patchwork for a dedicated two-player polyomino game.
Learn The Isle of Cats in depth
Publisher sources & scope
Checked September 16, 2026. This hub covers The Isle of Cats base game; Late Arrivals expansion is excluded from the base 1–4 player count.