Isle of Cats: Don't Forget The Kittens! - Should You Back It?

The Isle of Cats came out on Kickstarter and quickly rose to just outside the top 100 games, and will likely be in the top 100 in a matter of weeks. This game takes polyomino drafting and combines it with beautiful artwork and amazing production quality to win it's way into people's hearts. And now they're back. With Kittens. And Beasts. And a big box. And a roll & write. Yup.

TimeStamps:
0:00:00 - Toss A Coin To Your Witcher
0:02:10 - Game Overview
0:04:27 - Guided Backing
0:06:47 - Kittens & Beasts
0:08:20 - Boat Pack
0:09:03 - Kickstarter Pack 2
0:09:58 - The 2 Minute Box
0:10:40 - Explore & Draw
0:11:50 - Enamel Pin Collection
0:12:00 - Reward Summary
0:14:05 - Shipping & VAT
0:14:40 - Should You Back It?

[KSpllr]

The Isle of Cats is ranked #100 on BGG since june 1st!
I backed this on day 1 since I love the game and really appreciate how Frank runs his kickstarter campaigns and how involved he is on KS, BGG, etc. And he is so enthusiastic about his games, you can see how much of his energy and heart he puts into them. Backing this and by that supporting him and his game was a no brainer for me. Luckily I'm in a position where I don't have to make it about getting the lowest price, but also about where to spent my money and who benefits from it.

[Breyfunk]

I bought Isle of Cats at retail for my wife this last Christmas, and it has absolutely shot to the top of our favorites list. I think I like it so much because it reminds me a bit of Magic draft - you draft your hand, and then add those cards to your pool, you can save the cards for later use, and that is an amazing element of the game.

[ClockworkWyrm]

Always appreciate your perspective Alex. You've kept me from going nuts backing games on KS, so thanks for that.

Isle of Cats was my first KS and it was such a well managed campaign. Frank from City of Games is an absolute champion when it comes to KS campaigns plus he listens and responds to his customers and fans which makes me feel good supporting his company. Thankfully Isle of Cats was a MAJOR hit in our house so backing the new campaign is a no-brainer even if it's slightly above retail.

[mattkutrik]

Alex, I'm in total agreement with the page. I looked at these expansions and thought, "oh boy, where do I start to find out what I'm getting." I got to the Yes/No flowchart and was so pleasantly surprised at how everything was not only laid out with which one I should purchase, but the fact the price was right there too, AND more specifically, which pledge level to choose. Hopefully other Kickstarters take notice.

[stacie_everdell]

Great, thanks so much for this. I always appreciate your insight. I think I am going to wait for retail on this for budget reasons. Since I don't even have the base game, it seems silly to invest in expansions if I don't know yet how much I'll like it. And the search for a deal is fun. :)

[foodini]

nice review video. i think your video covering the base game was one of the first videos of yours i ever watched.

[twosharpteeth]

Yeah I think the value here is bad. I have the retail versions of Isle of Cats and Late Arrivals already and if I want the new stuff plus the Kickstarter packs I’m going to pay over $150. That’s way more then they are worth to me. I’ll try and pick stuff up down the line through retail and forgo the Kickstarter exclusives.

[opsallen]

This is the kind of game I'm happy to pay a bit more than retail to directly support the designer/company

[tonybowers]

At 15:00... "I liked the game. I eventually moved on from it." Same with me. It's a fun game with a good solo play. Easy to get to the table and teach and my granddaughters enjoy playing family mode. But.... there are other games I enjoy more and will usually play them before Isle of Cats. Given that I don't play the game that much (as mentioned) not sure I care about expansions to it.

[JohnnyMcNabb]

My wife doesn’t play games much but I thought she might like it. Since the Kickstarter was long, I got the core online and we played it. she loved the game so much she wanted the expansions. Now I’m backed at veteran #2 plus added Kickstarter #1 pack. It’s a great game and the family mode was fun also. I’m passing on the explore and write.

[olivierjodoin]

This is my first Kickstarter back! After over a year watching Alex's videos, that's saying a lot! 😉
I find the price very steep but the new expansion modules seem to add so much replayability. Big box and insert look very cool and will make it easier to hit the table. This is also the first time I choose deluxification over new games.
Finally, Frank West is just an amazing guy and makes it so easy to want to support him.

[magnusjakobsson]

This is my SO's first KS back! A huuuge milestone I'll tell you! 🎉🎉🎉

[Morebbenhk]

If you had to choose between Planet Unknown or Isle of Cats + Expansion which would you pick?

[ntmetroid]

Love Isle of Cats. Will definitely be taking a look at this new expansion

[brucebush]

Ahh well - this is an easy one for me. Whilst there was much to admire about the original game, it always felt that there was too much going on and things like Barenpark and Spring Meadow gave the same amount of polyomino fun in a more streamlined way with less extraneous faff. Adding more to the game makes it less appealing to me - but no doubt it’s going to give a lot of pleasure to a lot of people.

[mitchmegaw]

I didn’t back the original when it came out but was very interested when it showed up at the FLGS game night. I was able to get the core and the Late Arrivals from the store at retail and ordered the Kickstarter Pack from City of Games directly. I paid just a bit more for everything than the Kickstarter so I was happy. I enjoy the game but with the last year, haven’t played it much. The price of this campaign completely turned me off from backing it. The new stuff looks good but I can definitely wait for retail again and not worry about FOMO. I may even skip the new Kickstarter Pack. The only wold card is the box. Hopefully that will eventually make it to retail as well and I can decide once I have the new expansions.

[MerrillWhiteKalEl]

I have not played this. How would you compare it to Planet Unknown? I have played that, enjoyed it and anxiously await the physical version. Feels like these are very similar type games. I also have Foundations of Rome on the way. With those two games, would these cats ever see the table? Thanks

[RichardGans]

I'm not sure the 2 minute box will be available at retail. Not sure Frank decided on that just yet.

[AdamRoss]

I think after watching this review, I'm going to go with the Veteran 2 Minute Box pledge and just buy the base game on my own. I'll miss out on the 6P expansion and the KS1 box, but I'll save quite a bit overall. Even at $50 on Amazon for the base game, this would still be cheaper than going with the New Arrival pledge.

[stephenhanbury]

I love Isle of Cats and I'm a backer of this campaign, great game! -- Separate thought: I've been thinking about this more and more with recent kickstarter. I feel like I'm getting tired of the endlessly scrolling vertical campaign pages. It could definitely just be me but for whatever reason, I find that sort of visual design is hard on the eyes, it makes me less focused. The information is just scrambly to me. I'm probably in the minority, I get that, I think personally I'd prefer a 'slideshow' or something, possible have two options that people can choose from maybe? or more defined separation. I'm not as familiar with Gamefound but seems like they're trying some new stuff with design that's cool. I like the idea of the "sections" that this campaign has, and it does help. But it also says to me, creators are looking for ways to organize their campaign and Kickstarter doesn't seem to be doing anything. Curious what your opinion is here