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The City of Games


Introducing The Isle of Cats Remote Edition

7th April 2020 16
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Download the player sheet here

It has been 3 weeks since The Isle of Cats released in retail and since then a lot has happened in the world, unfortunately for many of us it has involved less gaming. Rather than let this be a negative, I have spent the last couple of weeks designing a new way of playing The Isle of Cats and would like to invite you to the first public playtest.

On Wednesday 8th April at 20:00 BST | 15:00 EST | 12:00 PST I will be streaming the new Remote Edition of The Isle of Cats and invite you to play.

Update: After a successful test stream, I will be running a second full stream on Friday 10th April at 20:00 BST | 15:00 EST | 12:00 PST and would like to invite you to join.

How to join

To take part, just follow these 3 simple steps:

  1. Print off this 1 page PDF and have it with you.
    If multiple people want to play they will need 1 sheet each, I recommend you print 1 or 2 extras in case we play twice.
  2. Make sure each player has a pen or pencil!
    Ideally, you will have 6 different coloured pens/pencils (blue, green, orange, purple, red and black), but as long as you have 1 pen per player it will work.
  3. Join the Twitch stream when it goes live!
    You don’t need an account, but if you have one you can follow my account to get a notification when it goes live and join the chat.

Note. You do not need to own a copy of The Isle of Cats to play and I will teach all the rules during the stream!

Official release

I hope to release the remote edition for you to play with your friends in the next couple of weeks, keep an eye on our website, Facebook group, or Twitter for updates!

I hope to see you on Twitch on Friday 10th April at 20:00 BST | 15:00 EST | 12:00 PST

Frank West

Frank West is a gamer and designer based in Bristol, UK. He published his first board game, The City of Kings, in 2018 and now works on other games and organising events in the local area. His goal? To design and publish games focusing on immersive themes, fun mechanics and beautiful components. If you have any questions or would just like a chat, feel free to get in touch at any time!


16 comments

  • Luna

    8th April 2020 at 4:27 pm

    I own a copy, but it arrived just after the stay at home orders kicked in.
    I’ve been wondering how to do this from a far. I know the others can choose the cats, but how would the card drafting work?

    Also, will the twitch session be recorded, so those of us who will be at work can watch it later?

    Reply

    • Frank West

      8th April 2020 at 6:12 pm

      Hi Luna,

      I’m going to be trialing a recording tool, so hopefully the stream will be recorded correctly. If it fails, I will organise a second recording of the game to make sure people can access something.

      All the rules will be explained in the video, and I’ll be releasing a ruleset in the coming days to explain how everything works.

      Reply

  • Garreth

    8th April 2020 at 10:17 pm

    Love the Kickstarter version and the late arrivals. Brought it already for friends however they are unable to play with family due to COVID19. This is a great way for them to learn the dynamics of the game whilst separated so when they are able to meet again can jump nearly straight in.

    Thanks again frank for an amazing game & making it so versatile

    Reply

    • Frank West

      9th April 2020 at 11:57 am

      It’s my pleasure Garreth, I hope you and your family get a chance to play The Isle of Cats together in person soon!

      Reply

  • Tiffanie Cross

    9th April 2020 at 12:52 pm

    I love this game. Bought it from Kickstarter and I love that there is a single player option. Although I still need to figure out the strategy on how to win as a single player because darn it it’s so HARD To beat sister. But that is a good thing it makes the game challenging and makes me want to keep playing it until I can beat the bi*ch! I look forward to trying this remote option.

    Reply

    • Frank West

      10th April 2020 at 12:40 am

      I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying the game Tiffanie.
      The sister certainly can be challenging but I’m sure you’ll beat her soon. (then you can try the harder difficulties!)
      I hope you get a chance to try the remote version on one of my future streams.

      Reply

  • John Sullivan

    9th April 2020 at 8:43 pm

    We had fun playing this last night (live), found it quite stressful with a 4 minute time limit. You explained the game wonderfully, so easy to follow (albeit a lot to take in at once). As we have played the game a couple of times (family mode only so that the 6 year old can play too), it was quite straightforward to make the transition to playing with the extra lessons. Really enjoyed the dynamic of how to choose what to place. The only negative was unfortunately your continual talking during the 4 minutes meant it was harder to concentrate and make a decision of what to choose and where to place cats (sorry). Looking forward to the next playtest. Thanks.

    Reply

    • Frank West

      10th April 2020 at 12:43 am

      Hi John, I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the remote version of the game. The time limit certainly adds a level of pressure, and is needed when playing with a lot of people and not being able to see what they are doing, but I can imagine people running their own games with their friends and family could relax the limit if they wished.
      I’m very pleased to hear the transition from family to remote modes was OK for you, this is something I’ve been wanting to get more feedback on so thanks for letting me know.
      I appreciate the non-stop talking can be distracting for some, it’s hard with a live stream as there needs to be a level of engagement and entertainment balanced with playing the game. Next time around feel free to mute the sound during the rounds!

      Reply

      • John Sullivan

        10th April 2020 at 10:57 pm

        It was much more enjoyable the second time around (perhaps knowing more about what to expect meant it was less stressful). We know that you were looking to heighten the tension and this allowed us to be more relaxed. Thank you again and we will look to watch the next instalment.

        Reply

        • Frank West

          11th April 2020 at 1:17 pm

          I’m very pleased to hear it John!

          Reply

  • Luna

    13th April 2020 at 11:21 pm

    I am very excited,
    thank you for releasing this.

    My copy of Isle of Cats came about a week after we went into quarantine.
    But do you think this is something we can setup to play via RC Meetings / Zoom or something similar, with friends?

    Looking forward to the rules so I can send them on to my friends.

    Also I am wondering if something like this will be released on Tabletopia, BGA, or some similar platform.

    Reply

    • Frank West

      14th April 2020 at 11:51 am

      Hi Luna, the remote edition will be perfect for playing with your friends via Zoom and other such software. I’m currently working on the final release details and hope to have them out in the next few days.

      Currently there aren’t any plans for the game on Tabletopia/BGA and such, but it is something I continue to explore.

      I hope you get to enjoy the game soon!

      Reply

  • Maggie

    27th April 2020 at 4:46 pm

    Thank you so much for releasing the alternate rules for remote play, Frank! We’re about to play remotely for our third time tonight. My family loves it, and it’s so nice to play a physical game. I really appreciate the work you put into making a remote version. It’s pretty different from the original (no fish and baskets!), but it really feels like the same game.

    Reply

    • Frank West

      28th April 2020 at 11:25 am

      It’s my pleasure Maggie, I’m very glad to hear you and your family are getting to play a game together!

      Reply

  • Lulu

    22nd May 2020 at 5:26 pm

    Hi
    I love the remote edition but is there a way that there can be an app version.

    Reply

    • Frank West

      25th May 2020 at 8:04 pm

      Hi Lulu,

      I’m afraid I don’t currently have any plans for an app version of the game.

      However, someone has created an unofficial version and while I can’t say it is a perfect replacement, it will allow you to play the game online: http://boardwebgames.com/cats/

      Reply

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