Cat Themed Board Games

Board games featuring cats as their central theme have gained popularity in recent years.

Modern titles like “The Isle of Cats” and “Calico” demonstrate the evolution from simple card games to complex strategy experiences. These games incorporate diverse mechanics, from tile placement to resource management, while maintaining feline aesthetics and themes.

The growing catalog of cat-centric board games offers varying levels of complexity, making the genre accessible to both casual players and dedicated enthusiasts who seek their next strategic plunge.

Key Takeaways

• The Isle of Cats blends tile placement mechanics where players rescue felines from an abandoned island. Each turn involves fitting cat-shaped pieces onto ships while balancing resources and space management.
• Calico engages players in creating colorful quilts that attract various cats. Players piece together hexagonal patches to form patterns and lure specific feline companions to their creations.
• Cat in the Box delivers an innovative quantum trick-taking experience. Players navigate through rounds by declaring card colors, making each game unpredictable and strategically rich.
• Cat Lady: Box of Treats enhances the base game with additional feline friends and fresh treat-collecting challenges. This expansion accommodates larger groups while maintaining the original’s charm.
• Exploding Kittens offers a fast-paced card game filled with whimsical cat illustrations. Its straightforward rules and playful nature make it perfect for casual gaming sessions.

The Isle of Cats (2019)

The Isle of Cats (2019) is a board game that blends card drafting with polyomino tile placement mechanics. In this strategic experience, players become citizens of Squalls End tasked with rescuing cats from an island before the arrival of Lord Vesh.

Players navigate resource management while exploring the island to rescue cats, uncover treasures, and befriend Oshax. The game accommodates 1-4 players, expanding to 6 with the Late Arrivals expansion. The game offers multiple modes, including a family-friendly version for younger players and a solo variant.

Success hinges on strategic placement of cat tiles, keeping families together, and maximizing boat space. Through ancient lessons and careful planning, players earn points while creating their unique layout of rescued felines.

Calico (2020)

Released by Alderac Entertainment Group, Calico (2020) challenges players to design quilts by strategically placing patches to create engaging patterns and attract cats.

The game’s charm stems from its blend of puzzle-solving and whimsical theme. Players weave together a tapestry of colors and patterns, following specific design goals while creating cozy spaces that draw cats to their quilts. Each turn presents meaningful choices as players select and place patches, balancing immediate pattern completion with long-term scoring opportunities. Success requires careful planning to satisfy both the quilt pattern requirements and create inviting spots for feline visitors.

Through expansion packs and additional content, players can enhance their quilting adventure with new patterns, cat varieties, and design challenges. The game appeals to both puzzle enthusiasts and cat lovers, offering a relaxing yet strategic experience that rewards thoughtful patch placement and creative pattern building. Those seeking similar experiences can find recommendations for other pattern-building or cat-themed board games through various gaming platforms.

Cat in the Box (2022)

Published in 2022, Cat in the Box: Deluxe Edition is a quantum trick-taking card game where colors remain undefined until played. Designed for 2-5 players, participants bid on tricks while managing uncertain color states.

The game centers around a community research board where players place tokens to score points, with larger connected groups yielding higher scores. The core mechanic involves declaring card colors strategically – if a player claims a color that matches a number already declared, they create a paradox and receive penalties. This fresh take on trick-taking pushes players to think ahead and carefully observe their opponents’ moves while building their scoring combinations. The quantum uncertainty element adds a distinctive layer of strategy to the traditional card game format.

Cat Lady: Box of Treats (2020)

Expanding upon the popular Cat Lady base game, Box of Treats (2020) introduces new strategic elements and accommodates up to six players.

Game Elements	Mechanics	Features
Stray Cats	Goal Competition	6 Players
Gray Cats	Feed Management	Base Game Required
Cat Treats	Item Collection	New Strategies

The expansion enhances the original game with additional cat varieties, including stray and gray cats, while introducing a fresh treat-feeding system. Players navigate through new competitive elements, managing their growing cat colonies and coordinating treat distribution. The expanded gameplay offers deeper strategic choices as players balance resource management with goal completion, creating a more intricate experience for fans of the original game.

Felicity – The Cat in the Sack (2007)

Felicity: The Cat in the Sack is a bidding and bluffing game where players compete to acquire valuable cats while avoiding troublesome ones.

The game centers on using mice as currency to bid on mysterious sacks containing various animals – good cats, bad cats, dogs, or rabbits. Players aim to collect positive points from good cats and mice while avoiding negative points from bad cats. Dogs add an interesting twist, as they can chase away unwanted cats, but collecting too many becomes problematic when they start interfering with each other.

The 2017 Stronghold Games edition includes 50 game cards, 4 mouse cards, a cat in the sack card, a start player marker, and 76 mice tokens, giving players everything needed for this strategic auction experience.

Exploding Kittens (2015)

Exploding Kittens is a beloved party card game from 2015 that blends strategy with humorous cat-themed artwork. Players draw cards while trying to avoid explosive kittens that could eliminate them from the game. Defuse cards serve as a protective tool, letting players save themselves through various comedic methods.

The game features a diverse set of action cards that allow players to manipulate the deck, escape explosions, and outsmart their opponents. Its simple rules make it approachable for newcomers, while tactical elements keep experienced gamers engaged. Since its release, Exploding Kittens has expanded into a broader franchise with multiple expansions and related products, establishing itself as a staple in modern card gaming.

Cat Café (2019)

Released in 2019, Cat Café is a roll-and-write game with a feline theme that blends strategy with playful elements.

Players compete to attract cats using various toys, placing them strategically on different levels of a cat tower through a dice-drafting system. The gameplay centers around selecting one die for toy choice while using a shared second die for tower placement. Players make tactical decisions across multiple cat tracks, balancing different scoring opportunities throughout the game.

The accessible design appeals to cat enthusiasts and casual gamers alike, making it suitable for family game nights and social gatherings. Cat Café joins a growing collection of cat-themed tabletop experiences available through Noble Knight Games. The game’s straightforward mechanics and strategic depth provide an ideal entry point for those interested in roll-and-write games while satisfying experienced players seeking light strategic choices.