The Isle of Cats: Explore & Draw
The Isle of Cats: Explore & Draw Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Play
You are a citizen of Squall's End and are on a rescue mission to save as many cats as possible before Vesh arrives. You must explore the island, rescue cats, gather ancient treasures, and find a way to fit them all onto your boat before returning safely to Squall's End.
As you explore the island, you'll rescue cats and discover treasure. Cats and treasure are represented by different shapes that you must carefully draw onto your boat. Try to keep families together, complete lessons, and leave enough room to draw the next thing on your boat. But watch out - returning to Squall's End with a half empty boat isn't going to look good!
How to Win
At the end of the game, you will:
Earn points for:
- Each cat family you have. A family is 3 or more touching cats of the same colour.
- Your rare treasures.
- Any lessons you have completed.
Lose points for:
- Every visible rat on your boat.
- Any rooms on your boat that have not been filled.
The player with the most points will be the winner.
Components
- 6 boat sheets
- 6 lesson sheets
- 1 Vesh's boat
- 1 day tracker card
- 109 card cats deck
- 47 card lessons deck
- 5 solo colour cards
- 9 solo lesson cards
- 9 solo advanced lesson cards
- 3 colour reference cards
- 18 coloured pens + some spares
Cards
There are 4 types of cards: lessons, cats, Oshax, and treasures.
- Oshax and treasure cards can be found in both the cats deck and lessons deck.
- Cats, Oshax, and treasures are collectively known as discoveries.
Discoveries are grouped as:
- Lessons (blue cards)
- Cats (green cards)
- Oshax (brown cards)
- Treasures (yellow cards)
Setup
Global Setup
- The island. Choose a section of your play area to be the island; it should be 4 cards wide and 3 cards tall.
- Day tracker. Place the day tracker to the left of the island area, and place Vesh's boat on the 7.
- Lessons deck. Shuffle the lessons deck and place it face-down below the day tracker.
- Cats deck. Shuffle the cats deck and place it face-down below the lessons deck.
Player Setup
- Boat sheet. Place 1 boat sheet in front of each player.
- Lesson sheet. Place 1 lesson sheet to the right of each player's boat sheet.
- Pens. Place the pens around the table so everyone can reach at least 1 set of 6 colour pens. In 4, 5, and 6-player games, 2 people can share 1 set.
Gameplay
The game is played over 7 days (rounds). During each day, you should do the following:
Round Setup
- Draw 8 cards from the cats deck and place 1 card face-up in each of the following island slots: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 11. Follow the exact pattern shown below.
- Draw 4 cards from the lessons deck and place 1 card face-up in each of the following island slots: 2, 4, 7, and 12. Follow the exact pattern shown below.
The island is a grid of 12 slots arranged in 3 rows and 4 columns (A, B, C, D):
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Row 1 | 1 (cats) | 2 (lessons) | 3 (cats) | 4 (lessons) |
| Row 2 | 5 (cats) | 6 (cats) | 7 (lessons) | 8 (cats) |
| Row 3 | 9 (cats) | 10 (cats) | 11 (cats) | 12 (lessons) |
Player Turns
Player turns are taken simultaneously.
Each player should choose a column from the island, either A, B, C, or D, and then resolve all 3 cards in the column.
You can resolve the cards in any order (you don't have to do them from top to bottom), but you must resolve all of your chosen cards.
If you choose to resolve a card that contains multiple discoveries, then the entire card must be resolved in full before resolving the next card.
When choosing cards, you do not remove them from the island, and multiple players may choose the same cards.
Each player may also choose to use 1 special action each round.
Next Day
Once each player has resolved their chosen column, move all the cards on the island to a discard pile.
Update the day tracker by moving Vesh's boat along 1 space.
If Vesh's boat reaches the hand symbol, Vesh has arrived and it's time to set sail. Proceed to scoring.
Otherwise, the next day begins!
Specials
There are 5 special actions at the bottom of the boat sheet.
Each player can use 1 special per round at any time but no more than 3 total per game. You may not use the same special twice.
- Choose 1 additional card from any other column. In addition to your chosen column, choose another card from any other column.
- Choose 1 card from each row, instead of a column. This round, rather than choosing 1 of the 4 columns, you may take any 1 card from each of the 3 rows. They do not need to be from the same column.
- Choose a row instead of a column. This round, rather than choosing 1 of the 4 columns, you may choose 1 of the 3 rows instead. This means you will get 4 cards this round.
- Draw your next cat twice. When you draw a cat on your boat, you may draw a second identical cat on your boat.
- Draw your next treasure twice. When you draw a treasure on your boat, you may draw a second identical treasure on your boat.
Resolving Cards
Discoveries
Each cat, Oshax, and treasure discovery is represented by a shape that's made up of squares. When drawing discoveries, you must draw the shape shown on the card onto your boat.
The full placement rules are shown below.
Cats
Cats should be drawn using a pen matching the colour of the cat.
Make sure you draw a clear outline around each cat, so you can identify how many cats you have on your boat at the end of the game.
Oshax
Oshax are the same as normal cats, except they can be any colour.
When choosing an Oshax card, immediately choose a cat colour (blue, green, orange, purple, or red) and then draw a cat on your boat of the chosen colour, in the shape of the Oshax.
If you choose to draw an Oshax twice using a special, then both cats must be the same colour.
Treasures
There are 2 types of treasures:
- Common (1 - 3 squares, bronze)
- Rare (4 - 5 squares, gold)
Common Treasures. Common treasures should be drawn as a black outline, and you should write the letter C on them as a reminder.
Rare Treasures. Rare treasures should be drawn as a black outline, and you should write the letter R on them as a reminder.
Lesson Cards
Locate the chosen lesson on the lesson sheet and tick it off to show you have chosen it. The number in the top left corner of the card will tell you where to find it on the lesson sheet.
You will score points for lessons at the end of the game if you have completed their requirements.
Example: Drawing Discoveries
Sara selects a blue cat to draw on her boat, and she decides to flip the cat and draws a blue outline carefully matching the shape shown on the card.
Next, Sara chooses a treasure card and selects the bottom treasure to draw on her boat. She rotates the treasure and draws a black outline matching the shape shown on the card. To help her identify it later, she adds an R to remember this is a rare treasure.
Placement
Whenever you choose a discovery, you must immediately draw it on your boat. Only if the cat or treasure does not fit should you ignore it.
- Discoveries may be rotated and flipped to any orientation you wish.
- Discoveries cannot overlap each other.
- Discoveries must be within the edge of your boat.
- Discoveries must always line up with the squares on your boat; each square should either be completely filled or empty.
The First Discovery
Your first discovery may be drawn anywhere on your boat.
All Other Discoveries
After your first discovery, every other discovery must be drawn immediately adjacent to another discovery already on your boat so that at least one edge of a square is touching another discovery. Adjacent discoveries do not include diagonals.
Treasure Maps
Your boat contains five coloured treasure maps that can be used to unlock common treasures.
The treasure maps are: B = Blue, G = Green, O = Orange, P = Purple, R = Red.
If you draw a cat on a treasure map icon and the colours match (e.g. green cat on green treasure map), then you may instantly draw any common treasure on your boat.
The 4 common treasure shapes available are shown on the day tracker for reference.
You can draw other discoveries over a treasure map, but you will not receive the treasure.
Cards with Multiple Discoveries
When resolving a card containing multiple discoveries, you must resolve the entire card before moving on to the next card.
For each individual card, you may draw the discoveries in any order you wish.
Only if a discovery does not fit on your boat may you move on to the next card without fully resolving the current one.
Keyword: Any 2
When a card says any 2, you must pick 2 of the discoveries shown on the card.
You may pick the same discovery twice, but you may not choose to pick just 1.
Keyword: Or
When a card contains the word or, you may choose all of the discoveries in the area above, or the area below, the word or.
You must take all of the discoveries in your chosen area.
In some cases, rare treasure discoveries may overlap the second area. In these cases, you should assume they are in the area where the majority of the treasure is displayed.
No Words
If the card does not include any keywords, then you must draw all of the items on the card.
Key Terms
Rooms
Every square on your boat is part of a room; you can identify rooms by the walls surrounding them.
When you start drawing on your boat, you may find it difficult to remember where each room is. To help with this, you can use the different icons in the corners of the rooms:
- Parrot
- Moon
- Apple
- Corn
- Some rooms have no icon
Edge of the Boat
The edge of the boat is the line that frames the grid of squares on each boat.
Touching
Two things are touching if they are immediately adjacent; diagonals never count.
Filled Room
A filled room is one that has no visible squares.
Cat Families
A cat family is 3 or more cats of the same colour that are touching.
Examples:
- 3 orange cats make a family of 3.
- 4 blue cats make a family of 4.
- 2 red cats are not 3, so this is not a family.
- Diagonal cats are not touching, so a set of 2 red cats connected only by a diagonal is not a family.
Scoring
At the end of the game, players should add up their scores. The player with the highest score wins.
Rats
You get -1 point for each visible rat on your boat.
Rooms
You get -5 points for each room that has not been filled.
Cat Families
You get points for every cat family you have. A cat family is 3 or more cats of the same colour that are touching.
- each 3 cat family is 8 points
- each 4 cat family is 11 points
- each 5 cat family is 15 points
- each 6 cat family is 20 points
If you have more than 6 cats in a family, you score an extra 5 points for every additional cat in that family.
Rare Treasures
You get 3 points for each rare treasure on your boat.
Lessons
For each lesson you have completed, add those points to your score.
Tiebreaker
In the case of a tie, the player who has filled the most rooms wins. If the tied players have the same number of filled rooms, then both players win.
Colour Friendly Mode
If you do not have access to colour pens, or if you struggle to tell the difference between some colours, you can draw different patterns to represent each colour of cat, such as horizontal lines for the green cat and crosses for the purple cats. You can be as creative as you like!
Remote Play
Explore & Draw is designed to allow you to play the game with people who are not in the same room as you.
How It Works
One player will need to own the game; they will become the game master and will be in charge of revealing the cards for each day (round).
The other players will need a player sheet and a pen; they can download the player sheet from the website: www.thecityofkings.com/games/explore-draw
Each day, the game master will set up the island and share it with the other players. All rules remain the same.
Software
We recommend using a video conferencing or a streaming tool so the game master can share the current options with the other players.
If you do not have access to any software, you can share photos via a phone.
Solo Mode
If the approaching armies of Vesh Darkhand weren't bad enough, you now notice your sister has snuck aboard your boat and is trying to claim credit for all your hard work. Not only do you need to rescue cats and avoid Vesh, but now you will also have to sabotage your sister's plans in order to succeed!
Overview
This section highlights all of the changes to the rules that are required to play with only a single player. You should only read these rules once you have learned the normal rules for the game. All of the normal rules apply unless stated otherwise.
Sister Setup
To begin, set up the game following the normal rules, and then set up your sister.
- Solo colours. Shuffle the solo colour cards and place them in a row on the table. Flip the first card over, and leave the remaining 4 face-down.
- Solo lessons. Shuffle the solo lesson cards and place 3 face-up on the table. Return the rest of the cards to the box.
- Advanced solo lessons. If you would like to play a harder game, you can include advanced lessons. Shuffle the advanced solo lesson cards and place a number of cards face-up next to the solo lesson cards. Return the rest of the cards to the box.
- Medium difficulty: 1 advanced card
- Hard difficulty: 2 advanced cards
- Very hard difficulty: 3 advanced cards
- Expert difficulty: 4 advanced cards
Sister Turns
At the end of each day, once you have resolved your chosen column and moved all the cards on the island to a discard pile, flip over the next solo colour card for your sister. The next card is the card that is furthest to the left and has not yet been revealed.
You will only need to do this 4 times, as during the last 3 days, all the solo colour cards will already be flipped.
Solo Scoring
Calculate your score following the normal rules, then calculate your sister's score using her lesson cards and colour cards.
Remember, your sister is trying to claim credit for what you have done; her lesson and colour cards will score based on what you have drawn on your boat.
Cat Colours. Go through the solo colour cards in the order you revealed them; your sister scores:
- 5 points for every cat on your boat of the first revealed colour.
- 4 points for every cat on your boat of the second revealed colour.
- 3 points for every cat on your boat of the third revealed colour.
- 2 points for every cat on your boat of the fourth revealed colour.
- 1 point for every cat on your boat of the last revealed colour.
Lessons. For each of your sister's lesson cards, add up how many points she earned.
Total. Your sister only scores points for cat colours and lesson cards, nothing else. To help you add up your sister's score, you may use the scoring area of a second boat sheet to record her points, but this is entirely optional.
Tiebreaker. The winner is the person with the most points. In the event of a tie, your sister wins!
FAQ
Q. Can a discovery be drawn over walls/multiple rooms? Yes. Thematically speaking, cat tiles represent the space your new cat will require on your trip home, not the space it takes up at one time. The treasure you can pile up in multiple rooms.
Q. Can I draw treasures on rats? Yes (poor rats)!
Q. Is it optional to take treasure when covering a treasure map? Yes!
Q. Can I play with more than 6 players? Yes. You can use boat and lesson sheets from a second copy of Explore & Draw to play with more players, or you can download additional print-friendly sheets from the website: www.thecityofkings.com/games/explore-draw
Credits
- Game Design: Frank West
- Assistant Producer: Sara Jorge
- World Building: Frank West, Sara Jorge
- Artwork: Dragolisco
- Art Direction: Frank West
- Graphic Design: Frank West (with contributions from Alec Jackson)
- Writing: Frank West (with contributions from Sara Jorge)
- Editing: Tom Fox, Carrie Ott