So, if I already have the Isle of Cats base game and I buy the big box, I'll have two massive boxes for one game? What do I do with the original box? It's beautiful, and I can't imagine throwing it away. Ideally, I'd like to find an insert that fits inside the original base game box. Any suggestions?
Thank you. We love this game. I must admit though, from the title of the video, I thought you were going to review the expansions also. Can you please do a review of them? I would love to hear your thoughts on each module and the new boats.
Fantastic information. I'm glad I held off putting mine together. Now I have a better idea how it all goes together. Really looking forward to playing. Rock solid as always, Mike!
Hi Mike, might want to take out the ‘expansions’ part from the title. This is a great big box review. It actually feels like you haven’t played with either the kittens/beast modules, new lessons or the boat pack. Maybe you can give us your thoughts on those in a separate video?
If it helps, I wrote some of my own thoughts in a reply up-thread. Short story: Kittens is incredible and fixes a lot of mechanically awkward/weaker parts of the base game very elegantly. Beasts are neat, but pretty low-impact. Events are a nice way to bump the thinkiness for seasoned players. Boats give some variety, but you're not missing out on much if you don't have them. The insert is really expensive, but really, really streamlines setup/teardown.
Could you please....please..please.....do a video sorting all the cards ? I picked the full kickstarter set. So far I believe I have been able to sort most everything except for the cards. I'm sooooo confused.
I sanded the edges and rounded off the corners for the top piece of the beasts storage box, because it's very difficult to put on and take off otherwise.
This should've been filmed like a cooking show, having Mike put the first box into the oven, and then pulling out the completed version that's already fully assembled.
Seal of excellence well earned. But can we talk about the fact that you guys have an UNOPENED copy of Ark Nova just hanging out while the rest of us are impatiently waiting.
Keep in mind that the Dice Tower library often has multiple copies of hot games. Just because it’s unopened at the time of the filming of this video doesn’t mean that it won’t be put to good use by many many gamers at Dice Tower events.
Need help ! Thx for the review, loved it! Uncertain of the "Big Box" and what it's included/contents are. Want to make sure I can buy this game and play it straight way. Or do I need to buy the expansions you showed separately? Thx
Outside the KS campaigns, this was the last one, the extra expansions can ONLY be bought from Frank West, the Publisher, from his website. And, it is super pricy. The Main Box and 2 of the expansion can be bought from any retailer
Mike, any chance you let to know your top 10 games… I wonder as we play Isle of Cats just last weekend but strait fall in unconditional love!! I like heavier games but this game absolutely become my top game!!
Looks cool, but I'm of the opinion that a game as light as Isle of Cats just doesn't need this level of bling. I'll pick up the Kittens and Beasts expansion at some point for a lot cheaper (currently listed at $25 on Game Nerdz) than the Kickstarter. Most of the other content is just fluff for me.
100% Agree on the card organizer. I absolutely feel that there has to be a better way to put that together. I ended up splintering a piece of the wood on that when I struggled to put it together. Still functional of course, but none the less disappointing. 110% on combining the rulebooks as well! Big oversight. However absolutely an amazing package and you can tell Frank & Team did a GREAT job here.
Great review, and on point. I especially agree with you on the family/solo/lesson card container. Just a fair warning from personal experience to anyone watching this before assembling… Do not glue that segmented card holder. At all! That thing was so tight I was sure I’d break it. I had to rethink everything and assemble it in reverse order with sides first, then the bottom. If glue had already been applied, I’m not sure it would survive that treatment. Other than that, a beautiful product and magnificent game well worth the investment!
Thanks for the overview and review! I’ll add from my experience with wooden inserts, at least for other games, is that it might seem fine initially but you probably should use wood glue when assembling them as they tend to come apart over time and with use.
One downfall is the weight of this. It was heavy before it was out of the shrink! I am a woman with some health issues around lifting and this will be something I cannot get off of the shelf by myself. The rest seems great.
Mike, I usually really like your work but this video falls short. I kind of thought maybe you would talk about how the expansions played at all since the title of this video calls it a review. This is more of a components overview. You didn’t even show the new ship boards and how they differ from the original boards.
I understand your point, and I'm sorry this video didn't work for you. I decided that in the interest of time I would focus on this as a storage solution more than spend a lot of time on the specific mechanisms of the expansions. I chose to just comment on how well I thought they integrated into the base game experience. I understand that this approach won't appeal to everyone, and clearly it didn't work for you. I call it a review because I'm assessing it as a total package, and it is one that I feel is outstanding. Thank you for the feedback, and hopefully you can find the type of review for the expansions that you're looking for.
I am one of those people that said they would never get into these stupid Big Boxes because "no game is worth no $100!!"... and I still signed up for this Kickstarter the second I heard about it. It's definitely a Top 10 game but setup and teardown are probably worse than for any other game I own. But that's not even the biggest issue: it's just a hot mess during play. Cats here, cats there, treasure here, fish there, cards everywhere. So this actually solves two MAJOR annoyances. Negatives: Totally agree with the card box. Aggravating to put together. Furthermore, they don't really explain what goes where after you've finally assembled it. Everything else had a picture burnt into the wood or could be deduced from the picture of the final product. But all we get on the side of the card box is letters and numbers that are not mentioned anywhere. For those of us who just had the base game, we didn't really know what the "lesson modules" were because it only has 3, so we shuffled them in and promptly forgot that this was a thing. I spent so long online figuring this out, it probably took me longer to put the cards in this box as it did to actually build it! Also, my lid was torn completely up one corner. This seems like something they knew would be a problem, hence a lid exactly like the one on the original! Which is fine, but where's my brag about owning the Big Box?! Telling people I own it is just so gauche. I don't agree with the sole rulebook, though. As good as the main rulebook is, it's not that easy to find something SPECIFIC, so having separate ones for the other modules and solo rules is MUCH appreciated.
“I’m a bit of a shallow gamer.” I’m right there with you Mike. I love good bits!
Incredible game and package as a whole, the way Frank supported the Kickstarter was like nothing I'd seen before also. Impressive product and KS!
So, if I already have the Isle of Cats base game and I buy the big box, I'll have two massive boxes for one game? What do I do with the original box? It's beautiful, and I can't imagine throwing it away. Ideally, I'd like to find an insert that fits inside the original base game box. Any suggestions?
Thank you. We love this game. I must admit though, from the title of the video, I thought you were going to review the expansions also. Can you please do a review of them? I would love to hear your thoughts on each module and the new boats.
Fantastic information. I'm glad I held off putting mine together. Now I have a better idea how it all goes together. Really looking forward to playing. Rock solid as always, Mike!
Hi Mike, might want to take out the ‘expansions’ part from the title.
This is a great big box review.
It actually feels like you haven’t played with either the kittens/beast modules, new lessons or the boat pack.
Maybe you can give us your thoughts on those in a separate video?
If it helps, I wrote some of my own thoughts in a reply up-thread. Short story: Kittens is incredible and fixes a lot of mechanically awkward/weaker parts of the base game very elegantly. Beasts are neat, but pretty low-impact. Events are a nice way to bump the thinkiness for seasoned players. Boats give some variety, but you're not missing out on much if you don't have them. The insert is really expensive, but really, really streamlines setup/teardown.
Just teasing us with that shrinkwrapped copy of Ark Nova in the back.
Could you please....please..please.....do a video sorting all the cards ? I picked the full kickstarter set. So far I believe I have been able to sort most everything except for the cards. I'm sooooo confused.
i missed out on this KS. I have the original KS. I guess there's no way to get this big box anymore?
I sanded the edges and rounded off the corners for the top piece of the beasts storage box, because it's very difficult to put on and take off otherwise.
Thanks for doing this! A great before and after look!
The woodwn inserts doesn't need glue. They are still a pain if You want to pull them apart to modify them afterwards.
Great review Mike! Frank West has created an amazing storage and set-up solution for one of my favourite games.
Great review, thanks!
This should've been filmed like a cooking show, having Mike put the first box into the oven, and then pulling out the completed version that's already fully assembled.
...imagining Mike as the swedish chef...bork bork bork!!!👨🍳
Seal of excellence well earned. But can we talk about the fact that you guys have an UNOPENED copy of Ark Nova just hanging out while the rest of us are impatiently waiting.
Keep in mind that the Dice Tower library often has multiple copies of hot games. Just because it’s unopened at the time of the filming of this video doesn’t mean that it won’t be put to good use by many many gamers at Dice Tower events.
That’s definitely true on the card tray piece of the insert
Having a second copy assembled/disassembled copy ready is "through the magic of buying two of them".
Need help !
Thx for the review, loved it!
Uncertain of the "Big Box" and what it's included/contents are. Want to make sure I can buy this game and play it straight way. Or do I need to buy the expansions you showed separately? Thx
Outside the KS campaigns, this was the last one, the extra expansions can ONLY be bought from Frank West, the Publisher, from his website. And, it is super pricy. The Main Box and 2 of the expansion can be bought from any retailer
Mike, any chance you let to know your top 10 games… I wonder as we play Isle of Cats just last weekend but strait fall in unconditional love!! I like heavier games but this game absolutely become my top game!!
You heard it here first, Mike is the only tool you need.
Agree with this completely. Especially the consolidated rulebook!
Looks cool, but I'm of the opinion that a game as light as Isle of Cats just doesn't need this level of bling. I'll pick up the Kittens and Beasts expansion at some point for a lot cheaper (currently listed at $25 on Game Nerdz) than the Kickstarter. Most of the other content is just fluff for me.
100% Agree on the card organizer. I absolutely feel that there has to be a better way to put that together. I ended up splintering a piece of the wood on that when I struggled to put it together. Still functional of course, but none the less disappointing. 110% on combining the rulebooks as well! Big oversight. However absolutely an amazing package and you can tell Frank & Team did a GREAT job here.
Great review, and on point.
I especially agree with you on the family/solo/lesson card container.
Just a fair warning from personal experience to anyone watching this before assembling… Do not glue that segmented card holder. At all! That thing was so tight I was sure I’d break it. I had to rethink everything and assemble it in reverse order with sides first, then the bottom. If glue had already been applied, I’m not sure it would survive that treatment.
Other than that, a beautiful product and magnificent game well worth the investment!
Thanks for the overview and review!
I’ll add from my experience with wooden inserts, at least for other games, is that it might seem fine initially but you probably should use wood glue when assembling them as they tend to come apart over time and with use.
Good lord, I thought the regular box was pretty huge!
One downfall is the weight of this. It was heavy before it was out of the shrink! I am a woman with some health issues around lifting and this will be something I cannot get off of the shelf by myself. The rest seems great.
I'd suggest to keep the new or old boats 8n the boat pack box. Those are a big part of the weight.
Your dice guy forgot to go all the way to 10.
Now I have terminal FOMO and wish I had backed it.
Maybe 2 boxes would be better. One with only the boats and the bags and another with everything else
Really odd choice to call this an expansion review when you don't go over how they play at all and don't really review them...
Mike, I usually really like your work but this video falls short. I kind of thought maybe you would talk about how the expansions played at all since the title of this video calls it a review. This is more of a components overview. You didn’t even show the new ship boards and how they differ from the original boards.
I understand your point, and I'm sorry this video didn't work for you. I decided that in the interest of time I would focus on this as a storage solution more than spend a lot of time on the specific mechanisms of the expansions. I chose to just comment on how well I thought they integrated into the base game experience. I understand that this approach won't appeal to everyone, and clearly it didn't work for you. I call it a review because I'm assessing it as a total package, and it is one that I feel is outstanding. Thank you for the feedback, and hopefully you can find the type of review for the expansions that you're looking for.
Why is that Ark Nova SEALED behind you?! Shame! Shame!
I am one of those people that said they would never get into these stupid Big Boxes because "no game is worth no $100!!"... and I still signed up for this Kickstarter the second I heard about it. It's definitely a Top 10 game but setup and teardown are probably worse than for any other game I own. But that's not even the biggest issue: it's just a hot mess during play. Cats here, cats there, treasure here, fish there, cards everywhere. So this actually solves two MAJOR annoyances.
Negatives: Totally agree with the card box. Aggravating to put together. Furthermore, they don't really explain what goes where after you've finally assembled it. Everything else had a picture burnt into the wood or could be deduced from the picture of the final product. But all we get on the side of the card box is letters and numbers that are not mentioned anywhere. For those of us who just had the base game, we didn't really know what the "lesson modules" were because it only has 3, so we shuffled them in and promptly forgot that this was a thing. I spent so long online figuring this out, it probably took me longer to put the cards in this box as it did to actually build it!
Also, my lid was torn completely up one corner. This seems like something they knew would be a problem, hence a lid exactly like the one on the original! Which is fine, but where's my brag about owning the Big Box?! Telling people I own it is just so gauche.
I don't agree with the sole rulebook, though. As good as the main rulebook is, it's not that easy to find something SPECIFIC, so having separate ones for the other modules and solo rules is MUCH appreciated.
Miiiiikeyyyy