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Games with James

A glance at modern games Last Updated: Feb 8, 2024 9:36 AM

Librarians Love Cats

"Librarians love cats." Is this a stereotype or is this true? Probably both. Lately there have been a few games that both prominently feature cats and are very good. Let's take a look.

Librarians love books. Kittens love books. Librarians love kittens.

Cat Lady

Box cover of Cat Lady Deluxe EditionHave you ever aspired to be called a cat lady? In Cat Lady you can live out that dream without all of the hair, feeding and care of actual cats. In this card game there is a grid of available cards composed of cats, catnip, food, toys and costumes. Players take a row of cards each turn and try to collect and feed the best set of cats. There's a bit of interaction as sometimes you will want to use a spray bottle card to block the row your opponent might want to grab. 2–4 players can get through a game of Cat Lady in about 30 minutes. There's both an original version and a deluxe edition which includes customizable cat cards!

This game is great for:

  • Cat lovers,
  • Those that like quick turns with only a few options per turn,
  • Anyone who loves games like Rummy in which you are trying to collect sets of cards.

Book cover for A Unified Theory of Cats on the Internet

Other games you might enjoy:

  • Coloretto
  • Herbaceous
  • Cat Tower

Books you might enjoy:

Calico

Box cover of CalicoDid you know that calico can refer to both cats and quilts? In Calico players are trying to make a beautiful quilt that will earn points for various scoring conditions. There's also other cat points that can be scored. Players take turns placing hexagon shaped tiles on their board while trying to maximize a variety of different scoring categories based on patterns and colors. If you create certain groups you can sew a button to the quilt which leads to more points. 1–4 players can finish a game of Calico in less than 45 minutes.

This game is great for:

  • Those who like puzzles and puzzly activities,
  • People who like quilting or similar crafts,
  • People who want to build something and admire it at the end of the game whether they win or lose.

Other games you might enjoy:

  • Patchwork
  • Sagrada
  • Nova Luna

Books you might enjoy:

The Isle of Cats

Box cover of Isle of CatsThe Isle of Cats is a strategy game combines a couple of very popular game mechanics in gaming right now. First you draft cards by passing a hand of cards from player to player and select some before passing them on. Second you play cards to put various polyomino (Tetris-shaped) pieces onto a grid in order to best fill the space. All under the guise of rescuing cats from an evil bad guy. This is probably the most complex game recommended on this guide, but even so there's an included Family variant that makes it a little more straightforward so that the game can be enjoyed with a larger audience.

This game is great for:

  • People who like rescuing cats,
  • Those looking for a little bit more strategy,
  • Parents who might want to play by themselves and also sometimes with teenagers.

Book cover of Dewey

Other games you might enjoy:

  • Barenpark
  • 7 Wonders
  • Sagrada

Books you might enjoy:

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