Have you had your fill of cats? Think they can fend for themselves while you travel to new lands and find something else to do? Designer Frank West of UK publisher The City of Games sure hopes you're cool with that plan as he prepares to launch The Isle of Penguins, a standalone game set in the world of Squalls End, which he introduced in his 2019 game The Isle of Cats. (For details on that game, check out my review from 2020.)
Here is West's pitch for this new title:
As a citizen of Squalls End, your expedition to the frozen lands of the north has suddenly become a rescue mission, and you must rescue as many penguins as possible before the ice melts. To succeed, you'll travel to ice floes, gather fish, study ancient lessons, and clear rocks from your uniquely shaped raft.
Wait, I have to interrupt here. I get what West is saying here, that is, players have asymmetrical rafts to increase variability and vary the value of penguins, but I'm amused by his use of "uniquely shaped" as a descriptive adjective because that's going to raise an eyebrow almost any time you encounter it: "Let me show you the uniquely-shaped cat we got from the shelter" — or — "What's the fish special tonight?" "It's uniquely shaped!" — or — "What would you say are your spouse's best attributes?" "They're funny, clever, and uniquely shaped."
Anyway, carrying on...
As you rescue penguins, you must find a way to fit them all on your raft while protecting their eggs and keeping families together.
In short, The Isle of Penguins is a competitive open-drafting and penguin-placement board game. Drafting allows you to manage your speed to stay ahead in the rescue and claim the discoveries you need most. During play, the 1-4 players search the ice together, placing tiles onto their raft at the same time, and with the Late Arrivals expansion up to six players can ponder their uniquely-shaped rafts and how best to pack penguins. The game includes family, advanced, and expert modes.
If you're curious to learn more, you can visit the publisher's website or follow West's crowdfunding project, which will launch on July 7, 2026.
