Quilts and Cats of Calico

Genre: Board Game

Players: 1-4 Competitive (Local / Online)

.

Review:

Quilts and Cats of Calico, released in 2024 on PC and Nintendo Switch, is a family-friendly videogame adaptation of the Board Game Calico, originally released in 2020 and recipient of numerous awards for Board Games. The premise of this game has players placing down tiles (hexagonal “patches”) on their own game board (their “quilt”), trying to fulfil various conditions to score points.

Players start each game by choosing three score criteria patches in designated spots on their quilts. These tiles provide points if all six patches around them meet certain criteria – for example, one might require you to have three sets of two matching tiles, or two sets of three matching tiles, or it might require you to have no two tiles matching. What’s more, “matching” can apply to both colors and patterns. So a “two sets of three” score criteria will give you points if you have, say, three pink tiles and three green tiles, and it will give you points if you have three stripe tiles and three polka dot tiles… and it will give you even more points if you meet both the color and pattern conditions.

However, that’s just one way to score points. Players also get points for making contiguous sets of three or more tiles with matching colors, getting a bonus if they can do this for each of the six colors. They’ll also score points for matching patterns in designated layouts set out at the beginning of the game, shown on the left side of the screen.

Players all have their own individual board, so they needn’t worry about opponents messing up their placement. However, there is one other element of competition beyond simple scoring here, as players are all replacing their used tile from the same pool of replacement pieces, meaning that if you don’t grab a piece you want now, it might be snatched up by an opponent. However, you only have room in your tableau for two tiles, must place and replenish a piece every turn, and cannot simply get rid of tiles you have no further use for – you’re stuck with whatever you grab.

All of this makes for a really excellent blend of gameplay elements that hits the “easy to learn, difficult to master” sweet spot quite well, and the gameplay makes the transition to videogame pretty well, letting players control placement with traditional gamepad controls or touchscreen controls in portable mode, with both working quite well.

In addition to local play against human players or bots, there’s also online play (which is sadly a ghost town at this point), as well as an asynchronous online play mode that lets players take their time with their turns, so long as they finish within 72 hours. There’s also a story mode that acts as a puzzle mode of sorts, challenging players to complete certain goals in pre-made board layouts. And players who need to be acquainted with the game’s rules have a pretty good interactive tutorial to get them up to speed.

Finally, one of the elements of this game that’s truly surprising is the presentation, which is outstanding. The board and its surroundings are not only super colorful, but the pieces move and flex in a way you would expect from bits of fabric, even having some nice texture to them. In addition, the board is surrounded at any given time by a trio of cel-shaded 3D cats with some nice animations (players can even stop the game for a moment to pet them if they like).

Finally, I cannot finish this review without mentioning the absolutely phenomenal soundtrack that is everything you would want from a “cozy game” like this, with a great mix of acoustic guitar, violin, and piano, with occasional light percussion. Some good examples of this are Ginger, Cats and Pillows, Cat Song, Meows and Purrs, and Evenings.

When it comes to complaints, I have quite a few, but they’re all fairly minor. I already mentioned the lack of online players, though that’s hardly this game’s fault. I also feel like a few of the patch designs are too similar and take a moment to tell apart, especially when playing in handheld mode. I also wish this game showed you opponents’ boards when playing against online or computer-controlled opponents. And it would be nice if there were an easy way to inspect pieces to see a remaining piece count without the cats walking all over the place and obstructing your view. Oh, and what does the sleep button do? It’s not really clear.

Yes, it definitely seems like there are areas here where the game could have been clearer, or could have been improved. However, overall Quilts and Cats of Calico is an outstanding Board Game, and one that makes the transition from physical game to videogame beautifully, with decent controls and game modes as well as an outstanding presentation with a soundtrack that fits the game’s relaxed theme perfectly. If you enjoy Board Games or even if you lean more towards Puzzle Games, this is an absolute must-have.

tl;dr – Quilts and Cats of Calico is a family-friendly videogame adaptation of the Board Game Calico, and it takes a game with wonderful “easy to learn, tough to master” gameplay and translates it exceptionally well to videogame form, with a good selection of game modes and an outstanding presentation with a lovely soundtrack. If you enjoy Board Games or Puzzles and particularly like “cozy games”, consider this a must-have.

Grade: A-

.

This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2024 Game Awards:

Winner:

Best Music – When you make a “cozy game”, one element I think many people overlook is just how vitally important it is to get the music right, to make something that is immediately inviting, warm and welcoming. And I think Quilts and Cats of Calico understood this assignment better than any game of this type I’ve encountered, with a soundtrack that immediately made me feel relaxed and happy, like I was coming home. Plenty of game soundtracks this year brought us phenomenal soundtracks that highlighted the emotion of the story or perfectly encapsulated the world within the game, but Quilts and Cats of Calico’s music made me feel immediately welcome in this game in a way that I was hesitant to leave.

Runner-Up: Best Card/Board/Dice Game, Best Port/Remake, Best Game for Kids and Casual Players, Best Multiplayer

.

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}

^{This month’s sponsors are Ben, Ilya Zverev, Andy Miller, Homer Simpin, Johannes, Francis Obst, Gabriel Coronado-Medina, Jared Wark, Kristoffer Wulff, and Seth Christenfeld. Thank you for helping to keep the reviews coming!}