The Concept
Your calico quilt starts as a pile of simple fabric in colorful floral patterns. Patiently you cut, fold, and sew each piece into precise shapes and designs. Your goal? Create a cozy refuge, an irresistible napping platform for every cat in the house. Calico is a charming tile-laying game filled with beautiful strategy and art.
Players compete to create the best quilt. Will you focus on an overall design, embellish different areas with buttons, or attract a variety of fuzzy feline friends to help you score?
The Components
Calico is a beautiful game. Beth Sobel’s illustrations do a masterful job of drawing in even the most casual player for a closer look. The adorable orange tabby cat curled up on the cover of the box sets the tone for the game. The world of Calico is a peaceful warm place on a cold night.
From the 108 colorful hexagonal patch tiles you’ll use to create your quilt, to the whimsical button tokens and the five double-sided cat scoring tiles (with matching cat tokens), Calico employs cuteness to a degree that should almost be illegal.
Each player has a thick-ridged quilt board on which you will place your patch tiles. There are three spaces marked on the quilt board for your design goals. Each player has six design tiles, so three will be chosen and “sewn” onto your board before the game begins. Likewise, three cat scoring tiles will be selected at random for all players.
Mix up the patch tiles and place three face-up on the table. Then allow each player to draw a hand of two patch tiles and we’re ready to play!
The Mechanics
This story is from the Winter 2021 edition of Casual Game Insider.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Winter 2021 edition of Casual Game Insider.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
GAME REVIEWS
This little card game takes only a couple of minutes to teach, but is surprisingly engaging and full of fun.
Fun Is No Mystery with: Scorpion masqué
Scorpion Masqué is a Montreal-based board game publisher founded in 2006 by former literature teacher and game enthusiast Christian Lemay
PAGE TURNERS: Games Unfurl Their Majestic Pages
Have you picked up a good book lately? Perhaps you've struggled to find inspirational reading material
Josh Cappel: A Man of Many Hats
The name Josh Cappel is synonymous with variety. If you have a shelf of board games, it's likely that at least one of them has been touched by Cappel
PLAY FUNKOVERSE LIKE A PRO
Have you ever heard about the Funkoverse board game series? If not, then you are in for a real treat
PASSPORT TO FUN: This Summer's Sizzling New Casual Games
From a quaint festival in Portugal to impending doom in ancient China, or from the peaceful tranquility of a Japanese garden to the tarmac of the Montréal airport, the new casual board games of the summer of 2023 read like a captivating travel brochure
Scram! CRITTERS VS. CAMPERS
One team faces another in Bezier Games' latest card-shedding gam
Hand-to-Hand Wombat is Major Fun!
The Concept - No one knows why wombats enjoy architecture. A desire to build towers is buried deep in their bones. But there are exceptions: wicked wombats, born to make trouble.
A Part-Time Venture Creating Full-Time Fun
hawn Stankewich, along with co-founders Robb Melvin and Molly Johnson, started Seattle-based Flatout Games in 2017. Robb and Shawn lived in the same dorm in college and developed a friendship through playing board games. Molly was already into games when she met Shawn and Robb in 2013. After four years of friendship and playing games, they decided to design their own.
THE KULTURE OF GAMES:
How Board Games Continue to Reflect Growing & Emergent Communities