Quilts and Cats of Calico Review

Calico is a cat-themed board game that has you crafting quilts to attract kitties to sit on them. It has now come to consoles, and I had a chance to preview Quilts and Cats of Calico back in June 2023, so I'm curious to see what changes were made, especially seeing as this is a board game that I've played numerous times. 

The console version offers a few different modes like Play where you can play a round of the game on your own or with two to four other players, Play Online where you can challenge other players on other consoles with cross-play, a Story mode, and a Cat Editor where you can create your own kitty. I opted to try out the Editor to see what kind of furball I could create.

I was given a white cat named Lily to customise. There are a tonne of characteristics you can modify, like the name, what layout of blocks players need to attract the cat, the shape of their body, tail fluffiness, snout length, nose size, ear shape, and a whole lot more. You can also select the eye colour and the pattern and colour of the fur. There are options to make it more realistic or if you would rather make something crazy like a green cat, you can do this too. Once the cat is created, you can select clothing for your feline, including sweaters, hats, and any other kind of wardrobe you want to dress them up in. At least here, you don’t need to worry about getting clawed like you probably would in real life. 

With my kitty made, I headed over to the Play mode. You can start a new game, play through the tutorial, and do the Master Quilters Challenge. Even though I have played the board game before and know the rules, I wanted to see how different it would be to use a controller to manipulate the tiles instead of the physical objects themselves. I was surprised to see how easy it was to move the pieces around the board and place them. It wasn’t difficult at all. 

In each game, you have design goals that you aim to complete to earn you points. The design goal tiles are at the bottom of the screen beneath the quilt. There are four different options here like you need the six tiles around this piece to match AAA-BBB. You will earn seven points if it's two sets of three tiles with the exact pattern or two sets of three where the sets are of three of the same colour. If you manage to get both then you get 13 points. The other goals are AA-BB-C-D, AA-BB-CC, and finally, where all the tiles have different colours and patterns. 

This goal is actually the trickiest to get, so it's worth 10 and 15. You need to pick three design tiles out of the four; I try to select the ones that I think will be easiest to complete. The good news is that you don't need to complete them to finish the game, but if you don't, you will not get points for them. 

Once you have placed a tile where you want, hit Y (the top face button) to approve its placement, until this is done you can move it again. Once placed, select a patch tile from the three available in the market on the right to replenish your stash. You will only have two tiles in your hand at any time. While trying to complete the required designs, tiles do not need to be placed next to each other to form one of the AA pairs. As long as two of the same pattern or colour are placed around the design tile it will count. Once you have selected a tile, your turn is over, and it’s time for your opponent to go. If you aren’t playing with other people locally, when your AI opponent grabs a tile it looks like a cat paw taking it. Apparently, the opponent has a cat playing with them… or are they a kitty?

Besides getting points for completing the design goals you’ll also be able to earn buttons of six different colours. You earn a button when three tiles of the same colour are touching. If you get buttons for each of the six colours, you are given a special rainbow button that is worth bonus points. Each of the buttons is worth three points for you. The nice thing is you can use the patches placed on the edges of the board to assist with this. 

Now, we need to learn how to attract cats to lay on your quilt. Each kitty has a preference for the pattern they like; sometimes, it also depends on the arrangement of tiles as well. Each round has three different cats to attract, all with their own requirements. Millie wants three tiles placed in a triangle-like shape, all matching one of her favourite patterns: stripes or ferns. Where one cat likes five tiles touching in a straight line. This does not need to be horizontal, even if it is on a diagonal, it will still count and attract the cat to your quilt. 

Quilts and Cats of Calico story begins with your father teaching you how to quilt when you were young. He then left to help the neighbouring area prepare for war. It's been five years, and he hasn't returned. You have come to terms with the fact that he probably won't come back, so you head to your Aunt's place to start your sewing career in Tomkitty City, known as the city of cat worshippers. 

The story mode shows you a quilt with nine panels, one has a photo of your Aunt Agatha. Move your token to the square to progress the story. The Feline Festival is just starting, so your quilting skills will be useful. For this first mission, your task is to improve her quilts so that they attract cats and bring good fortune to her, with the objective being to get at least three buttons. 

There are limited spaces to place tiles here, so all you need to do is use the colours to get buttons. If you fail the mission with the limited tiles you are given, you can see hits for the early, mid, and late game. The story here is quite silly, but it would be hard to have a serious story about quilting and attracting cats.

The visuals in Quilts and Cats of Calico are vibrant and the details in the patterns on the tiles are very nice. However, I found the cats to look a little weird with the outline making it look like they walked out of a colouring book. The music in the game is so chill and relaxing, to the point where it is almost too serene, as it just makes me feel like I want to nap. Music with a little bit more energy would be preferable as there isn’t tons of action happening besides placing and drawing tiles. 

For the online mode, there is cross-platform play, which is always nice to see. The problem is that I couldn’t find anyone online to play with. When this happens, the game swaps your opponent to an AI player. Once this occurred, I decided to leave the match before it was done and lost five karma points, which I guess in the end won’t really matter if I can’t find other players. However, Quilts and Cats of Calico also has Remote Play Together! If you have friends and want to play with them, they don't even need a copy to join in, so the Online is even less important!

Quilts and Cats of Calico is a pretty accurate rendition of the original board game, which is perfect when you don’t have anyone else to play with or if you don’t own the board game. Playing with other people locally is still a lot of fun, but the online mode was a bust for me. This game is worth trying out, though I advise maybe having some other music on in the room, as this super chill vibe is sure to make you feel a little sleepy!