Calico

Designers: Kevin Russ

Publisher: Flatout Games

What purpose does a quilt have, if not to attract cats to lay on it? Calico is out here asking the tough questions and answering them with a tile-laying, thought-provoking strategy game. As amateur quilters, players will be working to earn buttons and attract cats for points as they assemble their quilt masterpiece.

Calico’s incredible art (courtesy of Beth Sobel) helps make the strategic gameplay appealing to a wide variety of players. The game itself is often a bit more challenging than players expect, as early-game decisions made purely out of convenience can come back to haunt them later on as their options dwindle. Calico requires planning, cunning, and the occasional bit of luck to earn large rewards, and that excellent combination made it very popular with the Committee this year.

What Our Committee Is Saying

I’m still loving on Calico.

Annette Villa

Overall, I’ve enjoyed Calico quite a bit. … I think it will appeal to those who enjoy a good puzzle, and I like that the simple ruleset mean that I can play with my youngest daughter too, just ignoring the goal tiles and scoring buttons and cats instead.

Jonathan Liu

I love this game. … No joke, it was one of my absolute favorites of 2020. I was absolutely surprised by how thinky this game was.

Ruel Gaviola

Photos courtesy of What’s Eric Playing?. All rights reserved.

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