“This game doesn’t deserve to be this good.”
That may sound like a strange comment, but it was one made by a Meeple Guild member after the first night of playing Sanctuary: The Game of Cat Rescue.
First, a big tip of the hat to designer Jeff McArthur, who has created something rather special. As the aforementioned player noted, it wasn’t immediately expected, perhaps because of the “cute” theme centered around cats.
Players take charge of cat sanctuaries, gathering resources and rescuing cats from the city shelter. They then match those adorable pets with adopters who are searching for cats with specific traits.
But if too many cats in the shelter end up crossing the “rainbow bridge”, and we all know that’s a polite way of saying something unfortunate, you collectively lose the game.
That makes Sanctuary a straightforward cooperative game where players must overcome the challenges presented by the system. However, designer McArthur has layered in a competitive element as well.
While rescuing cats and matching them with adopters, players also score points in various ways. Assuming you don’t allow too many cats to cross that bridge, the player with the most points wins.
It’s a clever balance. At times, you may need to rescue a cat from the shelter rather than take an action that would score you easy personal points.
This duality of mechanics helps set Sanctuary apart from most games of a similar nature.
There are several ways to score points both during play and at the end of the game, giving players plenty of positive decisions to make. Even so, you’ll still face meaningful choices, and that’s always a good thing in a game.
What really elevates Sanctuary above the average, however, well above, actually, is how well the designer integrates the theme of cat rescue into the overall gameplay.
Older cats, obese cats, and others with special traits are harder to match with adopters.
The more cats you keep in your sanctuary, the more food you’ll need each turn.
If you run out of space, you may need to build a “cattio,” though that will cost resources as well.
Each turn, you roll the dice to determine how many new cats arrive at the shelter, anywhere from two to eight. A large influx quickly increases the pressure to rescue them.
Adopters are determined by dice as well, but only one to four appear each turn.
There always seem to be more cats looking for homes than people looking for a furry companion.
Yes, the presentation leans heavily toward the cute side, kitty artwork included, but every element feels like it mirrors the real-world challenges of cat rescue.
It all works so well that the game ends up being a hugely pleasant surprise.
Sanctuary plays two to four players and, thanks to its theme, could easily entice non-gamers to give it a try. The rules are straightforward enough to make it accessible.
From publisher Bandwagon Games (www.commandcombat.com), this title was already being discussed at our table as an early contender for a Top Five Game of 2026, and it was only mid-January when we first played it.
That alone should tell you how much we collectively enjoyed this one.
It’s an easy game to highly recommend.
About Author
Calvin Daniels is a Saskatchewan-born, self-taught journalist. He is currently Editor of Yorkton This Week, with 35-years in the newspaper business.
Giving Cats a Good Home Makes for a “Feel-Good” Game
“This game doesn’t deserve to be this good.”
First, a big tip of the hat to designer Jeff McArthur, who has created something rather special. As the aforementioned player noted, it wasn’t immediately expected, perhaps because of the “cute” theme centered around cats.
Players take charge of cat sanctuaries, gathering resources and rescuing cats from the city shelter. They then match those adorable pets with adopters who are searching for cats with specific traits.
But if too many cats in the shelter end up crossing the “rainbow bridge”, and we all know that’s a polite way of saying something unfortunate, you collectively lose the game.
That makes Sanctuary a straightforward cooperative game where players must overcome the challenges presented by the system. However, designer McArthur has layered in a competitive element as well.
While rescuing cats and matching them with adopters, players also score points in various ways. Assuming you don’t allow too many cats to cross that bridge, the player with the most points wins.
It’s a clever balance. At times, you may need to rescue a cat from the shelter rather than take an action that would score you easy personal points.
This duality of mechanics helps set Sanctuary apart from most games of a similar nature.
There are several ways to score points both during play and at the end of the game, giving players plenty of positive decisions to make. Even so, you’ll still face meaningful choices, and that’s always a good thing in a game.
What really elevates Sanctuary above the average, however, well above, actually, is how well the designer integrates the theme of cat rescue into the overall gameplay.
Older cats, obese cats, and others with special traits are harder to match with adopters.
The more cats you keep in your sanctuary, the more food you’ll need each turn.
If you run out of space, you may need to build a “cattio,” though that will cost resources as well.
Each turn, you roll the dice to determine how many new cats arrive at the shelter, anywhere from two to eight. A large influx quickly increases the pressure to rescue them.
Adopters are determined by dice as well, but only one to four appear each turn.
There always seem to be more cats looking for homes than people looking for a furry companion.
Yes, the presentation leans heavily toward the cute side, kitty artwork included, but every element feels like it mirrors the real-world challenges of cat rescue.
It all works so well that the game ends up being a hugely pleasant surprise.
Sanctuary plays two to four players and, thanks to its theme, could easily entice non-gamers to give it a try. The rules are straightforward enough to make it accessible.
From publisher Bandwagon Games (www.commandcombat.com), this title was already being discussed at our table as an early contender for a Top Five Game of 2026, and it was only mid-January when we first played it.
That alone should tell you how much we collectively enjoyed this one.
It’s an easy game to highly recommend.
About Author
Calvin Daniels
Calvin Daniels is a Saskatchewan-born, self-taught journalist. He is currently Editor of Yorkton This Week, with 35-years in the newspaper business.
See author's posts