Ever heard of a Sandy Gallito, Varied Tit, or Chatham Shag? No, these are not 19th-century innuendos, but birds in the new Kickstarter board game Isle of Feathers, which arrived on the crowdfunding platform on September 28.
Isle of Feathers has the tagline 'A Love Letter To Strange Birds', and as you'd expect, it's absolutely full of feathered freaks. In this tile board game, players build an island habitat for 52 different avian species, competing to create the right environment for their own birds to live.
A passion project by technical artist Daniel Galbraith and architecture graduate Juno Schaaffhausen Te'o, the developers describe the game as 'a tiny, twisty, spatial puzzle'. Sure enough, the titular isle of feathers will gradually rise from the deep as a 3D amalgamation of tiles and tokens.
During the game, everyone draws a handful of bird cards. Disproving an old saying, players vie to get birds out of their hands and into the bush (into play) as quickly as possible. Birds will only swoop down to roost if the layout of the island matches their needs though, so every player wants to shape the environment according to their own objectives.
The game has already surpassed its initial, rather modest, funding goal of $4,000. The basic pledge that bags you the box costs $39 (£29), although there's still just enough time to save a couple of dollars on an early bird discount, available only in the Kickstarter's first 48 hours.
For those blessed by the money macaw, a $263 (£194) pledge gets backers the ability to add their own custom bird to the game, as well as securing some enamel pins, tote bags, and hats. And anyone willing to pledge $1,970 (£1417) will be able to secure one of four 'Resplendent game boxes' crafted from Tasmanian Blackwood.
The game is manufactured in Australia, so some additional shipping costs may apply to backers in the US due to the ongoing tariffs. It's expected to reach backers by January 2026 - a pretty speedy turnabout!
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