There’s more than one way to play
Welcome to Cow Island Publishing – we’re all about balance. Screen free time playing table top games or reading a physical book are excellent for connecting with family and friends (not to mention a sure fire way to make new friends!). Sometimes this isn’t practical (as much as I would love to take a library with me on holiday, it’s just not going to meet those pesky weight limits on checked baggage) or you don’t have any family or friends around to play with. Then it’s great to have digital versions of your favorite games. Cow Island Publishing is on a mission to make both available side by side and have our games played far and wide across the archipelago of the world!
Tabletop
Physical games to test your strategic mind and bring historical stories to life
Digital
Online games that draw on history for their inspiration
Fiction
Novels and short stories with historical backdrops
Featured Projects In Development
Here is a selection of our project pipeline, with one from each of our pillars.
Consul of Rome
A strategic card game of politics, ambition, and influence set in the late Roman Republic. Players take on the role of rival senators competing for prestige and power — commanding legions and securing votes to strengthen your Dignitas.
Inspired by the real cursus honorum — the ladder of public office that defined Roman civic life — the game combines clever hand management, tactical bluffing, and historical insight. Whether in a quick match or a full campaign, Consul of Rome rewards wit, planning, and nerve.
Beyond the tabletop, the project explores how play can illuminate history. An accompanying educational supplement connects the game to classroom learning on Rome, citizenship, and leadership — using strategy and storytelling to bring the ancient world to life for players of all ages.
Dictator of Rome
Our daily logic puzzle campaign inspired by the decision-making and strategy of the Roman Republic.
Each day brings three new challenges that test your reasoning, drawing on real historical references from Rome and beyond.
Blending modern puzzle design with classical insight, Dictator of Rome turns moments from history into small acts of logic and leadership — daily puzzles that sharpen the mind and connect players to the civic dilemmas of the ancient world.
The project is currently live, but we are making improvements all the time, so make sure to follow us on instagram or sign up to our mailing list for regular project updates.
In the Cazique’s Wake
Inspired by the incredible true story of 19th-century conman Sir Gregor MacGregor, this novel follows a group of young people swindled out of their family fortunes who must choose: accept their ruin, or risk everything to take revenge.