Whiskerwood

Whiskerwood is a city-building game about a colony of mice sent by their cat overlords to settle resource-rich islands. You establish cities, organize production and logistics, and meet the cats’ growing demands while keeping your mousefolk’s needs in balance. The islands are procedurally generated, and you can carve into mountains, build upwards and reshape the land to make room for your colony.

Establish a colony

Your ship arrives with starting resources and a group of mice. Build essential structures and services, then send colonists to fell trees, mine, farm and fish. Set up logistics and healthcare, and keep buildings heated and maintained. The cats demand regular shipments, while mice may abandon the colony if their daily needs go unmet.

Colonists belong to guilds and have attributes that affect their work, preferences, strengths and weaknesses. Assign tasks with those traits in mind: some mice prefer underground homes or solitude, others tolerate pollution, and some are skilled sailors and ship captains. Mouselow’s Hierarchy of Needs includes food, water, shelter and maintenance, alongside choices that affect morale. You can build statues of the cats to motivate mice and raise productivity, or improve their happiness with parks and fountains.

Shape the island

Island space is limited, so you can build vertically, dig into mountains and cliffs, or terraform the land. Carve burrows for housing and storage, draw water inland to power industry, or flatten areas to make construction easier and cheaper. You can also work around the peaks and valleys of each procedurally generated map.

Weather and climate affect the colony. Storms can dampen the mice’s enthusiasm, while cold fronts can damage harvests or put lives at risk. Heat water through pipe networks to run steam-powered climate control, and store winter supplies underground. Crops also have specific growing conditions: mushrooms thrive in damp caverns, while wheat needs direct sunlight and fertile soil. You can seek out suitable places on the island or use engineering to create the conditions closer to home.

Automate production

Whiskerwood has 40 commodities to gather, manufacture or trade, from raw materials such as metal ore, timber and wheat to processed goods such as ropes, coats and prepared meals. Luxury goods include spices, teas and furniture, and your economy needs to expand as your settled population’s wants grow.

Conveyor belts, ramps, elevators and slides move goods between gathering, processing, storage and use. Pumps, water towers, radiators and vents help distribute water and steam, but each covers a limited area, so pipelines need careful planning. Research labs let you develop technologies that unlock buildings, resources and policies, as your colony advances from mouse-powered work to steam-powered industry.

Trade and conflict

Build ships to reach distant islands, find trade partners, confront pirate havens and recover floating salvage from sunken ships. Manage your growing fleet to secure resources and protect supply lines, while preparing the colony’s defenses for conflict. You can fulfill the cats’ demands to gain favor and access hard-to-obtain luxury goods, or pursue trade with other mouse factions and pirate lords.

The cats’ demands grow more unreasonable over time. If shipments fail to satisfy them, they may send henchmen to enforce your duties. You can continue serving the cats or eventually resist their rule.