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Basics• 8 min

How to play Auto Cats

Your objective, every step of a run, and exactly what to do during a battle round.

Last updated: September 2026

Run objective

Your goal

Lead your chosen hero from the first node at the bottom of each branching map to the boss at the top. Win battles by defeating every enemy while keeping your hero alive, then defeat the final available act boss to complete the run.

Your hero’s health carries between encounters. If the hero reaches 0 HP, the battle and the run end. Beating an act boss advances the run when another act is available; the Steam demo concludes after the Act 1 boss.

The complete game loop

Auto Cats alternates between route decisions and tactical battles. Every reward changes the cats and cards you may see later, so each trip through the loop builds a different team.

  1. 1

    Choose a hero

    Pick Frog, Mouse, or Crow. Your hero determines your health, starter cat roster, starter skill deck, and first Cat Toy.

  2. 2

    Read the map

    Trace the connected routes ahead and decide whether your build needs a battle, elite, shop, rest site, or event.

  3. 3

    Enter a node

    Resolve the selected encounter. Normal fights build resources; elites are harder but offer a Cat Toy; bosses close an act.

  4. 4

    Build the formation

    Spend Cat Treats to summon cats, move them across legal glowing tiles, and bond duplicates to work toward evolution.

  5. 5

    Play the round

    Read enemy intent, spend mana on skill cards, and press GO when the hero and squad are ready for the enemy response.

  6. 6

    Take rewards

    After a victory, collect gold and choose new cat and skill options. Elite victories also offer a random Cat Toy.

  7. 7

    Improve and repeat

    Use shops, rest sites, and events to prepare, then keep climbing until the act boss—and ultimately the final boss—is defeated.

Auto Cats shop screen with a merchant and upgrade chests
In gameShops turn saved gold into skill chests, Cat Toy chests, and other upgrades before the next fight.
Auto Cats rest event offering maximum health, healing, or gold
In gameRest sites can offer a choice between permanent maximum health, immediate healing, and extra gold.

Starting a run

A standard run begins with 3 mana, 2 Cat Treats, and 0 gold. Your selected hero also supplies a themed starter roster, skill deck, and hero-specific Cat Toy.

  • Cat Treats recruit cats from the battle shop and pay for shop-side bonds.
  • Mana pays for skill cards during the current setup round.
  • Gold is saved across the run and spent when your route reaches a shop or another paid choice.
Auto Cats hero selection screen with Crow highlighted
In gameCrow is one of three starting heroes. Each hero changes your health, starter cats, skill deck, and first Cat Toy.

How one battle round works

Combat takes place on a 6×6 grid. Your side and the enemy side share the board, and every unit’s movement, range, and attack shape make position matter.

  1. 1

    Read enemy intent

    Enemies preview their next movement or attack. Check the threatened rows, columns, diagonals, and nearby tiles before spending anything.

  2. 2

    Summon or bond cats

    Drag an affordable shop cat onto a glowing empty tile, or onto a matching evolution line to gain evolution XP.

  3. 3

    Reposition the team

    Drag or tap a placed cat, then choose one of its legal glowing destinations. Each cat has its own movement directions.

  4. 4

    Play skill cards

    Drag a targeted card to a glowing eligible unit. Class cards need a matching cat, mana pays the cost, and the effect resolves immediately.

  5. 5

    Press GO

    When setup is complete and all card animations have finished, press GO. Player passives resolve, then enemies move and follow their shown intent.

  6. 6

    Plan again

    Survive the response and a new setup round begins with refreshed cat and card offers. Repeat until every enemy is defeated.

Auto Cats planning phase with cats, enemies, and skill cards around the tactical grid
In gameDuring planning, compare the cats and cards available to you with the enemies already occupying the shared grid.
Auto Cats battle against a large purple boss on the tactical grid
In gameBoss encounters use the same planning loop, but positioning and resource timing become much less forgiving.
Important rule

The rule new players miss

Your cats do not make a free basic attack when you press GO. You normally deal damage by playing skill cards and setting up passives or charged abilities. Most targeted cards also make their acting cat tired, so that cat normally cannot use another targeted card until the next round.

Common immediate cards do not require a cat. Other cards may require a matching class, a legal target, and a target inside the acting cat’s range or attack shape.

Auto Cats combat with two enemies being struck while skill cards remain in hand
In gameSkill cards resolve through the cats that use them; attack shapes and positioning decide which enemies are hit.

Controls at a glance

Green or glowing highlights show the actions that are currently legal. Following those highlights is the safest way to learn each cat, card, range, and status restriction.

  • Desktop: drag a shop cat onto a glowing tile, or tap the cat and then the tile.
  • Touch controls: tap a shop or field cat, then tap a glowing destination.
  • Targeted cards: drag the card onto a glowing eligible unit; most attack cards go on the cat that casts them, not directly on the enemy.
  • Common immediate cards: drag the card upward to play it without choosing a cat.
  • Press GO only after useful card actions are finished; a card animation still in progress temporarily blocks GO.

Grow the build between fights

Victory offers gold plus a draft of cats and skills. Adding cats changes what can appear in your battle shop; adding skills changes the cards you can draw. Elite victories also offer a passive Cat Toy that stays active for the rest of the run.

Duplicates can turn a reliable cat into its Lv2 and Lv3 forms. A wider roster covers more roles, while repeated copies concentrate power. Shops, rest sites, and events let you spend gold, recover hero health, or trade safety for a stronger build.

Auto Cats cat reward selection offering Biscuit, Kage, Doc, or Ace
In gameWhen a cat reward offers several choices, select the unit that best supports the roster you are building.
Auto Cats cat roster screen showing Kage, Ronin, Ace, Lance, and Popo
In gameCompare cat roles, health, attack, and skills as you build toward the squad your route needs.

Winning and losing

A battle is won as soon as no enemies remain. A run is won by defeating the boss of the final act available in your build. In the full game structure, act maps contain 15, 18, and 20 floors; the demo makes only the first act available.

If the hero dies, the current fight is lost and the run ends. Protecting the hero matters more than saving any single summoned cat, especially when the route ahead offers a rest site where the hero can recover.

First-run checklist

  • Look at every enemy intent before moving the hero.
  • Make sure the squad includes cats that can actually use the class cards in the deck.
  • Spend Cat Treats with a plan: add a body when the board is thin, or buy a duplicate when an evolution is close.
  • Use attack shapes to hit safely instead of placing every damage dealer on the front line.
  • Take an elite only when the formation can handle a harder enemy lineup; the extra Cat Toy can define the rest of the run.
  • Check connected routes before selecting a node so a needed shop or rest site does not become unreachable.
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