Your First Yard

FIRSTPick a cat, any cat

Eight cats answer before any deed is asked of them. You’ll meet them on the first screen — each is strong and unique — every starter can hold this yard. If you’d like a friendly suggestion: Well Rounded is exactly what the name promises — a little bit of everything, and each wave it quietly shores up whatever you’ve been neglecting. A forgiving first companion. (When you’re curious what the others do, all forty-eight stand in the Roster — but you don’t need them yet.)

Set the danger dial to Danger 0, too — the yard counts its rungs from zero, so D0 is the gentlest one. The game calls it a gentle introduction, and it means it: the yard sends its teaching pests first.

THENYour first wave

Here’s the secret that makes everything easier: your cat swings its own weapon. You don’t aim. You don’t press an attack button. You just move — and moving is the whole game. Walk toward the coins, weave past the pests, and let your cat handle the swinging. Keep drifting — open grass is a friend, and corners are the only real trap. The first wave is short on purpose; it’s over before there’s time to worry.

Those little coins the pests drop? Pick up every one you comfortably can. They’re your experience and your money at once — every coin feeds your level and your shopping both. One habit that always pays: pick up the coins — cautiously, though; the pests have other ideas.

BETWEENThe shop is your friend

Between every wave, the shop opens — the field freezes, nothing can hurt you, and there is no clock ticking behind you. Enjoy the peace. Read the shelf.

Early on, keep it simple: things that make you sturdier (Max HP, a little armor) and things that make you hit harder are never wrong.

If nothing on the shelf looks right, you can reroll for fresh stock. If something looks perfect but you need to save your coin for it, lock it — it stays with you through rerolls and shop visits alike. Rerolls are cheap early and cost more as the game goes on; locking is always free, and holds the price you first saw. The full supply line lives in Provisions when you want to browse; the shelf’s exact arithmetic lives in the Field Manual when you want to know. Neither is homework.

GROWINGMore paws, more claws

You can carry up to six weapons, and your cat swings all of them. When the shop offers a second weapon early, take it — two humble claws beat one polished one at the start. Each time you level up, the yard offers a choice of small boosts — a bit more health, a bit more damage, quicker paws, better luck. Pick whichever feels good; every pick makes your cat a little more yours.

IF THE YARD FALLSCuriosity is watching

Sometimes the yard falls. A zig will wish it had zagged, and the yard goes quiet. What follows is one of the yard’s most sacred rituals — it happens near the fence, in the evening, among fireflies, and you may stay as long as you wish. Nothing is lost: every cat you’ve met stays met, every deed stays done, and the yard keeps your records kindly.

And one of the cats is waiting on exactly this: Curiosity joins you only after the yard has fallen five times with you. Curiosity killed the cat — satisfaction brought it back. Five falls, and something comes back through the fence with you.

WAVE 12The one who holds the fence

Twelve waves, and the twelfth belongs to a boss. You’ll hear about it before it arrives; you’ll have eleven waves of shopping and growing behind you when it does. However that meeting goes — and it can go every way — the run counted. If the yard holds, a gate opens. If it doesn’t, Curiosity is counting. (The gate’s story waits on another chair of this porch.)

OFFEREDWhat playing it right means

One thing offered, to take with you: if you enjoyed watching the yard, moving your cat, and shopping between waves — you played it right. True at three waves and at thirty, whether the boss fell or the yard did. And when you want more, there’s a deeper game down there — records to chase, and past the fence, things that will come to you — ready whenever chasing sounds like fun.

WHEN READYMore chairs on this porch

That’s everything you need to get started. When you’re ready for more good ol’ neighborly advice, I’ll be here — pull up a chair and I’ll tell you about the ways to play and how a playstyle makes each defense your own; about good buys, the shop’s happiest secret; about how each cat is met; and what all ninety-seven weapons are for; and — after your first win — whether you’ve got one more wave in you. Now — off the porch, defender. The yard is calling.