Whiskerwood Beginner Guide

Quick Answer

In Whiskerwood, you will need to establish a colony on untouched islands, rich in all manner of resources, to meet the immediate and ever-growing demands of your feline masters, essential services, and production capabilities to ensure continued growth and prosperity.

What This Guide Covers

• Colony Setup
• First Steps
• User Interface
• Your Citizens: Whiskers
• Research
• Taxes and the Claws
• Vertical Construction
• Climate, Seasons, and Heat

Detailed Notes

• Colony Setup

  Before starting, set up colony basics including colony name, difficulty presets, custom settings (map size, number of islands, fertility, Claws greediness), colony crew (starting with five Whiskers that have traits and attributes), and starting resources.
• First Steps

  Place your Export Dock on an island with adequate trees and berry bushes. Before placing the Export Dock, you have 8 free logs to use for initial paths or buildings. After the ship drops off your crew, construct your Central Warehouse (cannot be moved), receive starting resources, and sign your charter which establishes regular taxes due to the Crown.
• User Interface

  The UI contains: Upcoming Events (debt time, amount, goods value, mission status), Citizen Elements (population, construction workers, approval, diplomacy seals, food/fuel amounts), Warnings, Resources, Colony Menus, Time Management, Colony Construction menus, Weather Conditions, and Views (temperature, underground slices, bulldoze).
• Whiskers (Citizens)

  Whiskers have unique characteristics and traits. Each Whisker has: Guild Association (Explorer, Miner, Farmer, Engineer) providing three traits and improving efficiency in specific roles; Characteristics; Expectations (star ratings indicating luxury demands); Jobs and Housing; Stats (movement speed, productivity, carrying capacity, body temperature); and Modifiers.
• Education System

  The School specializes Whiskers using a Craftsmaster Teacher. Education Targets include: Guild Specialty (turns Whiskers to the Teacher's Guild for optimal job placement), Craftsmanship (Apprentice level for buildings requiring skilled workers, Craftsmaster level for highest productivity), and Scholarly (enables research in the Research Lab).
• Research

  Research advances your colony by unlocking new housing types, production methods, transportation, logistics, and decorations. The Tech Tree is organized into Tiers, each requiring large amounts of planks, copper, bronze, and iron. Multiple Research Labs have diminishing returns on speed per building but are still faster overall.
• Taxes and the Claws

  The Tax Collector arrives every three days. Options include: Trust Level (loyalty to the Crown, falling too low results in the Claws revoking your charter), Tax and Debt, Resources list for payment, and Payment Levels (partial payments lose trust while full or larger shipments increase trust, providing schematics and Diplomacy Seals).
• Vertical Construction

  Colonies are built on islands with limited space. Use wooden paths, stairs, ramps, and slides to stack buildings and roads on top of each other, climbing mountains or digging underground into cliff sides. This maximizes available space for infrastructure and production.
• Climate, Seasons, and Heat

  Climate affects colony success - storms dampen morale, cold fronts ruin harvests. Winter can kill colonists without heat. Press H to toggle the heat overlay showing hot and cold areas. Campfires provide warmth but require periodic rebuilding.
• Tips and Strategies

  Prioritize mining and metal shipments to the Claws for goods and luxuries. Use slice view (Z) when mining to see underground resources. Build extra storage near resource sites early. Keep dining, bathing, and sleeping locations close together. Spend approval rather than letting it max out. Stock up for Winter.