The Purr-fect Mix of Relaxation and Cuteness
From the same developers who brought us the popular free-to-play idle tycoon, Cat Snack Bar, Treeplla has delivered another hit with their latest release, Idle Lumbercat – Wood Games. In this charming idler, players build and manage a sustainable lumber mill with the assistance of irresistibly cute lumberjack cats. The delightful 2D cartoon graphics and soothing gameplay make it almost impossible not to smile while playing. With its engaging mechanics and adorable aesthetics, Idle Lumbercat is perfect for players of all ages.
A Forest Healing Adventure
Idle Lumbercat has been hailed as a healing adventure, and from my experience, I wholeheartedly concur. Its tranquil atmosphere and gentle gameplay mechanics offer a welcome respite from the stresses of everyday life. Whether it’s the soothing sound of lumbercats at work or the charming visuals of the lumber mill, there’s a therapeutic quality to the title that rejuvenates the spirit with each play session.
The goal in Idle Lumbercat is to build a lumber mill from the ground up. As you progress, you’ll unlock an array of machines to transform chopped wood into essential building materials utilized to create charming kitty dream homes. What sets Lumbercat apart is its immersive world, where even the feline workers are vocal about their desires. When it’s time to upgrade a machine, the sawmill workers will express their enthusiasm, exclaiming, “I want better machines nya,” adding a delightful touch of personality to the gameplay experience. These charming nuances throughout Idle Lumbercat make it a standout among the ever-growing collection of charming iOS cat games.
Idle Lumbercat moves through seasons like a true cozy adventure. Once you fully upgrade your lumber mill to maximum efficiency, a new opportunity arises: expanding to a more productive seasonal lumber mill with higher revenue potential. I was initially surprised to find my workers had disappeared after the first upgrade. However, rehiring them proved to be a simple and swift process. Thankfully, the unlocked managers remain available after the upgrade, ready to resume their duties once their relevant working stations are unlocked. Managers are upgraded through the accumulation of fish points and manager cards, the latter of which are not readily abundant. Thus, it’s reassuring to have them still in place, ensuring a smoother transition between seasons.
The magical music and sound effects add even more depth and healing power to the charming Idle Lumbercat world. It’s a joy to experience how the soundtrack evolves as you navigate through different areas of your lumber mill. The attention to detail is evident, especially when you hear the rhythmic chops of the lumbercats as they wield their axes in the forest, delighting the senses with a soothing ASMR-like effect. It’s these immersive touches that provide Idle Lumbercat with a delightful auditory experience, enhancing the overall enjoyment of the game.
Let’s Talk In-App Purchases
Like most free-to-play games, Idle Lumbercat does offer in-game purchases for everything from the removal of in-game ads ($18.99) to the instant automation of certain aspects of the lumber mill, which takes time and patience to unlock. You can also pay to extend the number of hours your lumber kitties will keep their work going while you’re offline, with the default being two hours. Once you earn enough gems through rewards, you can increase the offline working time by an additional two hours. However, you’ll need to pay to fully maximize your lumbercats’ offline time. You’ll also need to pay $18.99 if you wish to remove the in-game ads. This is an unfortunately steep price for a free game.
Despite this, Idle Lumbercat is still highly enjoyable if you choose not to make any in-game purchases. However, there could be a better balance between free and paid content. I was disappointed to find that in the Rescue Fairy event, you must pay and claim previous event rewards to unlock and claim the rewards further down the reward ladder. Even if you’ve fully completed the event, you will not be able to unlock all the rewards you’ve earned without paying a total of about 8 dollars. While some of these rewards are rare, I don’t feel it’s worth the price tag.
You may also wish to pay to instantly automate the various logging trucks. I found it a bit annoying having to frequently wake up the sleepy cats who drive these logging trucks. Just like real cats, they spend most of the day sleeping. You can pay to immediately automate the logging trucks. Or if you prefer not to pay, you’ll need to unlock and upgrade the relevant managers to level four. This takes some time, but enables managers to wake up the sleepy drivers so your sawmill continues operating seamlessly. Despite this minor annoyance, the sound effects are completely adorable. When the process become automated I found myself missing the squeaky meow emitted by the forklift cat when woken up.
You can play Idle Lumbercat enjoyably for free. However, depending on your play style, you may want to pay to more quickly optimize your lumber-making empire.
Events So Charming You’ll Neglect the Main Game
Believe it or not, cats dressed as lumbercats can get even cuter. I played Idle Lumbercat for about seven days prior to writing this review (and will continue to keep playing after). During this time, I had the opportunity to experience two in-game events. This included the Pirate Island event and the Chop-Chop Medieval Village event.
Each event only lasts for 48 hours so it’s vital you build your event lumber mill quickly. During the event, you’ll transport to a meticulously themed location, every element of which perfectly encompasses the overarching theme of the event. From the music to the costumes and backdrop design, every detail is crafted in line with the theme, ensuring total immersion in the Lumbercat world. Both events were ridiculously cute, but I found myself particularly drawn to the design of the Pirate Island event. Featuring hard-working pirate kitties decked with eye patches and head scarves, I fell quickly in love.
The gameplay for events is nearly identical to the main game. This made it hard for me to focus on the main game during an event. I mean, why would I want to keep looking at the same lumberjack cats when I could instead dote over lumberjack PIRATE cats?
Your task is to build up a lumbermill in the themed event world while completing simple missions like Upgrading your Sawmill to Level 50 or Completing three Orders. Each completed mission earns you tokens that grant access to a fun match mini game with rewards. In addition to completing the smaller missions and earning rewards from the match game, you’ll earn even bigger rewards by hitting tiered earnings goals. Received at the event’s conclusion, the rewards include common crates, fish points, manager cards, and gems. Rarer crates and rewards are also available for dedicated players who reach the top-tier earnings goal before the event’s conclusion.
The events were my favorite part of the game. I’m excited to see what new themes Treepella has in store for future events. Cowboy lumbercats, please?
