Cat Colony Crisis puts players in charge of a spaceship full of kitties who begin showing symptoms of a mysterious illness. It’s up to them to enact proper measures to prevent the entire colony from becoming ill. 

Cats are known for being cuddly little balls of fur that oscillate between terrifying predator and adorable floof. However, one thing all cats have in common is a strong streak of independence and a reluctance towards teamwork. And as we’ve learned over the last year, managing a group of sick individuals who don’t want to be managed — and often won’t even admit they’re sick — can be quite challenging indeed. Combine kitties with contagion in the tight confines of a floating space colony and you’ve got yourself a heck of a management situation in your paws.

In Cat Colony Crisis, players find themselves monitoring a spaceship full of aptly named and cutely-attired space felines enjoying life in their floating home. Unfortunately, a mysterious illness begins to infect the populace, and the astro-cats start to develop symptoms. It’s up to the player to keep track of each individual and log their behavior and log any physical changes. Is Boots coughing because the recycled oxygen is too dry? Or is he displaying signs of something more sinister? Isolate potential spreaders and identify the correct symptoms to make sure the virus doesn’t spread. We know cats are cuddly, touchy animals but it’s your job to ensure proper social distancing and protocol is followed.

Video games, as a medium, offer a level of immersion and engagement that allows us to learn by doing, making it an unparalleled educational tool — especially for a topic as complex as viral epidemiology. With this in mind, IndieCade, Seattle Indies, and LabX put together a collaborative game jam called “Jamming the Curve”, bringing together scientists and gamers to help combat the spread of COVID-19 by promoting “prosocial pandemic behaviors” using the power and easily digestible format of the video game medium. As a title that exemplifies the importance of these actions during a global pandemic, Cat Colony Crisis was awarded both the $20,000 LabX Game Development Grant and Best Character Management title. 

“We couldn’t be more thrilled with the success of Cat Colony Crisis during the Jamming the Curve Event,” said Paul Boyko, co-owner, Devil’s Cider Games. “The development grant is a huge boon for an Indie developer and we’re excited to get our game into the hands of players and provide something cute, fun, but appropriate for these times of crisis.”

“To me, a sign of a good game is that it keeps you thinking long after you stop playing. Cat Colony Crisis does just that,”  said Rick Thomas, Associate Program Officer at LabX. “As players dive into the world of these rambunctious felines they are confronted with just how important individual behaviors can be during a public health crisis. It makes you want to play it again and again, trying a different approach each time.”  

“The release of Cat Colony Crisis is thrilling for all of us,” said Stephanie Barish, CEO and Founder of IndieCade. “Cat Colony Crisis feels like the perfect culmination of nine months of planning Jamming the Curve — all our collaboration with experts, mentors, game designers, scientists, health specialists, and educators from across the nation. Our dream was that the game jam would make a real impact during this global pandemic, and the Devil’s Cider Games team seems en-route to realizing this dream.”

Key Features:

• Cats...Lots of Cats: The colony is filled to the brim with cute and cuddly kitties milling about and getting up to feline shenanigans and it’s your job to manage them — luckily cats are known for being obedient, docile creatures who respond well to authority…
• Prevent the Outbreak: Keep a close eye on these kitties as they begin to develop symptoms like sneezing, sniffling, and sweating, and use quarantine tactics and testing to discover if these were pre-existing symptoms or the signs of something worse…
• Super-Cute Custom Kitties: It wouldn’t be a videogame about cats without an adorable aesthetic, and when you put a cowboy hat on a cartoon kitten everybody wins. Having a giant litterbox right in the open in your colony seems like an odd home-decor choice, but who are we humans to judge?

Cat Colony Crisis is coming to PC/Mac (Steam and Itch.io), iOS, and Android via Google Play on February 9, 2021.