Merge Cats & Crypto Games

How the Merge Mechanic Works

The core loop is straightforward: you start with low-tier cats on a grid. Drag two identical cats together and they combine into one cat of the next tier. A Tier 1 pair becomes a single Tier 2. Two Tier 2 cats become a Tier 3. This continues up through the tier ladder, with each level requiring more deliberate planning about grid space and merge order.

New cats spawn onto your board periodically — the spawn rate depends on the game mode you're in. In standard mode, a new Tier 1 cat appears every few seconds. In challenge mode, spawn rates vary based on the specific challenge parameters. The grid has a fixed number of slots, so letting it fill up with unmerged cats ends your session.

What makes this a crypto game rather than just a puzzle? Every successful merge generates a small SOUL token reward. Higher-tier merges produce larger rewards. A Tier 1→2 merge pays a base amount. A Tier 4→5 merge pays significantly more. The reward curve is designed so that skilled play — maintaining long merge chains and reaching upper tiers consistently — produces meaningfully better earnings than just combining whatever is closest.

The game tracks your merge count, highest tier reached, and session duration. All of these feed into your daily statistics, which connect to the challenge system described below.

SOUL Token Earning Through Gameplay

Token rewards from Merge Cats follow a tiered payout structure. Each merge tier has a base reward value, and several multipliers can increase what you actually receive:

• Base merge reward: Determined by the resulting cat's tier. Tier 2 merges pay 1× base, Tier 3 pays roughly 2.5× base, and it scales up from there.
• Combo multiplier: Performing multiple merges in quick succession (within a short time window) activates a combo counter. The multiplier increases with each consecutive merge — 1.2× at 3 combos, 1.5× at 5 combos, up to 2× at 8+ combos. The combo timer resets if you pause too long.
• Daily challenge bonus: Completing the daily challenge adds a flat bonus to your session earnings. More on this in the challenges section below.
• Streak bonus: Playing on consecutive days builds a login streak. After 3 days you get a 10% session bonus; after 7 days it increases to 20%.

Rewards are credited to your in-platform SOUL balance immediately after each session ends. From there, you can accumulate a balance and eventually withdraw — the withdrawal guide covers that process step by step. The Whitepaper has the full breakdown of the token emission model and how gameplay rewards fit into the broader tokenomics.

Daily Challenges

Each day, a new challenge appears with specific objectives. These aren't random — they're selected from a rotating pool designed to push different skills. Some examples:

• Reach Tier 6 in under 3 minutes. Tests speed and efficient grid management.
• Complete 50 merges without letting the board fill past 80%. Tests spatial awareness and forward planning.
• Achieve a 10× combo chain. Tests timing precision and merge sequencing.
• Earn X SOUL in a single session. A general performance target that rewards consistent play.

Completing the daily challenge awards a bonus payout — typically equivalent to 30–50% of an average session's earnings. That adds up over a week. The challenge resets at midnight UTC, and you can attempt it as many times as you want within the 24-hour window. Only the first successful completion counts for the bonus.

If you miss a day, the challenge simply rotates to the next one. There's no penalty for skipping, but your daily streak resets after 48 hours of inactivity.

Strategies for Optimizing Merge Combos

The players who earn the most SOUL per session share a few common habits. None of this is secret — it's pattern recognition combined with grid discipline.

Keep one corner clear. Experienced players designate one corner of the grid as a staging area for their highest-tier cat. This prevents accidental merges and keeps your most valuable piece safe while you work on building a match for it.

Build from the bottom up. Instead of merging whatever matches you see first, work on building lower-tier pairs into mid-tier cats systematically. Think of it like sorting — you want a steady pipeline of Tier 3 and Tier 4 cats flowing toward your staging corner, not random merges scattered across the board.

Chase the combo timer. The combo multiplier is where the real earning spike happens. Once you start a combo chain, keep merging. Don't stop to rearrange or plan mid-combo — that burns the timer. Instead, set up your next few merges before triggering the first one in the chain. Pre-position cats so you can execute 5–8 merges in rapid succession.

Don't hoard high-tier cats. It's tempting to keep a Tier 5 on the board waiting for a match. But that cat takes up a slot and produces nothing while it waits. If your board is getting crowded, sometimes merging a slightly suboptimal pair to free space is better than losing the session to a full grid.

Game Modes and Session Types

Beyond the standard free-play mode, Merge Cats includes a few variations that keep things interesting:

• Standard Mode: Open-ended play. Cats spawn at a steady rate. Session ends when the board fills. Rewards are based on total merges and highest tier reached.
• Timed Sprint: You get 2 minutes. Same mechanics, but the pressure of the clock changes your strategy entirely. Efficiency matters more than reaching high tiers.
• Challenge Mode: The daily challenge plays in its own session. Specific rules and objectives change each day.

Each mode contributes to your overall SOUL earnings. Timed Sprints tend to pay less per session but can be completed quickly — useful for stacking short play sessions throughout the day. Standard Mode rewards patience and careful play with higher per-session payouts.

Connecting Gameplay to the Token Economy

Merge Cats isn't isolated from the rest of the CryptoSoul ecosystem. The tokens you earn flow into the same balance used for withdrawals, staking, and platform interactions. Understanding how the game fits into the broader picture helps you make better decisions about when to play, when to withdraw, and when to hold.

The Learn hub covers foundational crypto concepts that apply directly to managing your SOUL earnings. If you're earning tokens through gameplay, you should also understand wallet management and seed phrase security — losing access to your wallet means losing access to your earnings.

For the complete strategy picture, the Game Guides section covers Merge Cats plus other gameplay systems in more detail, including PvP tips and earning optimization across different game modes.