An Independent Game Studio in Grundy Center, Iowa
Five Cats Studios
Cozy Games, Crafted with Care
We make slow, systems-rich games for players who want to breathe, explore, and discover.
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Cozy Games, Crafted with Care
We make slow, systems-rich games for players who want to breathe, explore, and discover.
Five Cats Studios is an independent game development studio founded in 2026 by Nathan in Grundy Center, Iowa. The studio is the long-overdue culmination of a lifelong hobby: Nathan is a coder by nature (it’s what he did before he entered the ministry), and Five Cats is his way of finally turning that side passion into a real thing.
Before founding the studio, Nathan served for years as a senior pastor and then spent decades in hospice work as a chaplain, walking alongside people in the quiet, tender moments of life. That perspective runs through everything we build: slow, systems-rich games and apps that give people room to breathe, reflect, and settle in.
Our flagship title, Smoke & Honey, is a beekeeping farm simulation built in Godot 4 with handcrafted pixel art: realistic apiary management, warm NPC relationships, and a peaceful Iowa small-town setting. Alongside it comes Just Cribbage, the classic two-handed card game done right, with an AI opponent that plays fair and can prove it. Coming soon to Steam.
Nathan lives in Iowa with his wife, a hospice nurse, and their three kids. The oldest heads into the U.S. Navy this year. And, of course, five cats who are listed as co-founders on all official paperwork.
A classic card game and a cozy beekeeping sim, both handmade in Grundy Center, Iowa.
No gimmicks. Just cribbage.
Classic two-handed cribbage, done right. Race to 121 against a provably fair AI that never peeks at your cards, from cozy to cutthroat. Take on the Daily Deal (the same hands dealt to everyone, once a day), chase streaks, and climb the leaderboards. A tunable coaching suite and a 17-lesson Academy take you from “what’s a crib?” to counting like a pub shark.
A Cozy Beekeeping Farm Sim
Your uncle keeps bees on the edge of Cedar Bend, Iowa (population 1,847, one stoplight, zero strangers) and he needs your help. Manage Langstroth and Warre hives, breed queens, craft honey and mead, and become part of a small town where everyone has a history and help arrives before the need is stated. Twelve characters. Five years. No fail states. Only time, patience, and the slow hum of a healthy hive.