Buying
Fill production before optimizing
Early players usually benefit from filling empty crab slots because each active crab helps produce shells. Once the board starts showing duplicate pairs, merge decisions become more important.
Crabs and Merging
Crabs are the production units in Crab Tycoon. Buy them to dig shells, then merge matching crabs into stronger variants when duplicate pairs appear.
Merging
Duplicate pairs are compounding signals
The official loop confirms matching crabs can merge into stronger variants. The safest public recommendation is role-first: merge pairs when slot pressure or repeated duplicates make the upgrade valuable.
Confidence
What is verified and what is held
Buying, shell production, and matching-crab merging are verified mechanics. Exact variant names, variant rates, merge multipliers, and late-game price curves are held until live testing confirms them.