A vague customer description is a four-part filter: label, shape, visible mark, and handling constraint. Lock the player’s starting information first, then eliminate packages in that order. Rotating random boxes until something feels close is slower and riskier than reading the room as a searchable index.
The rules below were checked on August 24, 2026, after Patch Note #6. That patch fixes lover parcels changing partners after a reload and a misleading upward VFX. Older screenshots or guides may show the previous partner effect; use the current beam and the live parcel labels.
Start with the label without inventing a full name
Parcel labels show a first name plus an initial. If a customer gives the full name, match the first name and the relevant initial. If the dialogue gives only a surname, that initial narrows the set but does not identify one box by itself. A child may talk about a parent’s parcel, and character names are not a reliable gender filter.
Require a second field whenever the label is incomplete: shape, ribbon, sticker, handles, or a visible scratch/bite pattern. If two packages still match, keep searching or decline the handoff rather than guessing. Wrong delivery costs more time than one additional shelf pass.
Translate size dialogue into a shelf family
| Customer wording | Object to inspect | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| “A letter” | Thin blue or brown padded envelope | Flat profile; use the small counter slots |
| “A small box, nothing special” | Short rectangular box | Not flat and not a perfect cube |
| “A small package” | Broader low parcel | Larger footprint than the basic small box |
| “Cube-shaped” | Box with similar height, width, and depth | Cube can appear in more than one overall size |
| “Mid-sized” with cord or rope | Long soft parcel or lidded box wrapped in cord | The cord is stronger evidence than the exact proportions |
| “Fit on my bike” | Long horizontal box | Wide rather than tall |
| “About my size” | Tall vertical box | Similar volume to the bike box, different orientation |
| “Has handles” | Box with grip holes on its sides | Rotate until both cut-outs are visible |
| “Building a cardboard castle” | Largest striped-tape box family | Confirm the label before moving the bulky parcel |
Orientation language is descriptive, not permanent. A bike-style box can be stored upright, and a tall box can lie on its side. Identify the model from its proportions and construction, then use the label or mark to finish the match.
Make decorative evidence visible once
Customers can mention a duck, clover, lavender sprig, frog, or lemon sticker. They can also describe damage-like production marks through crocodile bites, claws, or an eagle attack. Inspect all sides the first time a parcel enters storage. If a small mark will be hidden, add a matching decorative reminder on the label-facing side only after the required stamps are correct.
Do not infer an exact animal from the number of scratch lines. A readable guide specifically labels that distinction unconfirmed. The safe match is the requested class of mark plus another field, not a made-up three-line or four-line rule.
Separate postage weight from the heavy constraint
Every outgoing parcel needs the scale and the weight-stamp board. That postage result is not the same as the Heavy handling constraint. Box size also does not prove either value: even an envelope can receive a heavy constraint.
After scanning, treat the heavy icon as a placement rule. Heavy parcels can damage mail below them at a shift boundary, so store them on the floor, a bottom layer, or a dedicated low shelf. A fragile parcel has the opposite geometry: nothing should rest above it, and throwing it can damage it. Keep fragile mail visible on top instead of burying the icon.
Room constraints are storage obligations
| Constraint | Safe holding area | Dialogue or icon signal | Failure check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cold | Refrigerated room | Snowflake; ice cream, fish, refrigerated, kept cold | Was it outside the cold room at the shift boundary? |
| Hot/Warm | Heated room | Heat icon; warm preservation, dragon scales, not cooled | Was it mixed into ordinary or cold storage? |
| Dark | Dark room | Darkness; film, spores, away from light | Was it left in a lit room during the day? |
| Light/Sun | Light room | Brightness; sunflowers, bright environment | Was it held away from the light room overnight? |
The room solves only its own condition. A cold-and-fragile parcel still belongs in the refrigerated room with nothing above it. A hot-and-heavy parcel still needs a low, stable position inside heated storage. Before a boat departure, check each special room as well as the main destination shelves; a correctly protected parcel is easy to forget.
Lover parcels need a pair, not just a heart stamp
Lover parcels are outbound-only and must travel with their partner. Put the identified heart parcel beneath the desk lamp, select mode 1, and use it at night or while the captain is waiting in the morning. The light effect points from the inspected box toward its mate. Keep the source parcel in place until you have located the partner, because removing it ends the beam.
Mark both boxes clearly and store them together, but inspect their constraints separately. Partners can require different rooms. When one is cold and the other ordinary, leave a visible pair marker at the cold-room exit and reunite them only for a matching captain route. Shipping one alone causes the pair to return.
Patch Note #6 is important here: on the current branch, a reload should preserve the same partner, and the VFX should no longer point upward incorrectly. If an old guide recommends compensating for those launch behaviors, test the current lamp readback before using the workaround.
A purple swirl is cleansed, not stamped
A cursed or haunted parcel shows a rotating purple symbol and cannot be handed over or shipped in that state. It has no constraint stamp. Place it under the same desk lamp at night or during the captain’s morning wait, switch to mode 2, and hold it there until the swirl disappears. Only then return the parcel to its normal pickup or outbound route.
Do not confuse a purple decorative sticker with the moving curse effect. The completion proof is the swirl leaving the box and the parcel becoming eligible for ordinary handling, not the presence of a new stamp.
Use one priority order for multi-trait parcels
- Eligibility: cleanse a cursed parcel and find the mate for a lover parcel.
- Condition: identify visible damage and hold it for repair.
- Environment: move cold, hot, dark, or light parcels into the correct room.
- Geometry: place heavy low and fragile clear of anything above.
- Route: stage by destination and wait for the matching captain.
This order prevents a common false finish: a parcel can be correctly stamped yet still be cursed, separated from its partner, damaged, in the wrong room, or on the wrong boat. The repair workshop route handles the damaged branch; the first-shift workflow covers destination staging and the dock audit.
Current evidence boundary
The official Steam page for Cat Mail Co. supplies the game identity, parcel-sorting premise, night mechanic, and official media. Package shapes, marks, constraints, partner-lamp behavior, and storage timing were cross-checked between a current detailed Steam guide and readable editorial guides. UI wording can vary by language and patches; use the current icon, label, and room state when it conflicts with an older phrase.