Scritchy Scratchy guide to Income, Upgrades, and the Ending

Scratching tickets is only the start: steady progress comes from choosing upgrades, feeding the right cards to your helpers, and knowing when to take control yourself. This Scritchy Scratchy guide lays out a practical path from early tickets to the Final Chance, with advice for both a focused run and longer-term progression. Use it to build income without letting risky cards or a crowded queue undo your momentum.

The suggestions below combine the game’s walkthrough with player experience from two video guides. Treat the speedrun route as one example of how to reach the ending quickly, not a guarantee of a particular finish time.

Understand the run’s progression

Your basic loop is simple: this Scritchy Scratchy guide follows you as you earn money, buy tickets, scratch them, and reinvest winnings in upgrades and better cards. As your tools improve, helpers can process tickets while you focus on upgrades or handle cards manually. Eventually, the Final Chance card offers a route to finish the run.

The official Scritchy Scratchy walkthrough and strategy guide covers the game’s progression and strategy. The speedrun video gives a more specific player-tested sequence: keep buying Scratch Luck, unlock the next ticket when affordable, and improve automation along the way.

Run stage	Practical focus	What to keep in mind
Early tickets	Build income and buy Scratch Luck	Use manual scratching to help while the bot is slow
Expanding catalog	Unlock new tickets and improve helpers	Avoid rushing ahead without enough luck or processing speed
Later tickets	Keep automation moving and watch the queue	Feed the bot at a pace it can handle
Final Chance	Build up Souls before making attempts	The walkthrough describes Souls as powering the Final Chance in later cycles

The speedrun player says the video aims to finish in under 30 minutes and mentions completing a previous run in about 20 minutes. That is a player experience, not a typical completion time: the player also says their upgrades were nearly maxed. Your own pace will depend on your starting upgrades and how your tickets turn out.

Build income before chasing every unlock

Scratch Luck is a useful early priority because this Scritchy Scratchy guide explains that it improves the chance of better results across the tickets you scratch. The player videos and media guide both recommend investing in luck regularly. A good approach is to check for a Scratch Luck upgrade whenever you can afford one, rather than spending all your money on the newest ticket as soon as it appears.

Image: Steam / Lunch Money Games

That doesn’t mean ignoring new cards. Unlocking them moves the run forward, and higher-value cards can produce larger payouts. The key is to balance new tickets against the upgrades and helper improvements that keep income flowing.

Purchase or upgrade	How to use it	Source-backed guidance
Scratch Luck	Improve your odds as you play	The video and media guide recommend prioritizing luck
New tickets	Expand your available options	The speedrun player buys the next affordable ticket, with additional luck upgrades along the way
Scratch bot speed and strength	Improve ticket processing	The speedrun player emphasizes speed and strength before capacity
The Machine	Feed it money when available	The speedrun player says it increases the coin multiplier
Coin size or strength	Improve manual scratching	The player guide treats these as lower priority than luck and automation early on

The speedrun player also recommends manually scratching a few tickets when the bot is slow, since manual scratching can bring in money while you wait. Once your helpers process tickets faster, you can shift attention back to the upgrades and card flow.

A useful rule of thumb is to spend with a purpose: if an upgrade will help your current bottleneck, it may be more useful than unlocking a card you can’t process efficiently yet. This is advice based on the described upgrade effects, not a fixed purchase order for every run.

Automate carefully and keep the queue moving

Automation can take repetitive scratching off your hands, but this Scritchy Scratchy guide notes that it works best when the cards entering the system match what your helpers can handle. The speedrun player uses the subscription bot to keep specific tickets coming and the scratch bot to process them. They also upgrade speed and strength, then improve capacity as needed.

Image: Steam / Lunch Money Games

The table fan can help move piles of tickets toward the scratch bot. However, a separate player video reports that running the fan too aggressively can create a queue bottleneck. Use it in bursts and watch whether the bot is keeping up before adding more tickets.

Tool or feature	Role described in the sources	Practical tip
Scratch bot	Scratches queued tickets	Improve its speed and strength as you can
Subscription bot	Orders a selected ticket type	Switch it as you move to a new card
Table fan	Pushes ticket piles toward the bot	Use controlled bursts and check for a growing queue
Egg timer	Speeds up the scratch bot	The speedrun player says to recharge it when it shakes
Manual scratching	Lets you clear tickets yourself	Use it to help with a slow bot or inspect a risky card

The video also recommends combining the subscription bot and scratch bot with other automation features as they become available. For riskier cards, though, the player advice is to keep some manual oversight. A bot that scratches everything automatically can take penalties you might have avoided by checking a symbol first.

Handle risky cards with a little caution

Some cards can punish a run when they reveal losing symbols, so this Scritchy Scratchy guide suggests checking the symbols before committing to a full scratch. The walkthrough identifies Snake Eyes and Apple Tree as risky examples; the media guide also mentions Lucky Cat and Scratch My Back. If you encounter a card with symbols that can cause a loss, you don’t always need to uncover every area before deciding what to do.

Image: Steam / Lunch Money Games

In a player video, the creator describes “peeking”: scratching only a small part of a symbol to look for a warning sign. For Snake Eyes, the video suggests checking the die’s corners; for Apple Tree or Lucky Cat, it suggests watching for the worm or black cat. These are player-experience tips, so use them as a way to assess a card rather than as a guarantee about every outcome.

Card or situation	Risk described in the sources	Player-experience tip
Snake Eyes	Rolling a one can cause a major loss	Check the die’s corners before scratching further
Apple Tree	Worms can make the card costly	Look for a warning sign before committing
Lucky Cat	A black cat can be a danger symbol	Peek at the symbol and discard if you spot the warning
Scratch My Back	Some symbols carry a heavy penalty	Partially reveal a symbol before deciding to continue

Loans also deserve caution. The media guide describes high interest and negative effects associated with borrowing, while TheGamer reports that loan debuffs can reduce efficiency and that the interest rate to remove them is steep. Consider a loan only if you understand the cost and have a specific upgrade in mind; don’t treat it as routine extra cash.

Prepare for the Final Chance

The Final Chance card is the end-of-run lottery described in the speedrun video, and this Scritchy Scratchy guide uses the walkthrough’s advice to frame preparation: it describes Souls as powering the Final Chance in later cycles. The walkthrough’s final challenge lists accumulating 200 or more Souls among its victory conditions. Treat that figure as guidance from the walkthrough, not a guarantee of how many attempts any run will require.

The walkthrough also describes The Machine as part of later-cycle progression: injecting money into it provides Souls, which power Final Chance and boost coin multipliers. Follow the information shown in your own game as you reach this stage, since the supplied sources describe strategies for different points in progression.

Before attempting the ending	Why it matters
Keep improving Scratch Luck	Luck upgrades support ticket results during the run
Make sure your helpers are processing tickets	Faster processing can help you build resources
Accumulate Souls	The walkthrough says Souls power the Final Chance
Use The Machine when available	The walkthrough says it provides Souls and boosts coin multipliers

For a speedrun, the player video’s general approach is to keep the ticket flow and upgrades moving through the run. The walkthrough provides a different emphasis for later cycles, including building Souls for the Final Chance. Use the guidance that matches your current stage and the mechanics presented in your game.

FAQ

What should I upgrade first in Scritchy Scratchy?

Scratch Luck is a strong early priority according to the player videos and media guide. This Scritchy Scratchy guide also recommends keeping an eye on automation upgrades, especially when slow ticket processing becomes your main bottleneck.

Should I send every ticket to the scratch bot?

Not necessarily. Player-experience advice recommends automating steadier cards while checking risky ones manually. The bot may scratch a card all the way through even when you would have stopped after spotting a warning symbol.

How many Souls should I save for the Final Chance?

The walkthrough lists 200 or more Souls among the final challenge’s victory conditions. This Scritchy Scratchy guide treats that as walkthrough guidance, not a fixed requirement for every run.

How do I get through Scritchy Scratchy faster?

Keep Scratch Luck moving upward, improve bot speed and strength, and use the subscription bot to maintain a supply of your current ticket. The speedrun player also manually scratches tickets when the bot needs a boost.