How to play Lockside

Getting started

• Tap the mug (or press Space on a computer) to pour a cuppa. Each one earns 10p to begin with.
• Open a flapjack tin as soon as you can afford one. Every trade earns each second, on its own.
• Keep buying. Each trade costs 15% more than the last of its kind, so a new kind of trade soon becomes the better buy.
• On a computer, the keys 1 to 9 and 0 buy the first ten trades.

The trades

There are thirteen, from the flapjack tin and painted ware through the ice cream hatch, day-boat hire, the lockside cafe, the canalside pub, a horse-drawn trip boat and hotel boats to the boatyard, a canal festival, a waterbus service, a marina and sky-trips across the aqueduct. Each new one appears in the list once you own the one before it, and on the canal itself as a hut on the far bank or a boat on the water.

Milestones, rosettes and upgrades

• Milestones: a trade doubles its takings when you own 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 750 and 1,000 of it. The Next x2 button buys exactly enough to reach the next one.
• Rosettes: own at least 1 of every trade for your first Rosette, then 25, 50, 100, 200 and 400 of every trade. Each one multiplies all takings.
• Upgrades turn up in the Upgrades tab as the canal gets busier: three for each trade (from 5, 25 and 75 owned), the tea hatch (each cuppa adds a share of your takings per second) and brightening up the canal (all takings x1.3 each).

Lucky ducks and the honesty box

• Every few minutes a lucky duck paddles past. Catch it for either an instant prize (about 15 minutes of takings) or a 30-second flotilla at five times the takings. Missing one costs nothing.
• Each day Bert the lock-keeper empties the honesty box for you (worth an hour of takings) and finds a new flag for your bunting. One trade is busy and earns triple until midnight UK time.
• There are no streaks. Come back whenever suits you.

Ending the season

Each season raises money for one stretch of the canal: the first lock, the swing bridge, the lock flight, the tunnel, the aqueduct, the canal basin, the boat lift and the link to the river. When this season's takings reach the target, you can end the season. You start again from scratch, but that stretch is restored for good and gives a permanent perk, and volunteers join you. Every volunteer adds 2% to all takings for ever, so the next season flies.

When to end the season

• Each stretch brings a set number of volunteers, and raising more than the target brings up to double (the full bonus at 16 times the target). The game always shows what you would get now.
• Early on, end the season soon after you reach the target: the next one will be much faster.
• Later, when a season takes hours, a night of takings while you are away often carries you well past the target for a bigger bonus.
• The perks matter: the first lock lets trades keep going for 12 hours while you are away, and the swing bridge gives you a volunteer rota that buys for you.

Frequently asked questions

Does Lockside earn while the game is closed?

Yes. Your trades keep going for up to 8 hours while you are away, 12 hours once the first lock is restored and 24 hours after the aqueduct. The takings are waiting when you come back.

Will I lose progress if I miss a day?

No. There are no streaks or penalties. The honesty box simply waits for your next visit.

How do I move my canal to another device?

Open the menu (the cog on the canal), copy your save code and load it on the other device. Lockside saves in your browser and needs no account.

Is there anything to buy?

No. Lockside is free, with no in-game purchases. There are no adverts during play: the only advert space is on the end-of-season screen.

Is Lockside free?

Yes. It is free, runs in your browser and needs no account.