Lifelines beginner guide: lines, digs and elections

TL;DR

• In Lifelines you win a city by serving seven five-year terms, and homes that got every line they asked for vote for you.
• Ripping up a line refunds every tile to your stock, so redrawing costs nothing but time.
• Two utilities can never share a tile; the deep layer lets you pass underneath, but each dive costs a dig.
• Aqueducts and tunnels are election rewards, so water and rock crossings depend on winning votes first.

What the game is

Lifelines is a cozy puzzle game from Toka Games, published by CidQu Limited, out on Steam for Windows and macOS since 30 October 2026. Homes appear and ask for water, power, internet and gas; you connect them from stations. A free demo is on the store page, and a guided first term plus an in-game Handbook teach the rules as you go.

What you need first

Almost any computer will do: Steam lists Windows 7, an Intel Core i3-4130 or AMD FX-4300, 4 GB of RAM, any DirectX 11 graphics card and 500 MB of storage. It is fully playable with only a mouse, has subtitles and a colourblind palette for the four utilities, and saves to Steam Cloud. Pick Easy, Normal or Hard before a city; each city awards up to three stars.

Step by step: your first term

1. Serve the first marker. Drag a line from a station, or from any pipe already joined to one, to a home showing what it needs.
2. Branch instead of starting fresh. Splitting off a line you have already laid saves stock compared with running a new one from the station.
3. Watch station limits. Each station serves only so many homes and reaches only so far, so spread demand across stations.
4. Go deep only where needed. Switch to the deep layer to pass under another network, but save digs for crossings you cannot route around.
5. Pick your grant wisely. After each winning election choose between fresh pipe, dig crews and permits, or express links that cut through anything.

How demand grows

Settled homes do not stay settled. Water and power come first, then internet and gas, and each utility needs its own line. Data centres complicate things further because they need power of their own before they can serve anyone, so connect their power early. Since tiles come back when you remove a line, the best habit is to rebuild cramped corners as soon as they start blocking new routes, rather than squeezing lines around them.

Elections and cities

Every five years the town votes. Homes with every line they asked for back you; homes left waiting vote against you, and too many of them ends your run. Survive seven terms to win a city. The campaign starts on the plains of Greenfield, then moves to Zürich, where the Limmat splits the old town, Istanbul, where only aqueducts cross the Bosphorus, and Amsterdam with its three canal rings. Where there is no bridge or ford, you need an aqueduct for water or a tunnel for rock, and both are won at the ballot box. Endless free runs carry on until the town votes you out, and Steam leaderboards track scores.

FAQ

How do you win a city in Lifelines?

Serve seven five-year terms in that city. Each election you need enough homes fully served with every line they requested.

What happens when you remove a line in Lifelines?

Every tile of the removed line goes straight back into your stock, so you can redraw a bad route without losing pipe.

How do you cross rivers in Lifelines?

Use a bridge or ford where one exists; otherwise you need an aqueduct, which is unlocked as an election reward.

Is there a Lifelines demo?

Yes. Steam has a free Lifelines demo, and the full game includes a guided first term and a Handbook you can open any time.