Streams of Time
About Streams of Time
Streams of Time is a pixel-art city builder where four eras of a single city coexist on one map, all active at the same time. An expedition lands in a wasteland during the Modern Age, and from that dig site the entire history of the city is gradually uncovered and rebuilt. Artifacts pulled from the ground feed a research plan that unlocks buildings from earlier times, and the clock on the right panel opens each era in sequence: Antiquity, the Rise, and the Sunset.
Each era inherits what came before. Antiquity begins with huts, farms, wells, sawmills, and quarries. The Rise takes every Antiquity building five tiers higher, adds central heating and a canteen, and opens a resource zone with metal and coal beyond the gate. The Sunset doubles the Rise's warehouses and introduces defense — barracks, an armory, and a wall — because bandits raid it repeatedly. Whatever is built in the past remains standing in the future, so saving resources in an earlier era means spending them in a later one.
Every living era earns points every second, and the goal is to hold out as long as possible. Each era can construct its own tomb; its ruin in the Modern Age conceals a shard of history, and collecting all three shards is the city's ultimate objective. A journal records the story of every game, and a leaderboard tracks best final scores.
How to Play Streams of Time: Dig, Research, Build, and Survive
" The game opens in the Modern Age at a dig site.
Excavating the Modern Age
Select an empty tile and press "Send squad" on the action bar. Squads dig up artifacts, the gold of past buildings, and — in the ruins of tombs — shards of history. Squads cost upkeep, so a tile without finds is dug at a loss. Open "Research" to study entries using artifacts; each entry unlocks a building of an earlier era for that game.
Opening and Managing Eras
The clock on the right panel opens Antiquity, then the Rise, then the Sunset. " Feed people with farms and wells, store food in granaries, keep huts warm with firewood in winter, and build a healer before disease spreads. Red plates above the era buttons signal troubles; the era summary shows what is wrong and where.
Defending the Sunset
In the Sunset, keep guards in the barracks and forge gear in the armory. The "Next raid" card shows when bandits arrive and whether the guards will hold.
Collecting and Ending a Game
Claim journal rewards for gold to add to the dig treasury. Collect from buildings using "Collect" when their buffers fill up. The game ends when a city era dies out or the dig goes bankrupt — or, with a bonus, when the Science Center of the Sunset finds a way to survive. Shards carry over to the profile; the run awards experience and a place in the records.
Between Games
In "Progress," claim skill points and buy skills and blueprints. Artifacts buy blueprints, and trials raise the score multiplier. Profile levels grant skill points. "Settings" holds volume and language options.
Controls
- Mouse: Select tiles, press action bar buttons, navigate menus
- Touch: Tap tiles and buttons; on a phone, swipe the map left or right to switch between eras
- Keyboard shortcuts: Navigate and trigger actions via keyboard
Key Features
- Four eras of one city on one map, all played at the same time.
- An excavation in the Modern Age with squads, artifacts, and a research plan that unlocks buildings.
- Seasons, random events — cold winters, virus outbreaks, droughts, economic crises — and bandit raids.
- A journal that tells the story of every game.
- Three shards of history to dig up across the ruins of each era's tomb.
- Skills, blueprints, stats, and trials that raise the score multiplier.
- A leaderboard of records, worlds that save themselves, and cloud saves.
- Interface in seven languages: English, Russian, Turkish, Spanish, Portuguese, Indonesian, and French.
- Played in landscape orientation.
Games You Might Like
Streams of Time sits comfortably among simulation games that reward careful planning and long-term thinking. Fans of building and resource management will also find plenty to enjoy in strategy games that test decision-making under pressure, or in management games where balancing competing demands is the core challenge.
If the construction side of Streams of Time appeals, Obby Build a Pyramid offers a hands-on building loop where every block placed contributes to a rising monument. For a slower, story-driven take on growing a settlement from scratch, The Farmers: Grace's Island blends farming, exploration, and island expansion. My Perfect Farm: Idle Tycoon shares the cozy resource-management rhythm of building up a productive operation over time.
