Independent simulation studio

Games for people who love simulation games.

Lakeside Games is an independent studio building simulation games you can lose yourself in: a persistent political world that advances every hour, a 3D transit builder that imports real cities, an election-campaign game, a 19th-century grand-strategy world, a Venice of tides and canals, and a living 1890s district.

The United States map in A House Divided, each state colored by the party leading its House delegation
A House Divided, United States political map

The games

Six simulation games across politics, transit, strategy, and city life.

Persistent political MMO

A House Divided

You play one politician in a world shared with every other player. The server runs one turn every hour. Each turn pays salaries, advances bills, and counts votes. Start in a state legislature and work up to the presidency, or stay out of office and build companies instead.

Presidential polling across concurrent elections in A House Divided
A transit network threaded through a 3D Manhattan in MetroForge
3D transit builder · Alpha

MetroForge

Lay track through ten real American cities, modeled in 3D at real scale. A demand model estimates ridership stop by stop, so a line only works if it goes where people actually travel.

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The 2020 electoral map and weekly campaign plan in Electioneer
Campaign strategy

Electioneer

Pick one of 34 historical elections, from Reagan in 1980 to the 2024 rematch. You get a budget, a staff, and eleven actions a week. Spend them well until election night.

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The 1836 world map in Grand Century
Grand strategy · In development

Grand Century

Start in 1836 and play one great power through the end of the century. You manage industry, a parliament, and armies. Rival powers run on the same rules and the same world market.

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A lagoon settlement at dusk in Rialto
Tidal city builder · Free in the browser

Rialto

Build a canal town in a tidal lagoon. Low water exposes flats you can build and harvest on. High water floods anything built too low. Plan around the tide or lose buildings to it.

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An 1890s city district seen from above in Verdigris
Living district · Free in the browser

Verdigris

Watch an 1890s district from above. Two hundred named souls walk a day you can follow: to the mill, to the pub, home. Click any roof to read what is happening under it. You never build anything. You get three interventions a day, and you watch what they do to everyone else.

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A House Divided by the numbers

21
Playable countries
50
States, each with its own legislature
435
House seats contested
100
Senate seats on the ballot
366
Elections in a full cycle
78
Player-founded parties

Contact

Send questions, bug reports, and feature requests. The studio reads every message.