Screenshots
Watch trailer on Steam ↗Arcana, Gas & Waterworks Inc.
Shawn Rider · Published by Shawn Rider · Official site ↗
Last updated 28 Sept 2026
Route magical energy through a fantasy realm as a mid-level utilities employee. Connect ley lines, manage complaints, and keep the mana flowing in this comedic puzzle-strategy game set in a mundane, magickal world. The benefits are not great, but neither is the pay! So there's that.
Indie, Simulation, Strategy · 2026 · More free games
About this game
Welcome to Arcana, Gas & Waterworks Inc.
"Keeping the mana flowing since 643 A.O."
You've just been hired at AG&W Inc. — the municipal utility company responsible for delivering magical energy, gas, and water to every town, tower, dungeon, and dragon's lair in the region. Your job is to lay the ley lines, pipe the pipe networks, and route the resources to the right customers. Your job title is provisional. Your desk is shared.
Nobody thanks you when things work. Everyone blames you when they don't.
ROUTE MAGICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Connect sources to consumers across hex-grid maps
Manage 5 energy types: Arcana, Fire, Water, Earth, and Gas
Build relay stations, splitters, transformers, batteries, and filters
Watch your network come alive with glowing neon energy flows (then watch a dragon submit a three-page grievance about delivery temperature)
SOLVE PUZZLES WITH CONSEQUENCES
Balance budgets while keeping customers satisfied
Handle escalating complaints from pixies, dragons, and dungeon lords
Discover energy interactions — some helpful, some explosive
Navigate 19 hand-crafted campaign scenarios across 6 career tiers
CLIMB THE CORPORATE LADDER
Start as a New Employee, rise to Chief of Reclamation
Unlock new components and abilities as you progress
Earn promotions by completing increasingly complex operations
Discover the dark secrets lurking in the company's past
EXPERIENCE RETRO-FUTURISTIC CHARM
CRT terminal aesthetic with phosphor glow and scanlines
Classic OS-inspired desktop hub with draggable windows
WynnAmp music player (yes, it's a WinAmp clone)
Satirical corporate newsfeed and mysterious meta-narrative
FEATURES
19 campaign scenarios with hand-crafted puzzles
Procedurally generated freelance operations for endless replayability
15 Steam achievements
Full keyboard rebinding
Supports accessible gaming settings
Arcana, Gas & Waterworks Inc. is a love letter to infrastructure games, 90s operating systems, and the absurdity of corporate bureaucracy.
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- OS: 7
- Processor: 1.6 GHz dual-core
- Memory: 256 MB RAM
- Graphics: OpenGL 2.1 compatible, 128 MB VRAM
- Storage: 150 MB available space
Recommended
- OS: 10
- Processor: 2.0 GHz dual-core
- Memory: 512 MB RAM
- Graphics: OpenGL 2.1 compatible, 256 MB VRAM
- Storage: 150 MB available space
Supported Languages
*languages with full audio support
Latest news
AnnouncementsOfficial
Pre-Release Updates
Arcana, Gas & Waterworks Inc. launches next month. Since the start of June, playtest and demo feedback has driven a steady stream of improvements. Everything below ships with the full game and is already available in the demo (which allows you to play the first six Operations). You Steer the Conduits NowRoute pinning — While drawing a conduit, click open ground to pin the route so far and keep drawing from the pin. Right-click removes the last pin. Parallel runs, detours, and deliberate weaves are now a strategic part of the game rather than a frustrating chaotic element.Stable route previews — The proposed path no longer flickers between equal-cost routes while you hover. Live delivery forecast — Dragging a conduit shows exactly how much energy will arrive at the far end, in red when it falls short of demand. No more guessing at dissipation math. Energy Interactions Have Been ReworkedInteractions follow your routing — Two different energy types stacked on the same hex now interact at full strength; running them through adjacent hexes interacts at half strength. Where you "ley" your lines is the whole game.Visible stacking — Conduits sharing a hex draw side by side are now capped at two per hex, and each one shows its own info when you hover it.The interaction inspector — Click any reacting hex to pin a panel naming the interaction, the two energies causing it, its current strength, and what it actually does to your grid.No more mystery eruptions — When a Fire + Gas pocket blows, the affected conduits flash red and the hazard alert reports how many are venting. Beneficial reactions (source boosts, revenue bonuses, Purification) now show up right on the tooltips they affect. Easier to Learn, Easier to ReadOnboarding overhaul — Contextual field prompts across the early operations now teach the core controls, conduit capacity, relays and splitters, route pinning, and the satisfaction clock as part of the introductory tutorial. Items have been expanded and combined to m...Read full article on Community Announcements (gametheory)AnnouncementsOfficial
Playtest Signup Now Available
Hello, Everybody!The playtest for Arcana, Gas & Waterworks Inc. is officially open — sign up and I'll be approving new batches of players daily. The playtest runs for a month, focused on dialing in game balance: making sure every Operation is fun and appropriately challenging, and that everything works as intended. The game is in a solid state right now, so this is really about polish and refinement.All feedback is welcome — what you love, hate, want more of, want less of, whatever. Drop your thoughts in the AG&W Playtest Feedback thread in the Community discussion. If you've played, please post up.Thanks for checking it out. It genuinely means the world to me.Take care, ShawnRead full article on Community Announcements (gametheory)
