Life on the Bow playtest

This is an early test version. Features, availability and saved progress may change or stop working. Desktop keyboard and mouse are required; mobile play is not supported.

Notice updated: 18 October 2026.

How to play on desktop

Click Play, start a new game and finish the household editor. Your first delivery shift appears with its pay and GPS route. Walk to a car, press V, and follow the route to the pickup and then the drop-off. Deliveries collect and complete automatically when you arrive. Press R to choose another shift.

• Move: WASD or arrow keys to walk or drive. Hold Shift to run. Left-click to select a Sim or walk somewhere; right-click a building or person for actions.
• Look around: right-drag to orbit, scroll to zoom, and middle-drag to pan. F2 opens the free camera; WASD then pans instead of walking. F3 enters first person.
• See the city: keep scrolling out to enter city overview, or press X to open it directly. Scroll to adjust the view and use WASD to pan. Press F1 or F to return to your Sim. This shows the playable downtown area, rather than all of metropolitan Calgary.
• Drive: press V near a car to enter or leave it, WASD or arrows to steer and accelerate, Space to brake, and Z to sound the horn.
• Find your way: / opens GPS; R opens the shifts board. Follow the route and arrival instructions on the shift card.
• Pause and save: Esc closes the current panel or opens the pause menu. P pauses time. F5 saves and F9 loads. Browser or operating-system shortcuts can intercept function keys; the pause menu also offers save/load.

Click inside the game if the keys do not respond. Sound starts off; use Sound on to enable it. Phones and tablets are not supported yet, so their landing page does not download the game.

Privacy and local storage

Your game progress is not uploaded to a server database. The game has no accounts or backend database. Saves, household details you enter, settings and generated diagnostics stay on your device in this version.

What stays in your browser

The browser uses local storage, including IndexedDB, to keep saves and settings. It may also cache downloaded game files. This is device storage, not cloud storage. It does not sync between devices, browsers or site addresses. Private browsing, clearing site data or changing the site address can remove access to progress. Please use fictional household names and avoid entering sensitive information.

What reaches the server

Your browser requests the page and game files from the hosting server. These requests disclose network information such as your IP address, requested URL, time and browser information. Hosting and security logs may record it. The game does not send gameplay, saves or diagnostics automatically, and includes no advertising or third-party analytics scripts.

Public hosting details and log retention have not yet been confirmed. This notice is a local preview until those details and the operator contact are completed.

Your controls

To remove local progress, use your browser's site settings to clear this site's stored data. That also removes settings and cached files and cannot be undone. The site uses local storage for game operation, rather than tracking or advertising. External credit links open other sites with their own privacy practices.

If you choose to send feedback, screenshots, a save or a diagnostic report, review it first and remove personal information. Anything you deliberately send to the operator is outside the game's local-only storage and may be used to investigate your report. No feedback upload form is provided here.

Playtest terms

This version is offered for evaluation and feedback. It may contain faults, lose progress, change without notice or become unavailable. No purchase, paid service, uptime commitment or cloud backup is offered through this page.

The city, people, economics and events are a game simulation. Real-world names and locations identify the setting; simulated events and characters do not make factual claims about real people or organisations. Do not use the game for navigation, safety, financial or other real-world decisions.

Life on the Bow is an independent project. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Calgary, Calgary Transit, the Calgary Stampede, venue owners or the data and asset providers. Names, logos and other marks belong to their respective owners; their appearance does not grant a licence to use them.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, the playtest is provided as available, without a promise that it is error-free or suitable for a particular purpose. Nothing in this notice excludes rights or responsibilities that cannot lawfully be excluded. Third-party licence rights remain in effect.

Credits and licences

• Map data: © OpenStreetMap contributors, under the Open Database License 1.0. The game adapts roads, paths, building footprints and places into its simulation coordinates. Download the map database and accompanying notices. The database licence does not license the game's code or all of its artwork.
• Building heights and civic data: Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. Heights, footprints and bridge clearances have been adapted for the simulation.
• Terrain: Mapzen / AWS Terrain Tiles. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. SRTM and GMTED2010 data courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey. Elevations have been cropped, resampled and adapted for the game. Terrain source and attribution details.
• People: Microsoft Rocketbox avatar library, © 2020 Microsoft, MIT licence. Avatars and textures were adapted for the game.
• Animations: Quaternius Universal Animation Library, CC0.
• Vehicles: Kenney Car Kit, CC0.

Distribution notices · All licence files, including runtime package notices. Each third-party licence applies to its own material.

Contact

Public operator and contact details are pending. For this local preview, contact the person who invited you to test.