What Hammer Valley is
Hammer Valley is an idle game about a smith and the works he builds, played in the browser. Everything you own is something you can watch: the ore is dug by someone with a basket, carried down a real road, smelted in a furnace you can see glowing, struck on an anvil and sold to a trader whose wagon drives off to market. You start with one cold anvil on a farm. You finish with a colony on Mars.
The smith is the main actor. You can steer him yourself, or leave the controls alone for two seconds and he carries on by himself, digging, carrying, striking and selling. As you hire hands they take those jobs off him one by one, until the whole chain runs without anyone touching it.
The goal
Seven years ago your sister Wren left the valley chasing a metal that never cools. Her last letter said don't follow me. You are following her, and the road costs money.
The campaign is seven maps in a row: Hammer Valley, Ironbridge, Steelhaven, Port Sable, Silicon Reach, Selene Station on the Moon and Ares Colony on Mars. On each one, people place five orders for real pieces of work, and when those are delivered the map's witness asks for one last thing Wren left unfinished. Make it and the road opens to the next map. You arrive there with a set sum and nothing else, and the map behind you keeps working on its own.
Your first five minutes
- Stake the ore pit. Walk to the stakes up the hill and hold the action button. It costs nothing.
- Dig and strike. Dig ore at the pit, carry it to the anvil and strike it. Cold ore makes scrap: three strikes, $2 a time at Odo's stall.
- Light the furnace. The clay bloomery costs $14 and the wood pile for its charcoal costs under $8. Ore and charcoal go in, a hot bloom comes out, and five strikes turn it into a $12 piece.
- Take Brann's first order. Twelve horseshoes for the miller's team. Pieces from hot blooms count towards it; when the twelfth is struck, Odo's wagon takes them and the reward is paid when it comes back.
- House and hire. Pitch the Hands' Home ($24), then hire the Digger ($40). From that moment someone else carries the ore.
You never have to remember any of this. The objective card always names the next job, Brann explains why it matters, and an arrow points to the building.
Controls
Desktop
- WASD or the arrow keys walk the smith.
- Space or E does the job where you stand: dig, take, strike, sell, or talk to the person beside you.
- Hold Space or E beside a building to pay for its next tier.
- Click the ground to walk there, a building to open its card, or the price button over a building to buy the tier.
- J opens the Journal. Esc closes any open panel.
Phone and tablet
- Drag anywhere on the map for a joystick that walks the smith.
- Tap the ground to walk, a person to talk, a building to open its card, or a price button to buy.
- The ACT button does the job where you stand. Hold it beside a building to pay.
The question mark replays the welcome, and the gear icon opens settings for sound and comfort.
Questions
Is it free?
Yes. It plays in your web browser with no download and no account.
How does saving work?
The game saves in your browser every five seconds and when you close the tab. Clearing your browser's site data, or playing on another device or browser, starts a new game. Settings has a "Reset progress" button if you want to start over on purpose. A save from the first version of the game is not carried over: you start the rebuild fresh, with up to $500 of your old cash.
Does it keep working while I'm away?
The map you are on does. When you come back it pays you half of its live rate for the time you were gone, up to 12 hours plus 4 more for each tier of its store building (the Barn in the valley). Maps you have already finished pay nothing.
Does it work on phones?
Yes. It runs in a mobile browser, with a drag joystick and an ACT button for your thumbs.
How long is it?
Seven maps, each with five orders and a Commission, and each harder than the last. The first order in the valley takes minutes. The rest is an idle game's pace: check in, deliver, move on.