Foreshore

Foreshore is a calm idle game about mudlarking on the River Thames. Walk down the river stairs at Southwark when the tide goes out and search the grey mud for clay pipe stems, oyster shells, Tudor dress pins and the odd coin that has waited centuries for you. The tide sets the pace. A full tide takes twelve minutes: about five with the mud out, then the river comes back up the foreshore, covering the low-water mark first, where the oldest finds lie. Everything you pick up goes into the wash tray. While the tide is in, the museum's finds liaison officer cleans and logs each find, and every logged find earns reputation. Spend it on better tools, a mudlark permit and new stretches of river. Your cabinet fills up as a section through the mud, from Victorian marbles at the top down to Roman coins. Features: • A foreshore that changes every tide, with finds glinting on the surface and more buried in the mud • Dig, then sieve each hole through a garden riddle for pins, beads and lace aglets • 30 kinds of real Thames finds, each with a short history: delftware, Bellarmine jugs, rose farthings, a Becket pilgrim badge • Four stretches to unlock: Southwark, Queenhithe, Wapping and Greenwich, each known for different finds • Tools and permits based on the real Port of London Authority rules • A live reading from the Environment Agency tide gauge at Tower Pier: spring tides on the real river scour the foreshore and make rare finds more likely • An optional tide bell that rings once at the next low water after you leave • Record your own real finds with a photo from your camera or gallery The river is going out. Grab your trowel.