Maple Mill is a relaxed 3D idle lumber mill tycoon set in the Canadian woods. Start with one saw at a small sugar shack, turn logs into planks and tap maple trees for syrup, then sell both to forest-animal customers. Add conveyors, forklifts and log haulers, grow across three areas and build a mill that keeps earning while you are away. Free in your browser.
A sugar shack with big plans
Maple Mill begins small on purpose. There is one saw, one shack and a quiet clearing in the woods. Logs roll in, the saw turns them into planks, and a truck comes by to collect them. That first delivery earns just enough to buy something new, and from then on the question is always the same: what should the mill get next?
You are not clicking on menus to decide. You walk Maple, the plaid-wearing beaver foreman, around the yard and step onto glowing BUY pads to build. A conveyor takes planks off the saw faster. A forklift moves stacks to the loading area. A robot arm speeds up the saws and the conveyor. Moose, Maple’s big and very gentle truck driver, keeps the orders moving out to customers.
Those customers are the animals of the forest, and they want more than planks. Within your first minute or two you can tap the maple trees around the mill and open a second line for syrup. The seasons keep turning as you play: spring is the best time for sap, autumn is the best time to sell planks, and winter pays well but slows the trucks on the road.
Keep reinvesting and the shack grows into a sawmill, then a riverside mill complex, and finally a snowy camp under the northern lights where sled dogs and ice-road trucks carry your orders. Along the way Maple’s plank tower gets taller, the trucks turn into long semi-trailers, and a fleet of forklifts and log haulers takes over the heavy lifting. Because it is an idle game, the work does not stop when you close the tab. Once your lines are automated, the mill keeps working for up to two hours, and your earnings are waiting when you come back.
When the camp is humming
Once the Northern Lights Camp is open, you can sell the mill. You start again at the little sugar shack, but you keep Heritage points that raise the price of every sale from then on. The second mill grows much faster than the first, and every run after that is quicker still.
How to play Maple Mill
- Press Play. You control Maple, the beaver foreman, and your first saw is already running.
- Logs roll in and are sawn into planks, which stack up beside the saw. Trucks carry finished orders away and pay you in cash.
- Walk onto a glowing BUY pad to spend cash on the thing shown there, such as a second saw, a conveyor, maple taps or a forklift.
- Keep reinvesting. Machine upgrades speed up each step, longer trailers carry bigger orders, and the Expand Land and Next Area pads open new parts of the mill.
- Buy forklifts, log haulers and helpers so the wood and syrup move without you. Once your lines are automated, close the tab whenever you like; the mill keeps earning for up to two hours.
- Expand across the river to the Riverside Mill, then over the frozen river to the Northern Lights Camp. Once the camp is open you can sell the mill for Heritage and start again with a permanent bonus.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard and mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|
| Walk around the mill | Arrow keys or W A S D | Drag anywhere to move, like a joystick |
| Buy an upgrade | Walk onto a BUY pad | Walk onto a BUY pad |
| Pause and settings | Esc | Pause button in the corner |
Tips and strategy
Fix the slowest step first
A mill is only as fast as its slowest machine. If planks pile up beside the saw, the problem is transport, so buy a conveyor or forklift before another saw. If trucks wait around, the problem is the saw.
Spend often, in small amounts
Early on, several cheap upgrades bought as soon as you can afford them usually beat saving up for one big purchase, because every upgrade starts paying back straight away.
Play the seasons
Each season lasts 100 seconds and the year repeats. Spring doubles the sap from your taps, autumn pays 1.5 times as much for planks, and winter pays 1.3 times as much for everything but makes trucks take longer to come and go. Keep both lines running and the seasons even out in your favour.
Check in, then step away
Only automated work earns while you are away, and the game counts up to two hours. Build forklifts, haulers and helpers first, then spend what you have, and come back within two hours to collect it all.
Features
- A 3D mill you walk around yourself, with BUY pads for every new machine.
- Two production lines, timber planks and maple syrup.
- Four seasons on a repeating cycle: spring doubles sap, autumn raises plank prices, and winter raises every price but slows the trucks.
- Orders from forest-animal customers.
- Three areas to grow into: the Sugar Shack, the Riverside Mill and the snowy Northern Lights Camp with its sled-dog deliveries.
- Maple carries a tall, wobbling tower of planks, and trucks grow into long semi-trailers that fill plank by plank.
- A fleet of forklifts and log haulers that ferry wood from the stack yard to the trucks for you.
- Sell the Mill: restart with Heritage points that raise every sale, so there is always a next goal.
- Idle income, so your mill keeps earning while the game is closed.
- Maple, a plaid-wearing beaver foreman, and Moose, her gentle giant of a truck driver.
- Automatic saving on your device.
Frequently asked questions
Is Maple Mill free?
Yes. It is free to play in your browser, with nothing to download and no account needed.
Does Maple Mill really earn money while I am away?
Yes, in-game cash. When you come back after a minute or more, the game replays your mill for the time you were away, up to two hours, and adds what it earned. Only automated work counts, such as forklifts, log haulers and helpers, and nothing new gets built while you are away.
What do the seasons do?
Each season lasts 100 seconds, starting with spring. Spring doubles sap, summer is normal, autumn pays 1.5 times as much for planks, and winter pays 1.3 times as much for everything while trucks are slower.
Can I play on a phone?
Yes. The game is built for a phone held upright. Drag on the screen to walk Maple around the mill.
How long does Maple Mill take, and what happens at the end?
Our efficient autoplay bot finishes the Sugar Shack in about 32 to 38 minutes, the Riverside Mill in about an hour and the Northern Lights Camp in about 95 minutes, so most players will take longer. After that you can sell the mill for Heritage points, which raise every sale on your next run, so each run is faster than the last.
When can I sell the mill?
Sell the Mill unlocks once the Riverside Mill is finished and the Northern Lights Camp opens. Each Heritage point adds 10 % to every sale. Building the Aurora Lodge at the camp adds a bonus of 5 Heritage, so selling after it is built is usually worth far more than selling as soon as you can.
Is the game set in a real place?
It is a made-up corner of the Canadian woods, inspired by the maple sugar shacks that make syrup every spring. Our studio is Canadian too.
Updates
- Big update: a log chute with giant saws, a guided first minute, taller carry stacks, bigger trucks, a forklift and log hauler fleet, the Northern Lights Camp and Sell the Mill.
- First preview build (version 0.1.0) added to the site.
