Canal Karma

Canal Karma represents the game aspect of the Narrowboat Simulator. It is a kind of score which depends on how you navigate in the game.

Canal Karma unlocks new levels and additional boats. You can retry each level as often as you want to optimize your canal karma of that level.

Two bars at the bottom of the screen and a counter at the top indicate how good you perform in terms of Canal Karma.

Ozzy did a great video which wonderfully demonstrates this scoring system:

Bad Karma:

The upper bar indicates the bad karma which you've collected during this level. You collect bad karma by bumping into obstacles or speeding (going above 4mph). Usually, little bumps are tolerated without karma deduction, but don't rely on it. On complicated levels one or two bumps may also be tolerated. Once you've behaved "badly" your Canal Karma will be reduced. If the bar reaches its maximum you will fail that level and have to restart.

Sorry, No Bonus:

If you've collected any bad karma during the level, you will lose the ability to gain "Bonus" karma. So you won't be able to score 100 or more Canal Karma in that case.

Good Navigation:

The lower bar indicates your navigating activity. The game counts each time you change the throttle/gear or you switched your tiller from left to right hand side or vice versa. After a certain threshold of activity the bar begins to move. This indicates that your bonus begins to reduce.

Poor Navigation:

If this bar reaches the center (50%), each activity will reduce your Canal Karma below 100. Don't take it personal. Your navigation skills might be outstanding but this is part of the game.

Full Bonus:

If you manage to finish a level with a full bar, you'll gain a bonus of 100 resulting in a Canal Karma of 200. This perfect score may not be available/possible for all tasks.

Time is not an issue. You can go as slow as you want. Mooring and pushing off won't be counted as navigational activity.

How to score Karma:

Take your time. (There's no time penalty)
Do not constantly adjust throttle and tiller. Try to foresee the movement of the boat.
Look around. Using the view controls does not count as navigational activity.
Go carefully. Speeding and bumping into obstacles can end your hunt for the bonus abruptly.

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