---
key: mechanic/settlement-management--t102
type: mechanic
id: settlement-management--t102
lang: en
title: 'Schedules, queues and service'
summary: >-
  Queues connect task arrivals to worker availability; scheduling allocates
  limited time slots in advance.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/settlement-management--t102/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/settlement-management--t102.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/settlement-management--t102.md
aliases: []
tags:
  - Organization and settlement management
  - Mechanics and variants
sourceIds:
  - source-96be186d8ada50a0
  - source-206bf695fe1f431c
sources:
  - id: source-96be186d8ada50a0
    title: 'Factorio: Content'
    url: 'https://www.factorio.com/game/content'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-206bf695fe1f431c
    title: Two Point Hospital
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/535930/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: settlement-management
    id: t102
    title: Organization and settlement management
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/settlement-management/#t102'
    categoryIds:
      - mechanics
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: 'Schedules, queues and service'
    description: >-
      Queues connect task arrivals to worker availability; scheduling allocates
      limited time slots in advance.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/strategy-two-point-hospital-06.webp
      width: 1440
      height: 810
      game: Two Point Hospital
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/535930/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/535930/ss_730ffaa53e8ab770853dfa900c44680bba605d6d.1920x1080.jpg?t=1763648286
      credit: Two Point Studios / SEGA
      rights: © Two Point Studios / SEGA. All rights reserved.
      caption: The waiting area is positioned beside treatment rooms
      alt: The waiting area is positioned beside treatment rooms
      markers:
        - x: 35
          'y': 72
          label: Benches accommodate waiting patients
        - x: 42
          'y': 45
          label: Access to treatment rooms uses a shared corridor
    tips:
      - Explain who is served next and why a task is waiting.
    examples:
      - title: Two Point Hospital
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/535930/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on
  2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design
  examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests.
  Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not
  every proposed variant.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/settlement-management
---
# Schedules, queues and service

id: settlement-management--t102
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/settlement-management--t102
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/settlement-management--t102/

Queues connect task arrivals to worker availability; scheduling allocates limited time slots in advance.

## At a glance

![The waiting area is positioned beside treatment rooms](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/strategy-two-point-hospital-06.webp)

[Two Point Hospital](https://store.steampowered.com/app/535930/) · © Two Point Studios / SEGA. All rights reserved.

1. Benches accommodate waiting patients
2. Access to treatment rooms uses a shared corridor

- Explain who is served next and why a task is waiting.

- [Two Point Hospital](https://store.steampowered.com/app/535930/)

## How it works

Queues connect task arrivals to worker availability; scheduling allocates limited time slots in advance.

## Variants

### Mechanic variants

<a id="t102-variants"></a>

- Arrival queues preserve request order. <a id="t102-v1"></a>
- Appointments reserve time before a client arrives. <a id="t102-v2"></a>
- Priority lanes serve urgent requests. <a id="t102-v3"></a>
- Switching tasks requires setup time. <a id="t102-v4"></a>

## Design example

A repair shop leaves a gap between planned bookings for an urgent breakdown.

Prototype check: Test low-priority starvation and cancellation that correctly releases a reserved time slot.

## Context and limits

Organization management allocates space, time, staff and services among competing needs. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.

- [Factorio: Content](https://www.factorio.com/game/content) (id: source-96be186d8ada50a0)
- [Two Point Hospital](https://store.steampowered.com/app/535930/) (id: source-206bf695fe1f431c)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors