Lemmings Tips and Tricks.

On this page you will find a variety of tips and tricks to make those blue-clad critters do what you want them to! These have been collected from a variety of forum members, namely Praetor Predator, AlmightyHydra, Louise, Conway, lemming_20 (formerly Juanjo), MaZur, Steaver370, and Insane Steve. More strategies are likely to be found in our Lemmings forum, and if there aren't any new ones there, you could always ask for some!

Make a lemming into a digger, and once he has dug a small hole, turn him into a builder and he will turn around.

To turn a lemming around when walking on metal... build a couple of steps, then mine. You will hear a "clank" and the lemming will reverse direction. Requires 1 Builder and 1 Miner. This works in most areas, but not all (to be technical, levels that have a "Steel Area" floating above the metal as well as on it prevents the build-mine trick. One of these such areas is to the right of the blast furnace in "Blast Furnace (Part Two)").

When bombers are falling or climbing (except on WinLemm), there is no delay between "1 second" and the explosion.

If the lemmings have congregated in a pit or some enclosed area and are walking randomly in both directions, building a bridge will ensure that the lemmings walking under are always walking in one particular direction (opposite to the way the ladder was built) and the lemmings walking over are walking in the opposite direction to those walking under. This tactic can be invaluable if you need to dig, bash or mine your way out of the pit where digging the wrong way leads to a hazard.

Digging provides a tunnel that lemmings can climb up (the use of this trick is required quite a lot in Predator's levels).

While a lemming is digging, just before he falls to the ground when there is no more to dig through, turn him into a builder to make a step for others to land on.

When a lemming is bashing, turn him into a builder in the middle of taking a stroke, then he will leave a step. Some of my levels require this tactic.

Bash or dig under the feet of a blocker and he will start to walk again.

This is more of a cheat than anything else. While lemmings are still coming out, use the giant bomb and no more will appear. Then, all the lemmings that have already come out will count as 100%, even if it just one lemming. And if you can get him into the exit within five seconds before he blows up, the game says that you have saved 100%. Note: this doesn't work in WinLemm.

When a lemming mines on a platform with one-way arrows pointing the other way, the lemming will turn around. Note: This doesn't work in WinLemm either!

A blocker can turn back a builder and a miner, but not if the miner is already too low down, when he is more than likely to dig away the ground that the blocker is standing on, thus releasing the blocker.

In Lemmings Revolution, if you make a falling lemming block as soon as he lands, the next falling lemming will land on the blocker's shoulders. Make him block as soon as he lands as well, and so on... Soon you have a nice stack of lemmings!

If you hold the right mouse button and then click the left, you will not apply a skill to a lemming that is already performing a skill (unless that lemming is the only one in reach of the cursor). For example... Let's say you've got an active digger in a pit with 50 or so Lemmings, and you want another lemming to bash to the left or right (and not stop the digger from digging). If you just click on the mob without holding the right mouse button, it's always the digger that will start bashing.

Another useful trick is to try to tunnel under the level and pop up somewhere else... (like in "If at first you don't succeed" on the original lemmings).

To deploy a blocker so that he can later be released (this is very useful on maps which have either steel or very thin floors) build before you block, and then have another lemming mine underneath him later to release him.

On maps with thin floors, if you build before you block, you can later safely blow up the blocker without risking the carpet. One or two lemmings may walk past while the ladder is still being built, but it is up to you what you do with them.

If you build a couple of steps on the edge of a steel area (on the edge of a ledge) and then dig down, your lemming will dig through the edge-most 2 or 3 pixels of the block. Note: this only works in the Windows version, and you may need to use the high resolution graphics.

If you make a lemming build all the way to the ceiling (causing him to get stuck) and then use a climber on him, he will climb up through the wall!

If you have a lot of builders and diggers, you can make a single-use horizontal bridge to get across a low gap. Build 4 steps, dig 4 pixels, and repeat until you get across the gap.

Original Lemmings Strategies.

Below are tips on how to complete some of the hardest levels in the original Lemmings. These may not be entirely accurate, however.


TRICKY 19 - "Postcard from Lemmingland" (Layout is identical to FUN 7)

Turn the first lemming into a Climber and allow it to climb over the wall, fall into the deep pit and climb out towards the exit. Just before it reaches the exit, turn it into a digger. Once it digs about five or six bits of ground away, turn it into a builder so the lemming builds into the wall of the small hole that it just dug. Once the lemming turns around, turn it into a miner and allow it to breach the wall of the deep pit. You will have to be careful with positioning, as the other lemmings must be able to walk up the mined tunnel to the exit, but at the same time, the miner must not continue mining once the tunnel is dug (i.e. the lemming must not mine through the pit's floor because it started too near the exit).

Once the miner finishes and walks over to the other wall of the pit, turn it into a Basher so it releases the other lemmings. Just make sure you give this lemming the Floater ability, otherwise it won't survive (you need to rescue 100%).

ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION: After three lemmings leave the trapdoor, speed up the release rate to 99. Turn the first two lemmings into climbers. Let the first lemming continue walking so he can build a bridge over the pit. Turn the second climber into a digger as soon as he scales the small wall. After he is about half-way down (not very far), turn him into a Basher. The other lemmings should be able to walk into his tunnel and out onto the platform above with ease. The Basher will continue bashing until he reaches the pit; he might take some lemmings in there with him. Use the remaining climbers on lemmings who fall into the pit. This solution does not require the use of the Miner or Floaters. Thanks to Ben Conway for this one.


TRICKY 26 - "I have a cunning plan" (Layout is identical to FUN 9)

There are many ways to do this level. The most convenient way is to turn the first three lemmings into builders in a way so they build one behind the other, making a ladder three layers thick - do this near to the trapdoor to give yourself some extra space ahead. While those lemmings are building, bash through the centre pillar towards the exit. Some lemmings will turn around while the tunnel is still being bashed, but by now, the ladder should be near completion and its thickness will prevent lemmings from walking into the trap to the left of the trapdoor.


MAYHEM 20 - "No added colours or lemmings" (Layout is identical to FUN 4)

Turn the second lemming into a Blocker so it isolates the first lemming from the rest. Make the first lemming bash through the right walls of the upper compartment, then turn it into a Builder so it builds towards the exit; this lemming has to turn around, so start building at the very edge of the platform.

Once the builder turns around and starts heading back to where the Blocker is, turn it into a miner so it digs away the floor underneath the Blocker - the Blocker will start walking again as soon as it loses its footing.

While all the other lemmings are heading towards the exit, the miner is now stuck on the lower platform. Tool-wise, you should have 2 Climbers and a Miner remaining. Turn the very last lemming who walks up the built ladder into a miner so it chips away the last section of the ladder (this is very hard to pull off, but it is the only solution). This lemming will fall to where the first lemming is trapped - no other lemmings must fall with them, otherwise you can't rescue 100%, which is required.

As for the two lemmings now on the lower platform, turn them into Climbers so they climb up the cliff, through the hole in the ladder towards the exit.