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GUIDES

Guides

Step-by-step from opening the game to your first successful expansion.

How these guides are produced

Each guide is a reproducible path through the public game interface, with version-sensitive claims tied to the data snapshot or a cited upstream source.

Steps
Actions are ordered so readers can follow them in the client without hidden setup.
Evidence
Observed behavior and exact source-backed values are kept separate from editorial explanation.
Corrections
The client can change after the documented snapshot; reported mismatches are checked and corrected.
Read the full editorial and correction policy →

Find an answer by situation

Jump straight to the decision you are making right now. These routes stay above the full catalog so urgent questions take one click.

Planning a landing across open water?

Use the transport landing guide to choose a reachable coast, cap each wave, place a Warship screen, build a beachhead, and cancel a failing operation before it empties your home front.

Looking for OpenFront on mobile?

Check the official app, download, and APK answer; then choose touch controls, store-listed alternatives, or Reddit and community links by intent.

When should a safe economy start taking more land?

Use the tall versus wide guide to test liquidity, access, need, and deadline before turning a compact core into a second foothold.

Should teammates spawn together?

Use the team spawn formation guide to read teammate rings, preserve one neutral lane per player, and choose between a connected edge arc and a deliberate split.

Is Overtime about to end the game?

Use the winning and Overtime guide to read the shrinking territory threshold, calculate the next 30-second crossing, and choose whether to defend the lead or attack it.

Looking for Water Nukes?

Go straight to the dedicated Water Nukes guide for terrain conversion, attack choices, defense, and common mistakes.

Is your Warship gaining yellow stripes?

Read the Warship veterancy and repair guide to turn stripes, repair capacity, and retreat thresholds into a safer naval decision.

Should you trade or pirate this route?

Read the trade versus piracy guide to compare route distance, capture risk, diplomacy, and the right moment to pivot back to land income.

Are your Factory trains actually paying?

Read the train network guide for station range, rail segment limits, stop payouts, hub layouts, and the safe moment to stop upgrading.

When should I buy my first Port or Factory?

Read the Port and Factory timing guide for how v0.34.12's faster mid-game spawns front-load your extra gold, when a Port pays back in two trade-ship arrivals, and why the Factory waits for the rail network.

How do you break a nuclear stalemate?

Read the nuclear stalemate breaker guide to decide whether to raid a Silo, blockade the Port or Factory funding it, or turn a 90-tick reload into a land objective.

When should I fire my first MIRV in a Cold War?

Use the MIRV launch timing guide to read the global price ladder, find the exact rung where the target becomes cheaper to hit than to wait out, and break the multi-player Cold War standoff without wasting the cheapest strike of the match.

Are teammates blocking each other's economy?

Use the Team economy space guide to reserve City, Factory, Port, and rail corridors, name the payer, prove the first settlement, and stop when a shared route no longer survives.

Is your island coast about to be blockaded?

Read the island defense guide to screen transports, place a Port and Defense Post, and know when a disconnected sea route means you should fall back to land.

Need the Doomsday Clock rules?

Use the complete Doomsday Clock guide for what the mode does, every territory-share wave, warning, decay, recovery, and counterplay.

Who should you pressure next?

Use the threat assessment guide to scan the whole board, choose a target that improves your shape, and stop before a weak neighbor creates a dangerous new flank.

Playing with alliances disabled?

Use the No Alliances guide to set a reserve floor, reduce hostile contacts, preserve useful trade, and time a bounded attack without relying on a ceasefire.

When is a Defense Post worth it?

Use the Defense Posts guide to place the 30-tile defense zone, budget the 50-tick build, and decide when a second line beats stacking one tile.

Coordinating a Four Islands team?

Use the Four Islands team coordination guide to assign island jobs, time crossings, protect the shared core, and hand off a route when the map changes.

Can you close a pocket without overextending?

Read the annexation and enclosure guide to use small probes, verify the inland-cluster rule, assign capture credit, and keep a second route after the transfer.

Your bars look equal but their push still wins?

Read the near-parity combat guide to read the defender's whole army instead of the front, see why the bigger neighbor's push is faster and cheaper, and run the hold-or-counter call in the moment.

Is finishing that player actually worth the conquest Gold?

Read the conquest Gold guide to separate full Bot and Nation payouts, half-value active Humans, and zero-value Humans who never attacked before you commit the reserve.

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All guides, organized for the way you play

Start with the basics, then move into the systems that match your next decision. Each guide appears once so the directory stays easy to scan.

100 guides