Before the game starts
- the galaxy starts with a 24 hr countdown when 500 players have signed in, or 76 hrs have passed, whichever comes first.
- you can queue up buildings and launch your scouts before the start, but time won't advance (no ticks will occur) for now.
- check the status screen (Main/Status) to see how long before galaxy starts.
- do NOT build any ships.

Getting the right Settings
- Access the settings by going to Main, Settings in your browser.
- Download and install the local image pack if this is the computer you use mostly to play (windows only), and set the option 'use local images'.
- Set the map quality to level 3 (good reason for this - ***).
- Set the map zoom level to whatever suits you.

Examine the Map
- To access the map, click Main, Map in your browser.
- you will see your homeworld surrounded by unexplored planets.
- The habitation attributes are pre-determined, but all unexplored planets use the same icon regardless of habitation.
- Colonised planets have an icon representative of their hab. As planets are bioformed, the icon used to represent the planet will gradually come to look like the homeworld of that species. (if you adjusted settings correctly - *** ).
- Each species has a specific set of habitation attributes, and all players of that species will have identical looking planets. With practice you will soon identify the hab of a planet by how similar or dissimilar that planet is from that species homeworld.
- click the starships icon next to your Homeworld and send 1 scout to each unexplored planet.
- The ships will not start moving until the game actually starts.

Building on your Homeworld
- Click on Empire, Buildings in your browser.
- Your homeworld starts the game at 80% efficiency (there are more Jobs than population).
- You can destroy the 50 labs to get 100% efficiency, but this will cripple your starting research. I suggest you leave the 50 labs for now.
- Queue 120-130 megapoli. Construction will commence at 10 buildings per tick when the game starts.

The first few ticks
- There should be nothing for you to do until your scouts arrive at and claim the first unexplored planets.
- Each tick, your homeworld population will grow (growth formula unknown) until there is no more space (accommodation) in your megas, 1 mega provides accommodation for 10k pop, the more empty accommodation you have, the faster the growth.
- Oomari scouts will take 2 game-turns (ticks) to arrive at their first planets, other scouts 3 ticks.
- Keep your scouts moving until you have claimed all visible planets.

Your first two colonies
- Click on Empire, Buildings to see the major attributes (hab %, ore %, size) of your planets as you claim them.
- Your starting resources are sufficient to colonise TWO good hab planets (68 or better), or one bad hab planet. Anything over 80% hab is a superb/rare find. Having good ore (over 70%) is a bonus.
- Select the two planets with the best hab, ore and size attributes (in that order), and colonise them.

Allocating the first 100 buildings on a colony
- You must have 1 scanner. You may build more, but it is a waste.
- You must place a minimum of 10 megas, 30-40 is recommended.
- 40 bioformers will take about 30 ticks to bioform a 70 hab planet (nanotech 1). Place more or less bioformers as you feel appropriate.
- It is worthhile to fill the remaining space with ore-mines or factories. A total of 15 of these Will give you 100% efficiency. Adding more will ensure Jobs for your pop as the population grows.

Establishing your economy
- First priority is to boost population growth. Build megas and ensure highest possible hab (100 hab) as soon as possible. Population = workers. Without workers, your factories are nothing.
- Second priority is Jobs. Try to ensure that you add Jobs (factories/ore-mines/labs) as fast as your population grows on each planet.
- Having too many Jobs is a waste. You are paying upkeep for buildings that aren't producing an income.
- Note that megas earn credits even if not occupied.
- I start new colonise with 20 to 30 economic buildings which gives poor efficiency and high upkeep, but this is irrelevant. 15 of the buildings will be used from the start, and as your pop grows (while you are waiting for the planet to bioform), the other buildings will be taken up anyway, increasing your income without you having built anything.
- Be careful that you have at least 1 mega for every 2 economic buildings by the time your planet is fully built-up, with a slight margin.

Economic Targets
- It costs 6 ore, 6 prod to build 1 building on a 100 hab planet. More if the planet is less than 100 hab.
- Each planet can build a maximum of 10 buildings per tick.
- Total building costs for a 100 hab planet is therefore 60 ore/prod per tick, for 10 buildings..
- Your first target is to get to an income of 60 ore / 60 production per turn, so you can sustain building on your homeworld. This should take about 12 turns depending on your species.
- Your second target is to get to an income of 120 o/p, so you can sustain building on two 100 hab planets.
- With daily bonuses, you should easily have enough resources to be able to build on your homeworld and your first two colonies at maximum speed within two days, and by then your Homeworld will be nearly done, and both colonies fully bioformed.
- Your third target is to get to an income of 300 o/p. At this stage, you can start developing your overall game strategy.

Midnight Bonus
- Click 1-24 banners each day, and you will be awarded an ore/prod bonus on the midnight tick. This is invaluable.
- The size of the midnight bonus is determined primarily by the number of planets you have colonised, and to a small extent by the number of banners you have clicked (24 maximum).

General Tips
- Building up your economy is more important than colonising. Never stop building to save resources, unless it is just for 1 or 2 ticks so that you can colonise before the midnight bonus.
- The exception is slow-growth species (sirnef/oomari). Its quite possible for your efficiency to drop significantly because you can add buildings faster than the population grows. In such cases, pause the queue for a few ticks, because adding buildings will only add to your upkeep, and not your income.
- As you colonise, you will reveal more planets. Grab as many greys as you can with your scouts.
- If you spot a neighbour (yellow planet) try to engage in a converstation by searching for his details on Main/Search, then click his name to send a message.
- Avoid getting into a war (waste of resources), if possible try to ally so that you can swap planets for best hab.
- Always colonise a border grey if possible over a planet with better hab, so that you stand a good chance of revealing more planets.