Hello guys! To those who are just beginning the game...these are the steps I follow to get started. You may have your own methods. These are some tips for getting started. I could write a novel here, so this will be done in sections as I think of something helpful, or as required by questions. The game always begins with 6 villagers. One is always a child. As anxious as we are to increase our population, I strongly suggest you do not begin populating your village until your food supply is ample, as the children eat as much as the parents, and some of those crops take 5 hours + to come up! Also the nursing mother will do nothing but care for the baby for 2 years. (I have yet to determine how many hours that is in game time.) We don't want a valuable researcher sitting doing nothing so early in the game. And children will not work until they are 14 years old.

I have been through the entire game a lot now. I never tire of it, as the villagers are always different...some are stubborn with minds of their own, some are great workers, etc...I find the game exciting and fun each time I play and can't wait to see what surprises the game has in store. It is different every time, and I love it! The puzzles remain the same, but the game throws different surprises your way...'to drink the fizzy liquid or not to drink it?' Hmmmm. I click yes for help regardless of how well I know the game. I personally do this with every game.

The adults in each game can vary in the number of each sex. I have had games start with 4 men, and 2 women, 3 of each and with 4 women and 2 men. I have never seen 5 of one sex and only one of the other. And of course you have 1 child. One of your villagers will ALWAYS come with building skills, and most likely carry the title of builder trainee. ALL jobs can be done by either sex. I immediately make one villager a farmer by clicking one of them, and then clicking details, and checking the farming box. (you can also change their first name from the details box.) One will already be a builder, and that leaves us with 4. I click all 4 remaining villagers individually and then click details, and I make them ALL researchers. I do this to ensure that the tech points from researching will begin to build. Try and get those points to purchase the second level of farming BEFORE the farmer you selected to forage has picked the berry bush clean. You could find yourself in trouble if this happens.

Drag all 4 of your researchers to the research table, as your builder will be building the first hut, and your farmer will be foraging. Remember your villagers are very curious, and tend to wander off to explore other things. Keep dragging them back to the research table. If they look at you and say "Uh Uh" LOL Just say "Uh Huh!" and drag them back to the table, they will eventually catch on to the research idea. Once your builder has completed the first hut, there is not much else he can do until you purchase the 2nd level of construction.

He can clean up the shipwreck debris on the beach, but I still let him do research to get those points as I know it will be a while before I have level 3 in farming which is fishing, so the debris on the beach is not important yet. I click on my builder and then click details, and check research. ( Once again, the villagers name can also be changed from the details screen.) Whatever job you have checked will be the dominant job they do, although they will do others providing they have some skill in the job. My builder is now researching and adding to the tech points instead of standing or wandering around doing nothing.

The first thing I purchase is level 2 of farming. In the beginning of the game, it is crucial to be able to supply food, otherwise you find yourself with no villagers, due to starvation. OK we have enough points for level 2 of farming finally. Go to Tech, click buy on farming. The game will give you level one of all the items in tech in the beginning. You must work for the others. OK, we just purchased level 2 of farming! You will see the soil just below the research table looks like it has been tilled. Now take your farmer and drop him in this soil. He will begin to plant and water crops. It might take him a few tries, so be patient. At this time, I click one of my researchers, and click details and check farming. Now my researcher is doing farming. So I have 2 villagers working on planting and watering crops. Please remember you can change the job of any villager at anytime by click on them, then details, and check the job you want them to do. Remember they are untrained in the beginning in the new job and need time to learn. If they walk away from the new job, drag them back. Continue doing so until they are doing the new job.

When a villager is carrying something, be it a bowl of berries, veggies, laundry, a fish, etc...DO NOT pick them up! If you do, they drop the item they are carrying. The women will not drop the babies though. Now if you want a farmer who is doing laundry to harvest the crops, pick him anyway and let the laundry fall, because he is needed to do something more important than laundry. You may click on villagers carrying items, but do not pick them up, unless the item they are carrying is unimportant. (laundry) Laundry is not an issue in the beginning, but it is one the lagoon blockage is cleared.