Beginners Guide

Welcome to the **Stronghold Kingdoms™**  Beginners' Guide. If you are completely new to the game, this is the best place to learn all the basic features.

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## Getting Started

Before you can play **Stronghold Kingdoms™**, you must first create an account at the Stronghold Kingdoms Login Site. Once you have completed the sign-up and logged in, you will be able to download the client from the link on the accounts page.

## Launching the client and logging in

After installing the game, double-click the desktop icon to run the launcher. The client will download any updates to ensure you have the latest version.

Once this is complete, you will then be able to log in using the email address and password you signed up with. You may now choose which world you would like to play in. Select a world and you will be presented with the *Enter World* screen.

Press the *Random* button to be randomly assigned a village anywhere on the World Map, or go to *Manual* to select where on the map you would like to spawn your village.

Have a look around the map, then select one of the squares. Once you are happy with the location, click *Enter Game*. You are now ready to begin playing **Stronghold Kingdoms™**!

*Having trouble with the game? You can get support here http://support.strongholdkingdoms.com/*

## Tutorial

Once in the game we strongly suggest completing the Stronghold Kingdoms tutorial. This will take you through some of the basics of the, game step-by step, to help get you started. While completing the tutorial, you will also be given rewards for doing so. Just follow the instructions on screen.

**Please note**: You can exit the tutorial at any time by clicking the 'X' in the top right corner of the tutorial screen. If you change your mind and wish to complete the tutorial, you can resume it from where you left off by clicking on *Help* and *Resume Tutorial*.

## Locating your Village

Once you have entered the game, the first screen you will see is the *World Map* - this is an overview of everything which is happening in the game world. The other villages around you are other players; the village with a yellow shield above it is yours. By default it will automatically be selected when you log in.

To navigate the world map, press down on the left mouse button and drag, use the arrow keys on your keyboard, or click and hold the left mouse/pad button and drag the map. To zoom in and out of the world, either click the right mouse/pad button to zoom out and the left button to zoom in, or simply use the mouse scroll wheel.

To quickly return to your village, select one of the arrows located on the grey toolbar at the top of the screen (please see image below), or click on the name of your village in the *user interface* on the right-hand side of the screen.

## Peacetime

When starting the game for the first time, you will this start with 5 days peacetime. This means no players can attack you during this peacetime, although the ai can attack you. Peacetime can be cancelled at anytime, to cancel peacetime, attack any player in the game. Peacetime for re-spawning/old players is 3 days.

## Interface

The main *user interface* (UI) bar for Stronghold Kingdoms allows access to all the main areas of the game as well as showing vital information.

## Village

To succeed in the game, you will need a well-built village. Your first village will already contain three buildings:

## Placing Buildings

The first things that your village needs are wood and stone, which are used to build buildings, and apples, which are used to feed your peasants. Most buildings in your village require a peasant for them to function.

To start building, click on one of the buttons on the building interface:

*For more information, please see Buildings.*

## Popularity

Popularity is one of the determining factors in how fast peasants arrive/leave your village. It is also a major factor in how much honour a village will produce per day.

Popularity is displayed on the right of the screen in the village *user interface*. The number displayed at the top shows the overall popularity. This represents the total of the numbers listed below it. The higher the total, the faster peasants arrive, providing there is hovel space for them.

**TIP:** New players are given three (3) help events. *Beginners' help* provides: +10 popularity (lasts for 48 hours), *Welcome Bonus* (+10 popularity, lasts 24 hours), and *New Player* (+10 popularity, lasts 12 hours).

## Honour

Honour is one of the most important aspects of **Stronghold Kingdoms™**; it allows you to rank up, which in turn gives you research points, and also allows you to attack other players.
The overall honour per day for your village is displayed to the right of the village screen, at the bottom of the village *user interface*. Honour can be affected by many factors, most importantly, popularity. Clicking on the crown icon in the village *user interface*, opens up the honour information panel. This section displays the Honour Multiplier, these are multiplied by your Popularity to give your overall total honour per day.

Determining factors are:

* **Churches** - Placing chapels/churches/cathedrals in your village will give varying levels of honour multiplier according to type. These may be researched in the *Theology* section of the *research tree*.
* **Decorative** - Completing the relevant research *Decoration* will allow you to place a number and variety of decorative buildings (statues, gardens etc.) in your village. The closer they are to the hall, the higher the honour multiplier they generate.
* **Justice** - Researching *Justice* allows justice buildings (stocks etc.) to be built. As with decorative buildings, the closer they are to the hall, the larger the honour multiplier you will receive.
* **Arts Research** - Researching *Arts* increases the honour multiplier.
* **Parish Bonus** - This honour multiplier is increased by a Town garden and statues placed within the *parish capital* by the Parish Steward, the parish Town Garden may be upgraded to increase this honour multiplier .
* **Cards** - When in play, certain cards, such as *Basic Culture*, increase your honour multiplier.

Your village's honour per day is calculated by multiplying the total of the above factors by your overall popularity figure. The current amount of honour already earned is displayed in the top-left corner of the screen.

You can also make honour by successfully defending your castle, Banquets, attacking AI, being the first to scout a stash and from some strategy cards.

**TIP:** Always make sure your castle is enclosed - if not, it will have a negative impact on your popularity and therefore your honour.

## Research

Research is a fundamental part of the **Stronghold Kingdoms™** experience. When a new player starts, they are given eight (8) research points to use. Three (3) more research points are given each time the player ranks up. Alternatively, points may be purchased for gold; however, each time a point is bought using gold, the price of the next research point increases.

Points are spent on researching new skills, which are selected from the *research tree*. These open up new buildings, troop types, food types, features etc. Research takes a certain length of time, with this length increasing each time more research is completed. Certain researches require a player to be of a minimum rank before they can be started, this is shown by a number in a shield on the research. Once completed, certain branches of research open up new options.

You may carry out one level of research at a time, if you are playing a *Premium Token,* this allows you to queue up to five (5) levels of research.

There are two (2) views in the research screen - *branch* and *tree* view. The branch view shows all currently available research, as well as any buildings or branches these may unlock, while the tree view shows the entire research tree for the game.

Suggested researches for new players:

## Ranks

When first starting out, all players begin at the same rank, “Village Idiot”. There are 23 different rank titles - the later ones containing sub ranks within.

Increasing your rank requires *honour*, which can be gained in various ways. The cost, in honour, of promoting through the ranks increases at each new rank title. In addition to increasing the number of vassals you may have, certain ranks allow specific research, e.g. the ability to own more villages.

Each rank or sub rank promotion gives you three (3) research points to use for new technologies and skills.

*Please see Ranks for more information.*

## Strategy Cards

 Strategy Cards are modifiers which can affect almost all areas of the game; they can enhance for example, a building's production rate, the strength of walls, or how quickly a building is completed, etc. The length of time which a card lasts differs on a card-by-card basis.

The *strategy cards* icon appears on the majority of screens - clicking on it will allow you to play, swap, or purchase cards. When you click on the cards icon, cards relating to the screen you are in will be shown. However, you may view all of your cards by selecting the grey *All Your Cards* button at the top of the cards interface or by clicking on the cards icon shown on the top centre of the screen.

* Next to the name is the *grade* of card - in this case, bronze. Cards come in four (4) grades; bronze, silver, gold and diamond. The cost of the card is relative to its grade and its effect.
* Across the bottom is the description of what the card does; hovering the cursor over the card gives more information about its effect.
* The number in the bottom-right indicates the rank needed to play the card; if the player's rank isn't currently high enough, the card will be black and white, with the rank symbol highlighted.

## Premium Tokens

Premium Tokens offer additional benefits (please see the table below), there two types of premium tokens which may be purchased; seven (7) day, which cost 30 Firefly crowns, and 30 day, costing 100 crowns. Tokens may be bought and played through the *cards interface*. The Auto Trading/Scouting/Attacking/Recruiting occur approximately once every two (2) to four (4) hours when you are logged out.

## Player Guide

The Player Guide provides links to essential screens and areas of the game. It can be accessed from the world map at any time by clicking on the advisor icon in the bottom left corner, or from the **Help** menu at the top of the user interface.

## Further Reading and Suggestions

You now know the basics of **Stronghold Kingdoms™**; however, there is still a great deal to discover, so why not click on the links below to learn more?

* World Map
* Castles
* Troops
* Units
* Factions & Houses
* Parishes & Capitals