Timberborn: Beginner's Guide Timberborn - guide, tips
Timberborn is a game about managing a colony of beavers. On this page you will learn about the starting tips that every beginning player should be familiar with.
Last update: 06 July 2022
Our beginner's guide will show you how to get started in the game Timberborn. We explain the basics of building and managing your colony. You'll learn where to start and what to pay attention to before the first drought.
- Start with basic buildings
- Collect science points and purchase the platform
- Purchase stairs with science points
- Have constant access to trees
- Keep an eye out for slackers!
- Water wheel and power wheel
- Build roads
- Natural dams
- Use explosives
- Pay attention to the distance limit
- Build dams
- Adjust the working hours
- Remember that food provides bonuses
Start with basic buildings
When you first begin the game, immediately start building structures that provide critical resources. Before the first drought, you should have:
- at least 2 lumberjack flags and a log warehouse;
- a gatherer flag and a warehouse for food;
- a water pump and several small water tanks;
- a farmhouse and a carrot field.
Lumberjacks will provide a fresh supply of the most essential resource - logs. Without them, you won't be able to build anything. Place the gatherer flag near the blueberry shrubs, and the Water Pump on the bank of a flowing river or similar body of water.
Place the farmhouse in a green area, as your crops can only grow on well-irrigated land.
Collect science points and purchase the platform
From the start of the game, it's recommended to construct at least 1 inventor's building. Some science points are required to buy crucial buildings or facilities, such as the platform, which costs 100 points. Platforms can be used to build simple bridges that will grant your beavers access to neighboring irrigated islands or areas.
As your colony grows, invest in more inventor buildings to quickly collect science points for new types of workshops that can produce gears, paper, and metal blocks.
Purchase stairs with science points
The next key structure you should unlock are the stairs. They will lead you to previously inaccessible areas containing trees and shrubs. Stairs are also useful for saving space while constructing multi-story houses or warehouses.
Your beavers can cross water, as long as it isn't too deep. Build stairs on both sides of the coastline so that your workers may readily go to nearby islands.
Stairs are also essential for aquatic farmhouses. The entrance to the aquatic farmhouse can't be flooded, so it's best to build it at a river bank.
Have constant access to trees
After you've given your beavers the basic means of survival, it's time to build a water wheel and a wood workshop. Planks can be used to construct not just platforms and stairs, but also a forester's house, who will then plant new trees.
Don't forget to label trees intended for logging; otherwise, your beavers won't know which trees to turn into logs. You will find the corresponding tool at the bottom of the screen - it's the 2nd icon from the left.
Plan the perfect area for a forest and plant birch trees, since they need the least amount of time to fully grow. If you've ran out of trees, seek out the nearest woods (even withered trunks in dry areas will do) and build a road leading there. Place a lumberjack flag a suitable distance to the center of the district so that the workers can reach the work site.
Keep an eye out for slackers!
The population of your colony is displayed in the upper left corner of the screen. The numbers at the bottom represent, from left:
- the number of working beavers,
- the number of vacancies whose buildings have been temporarily closed,
- the number of non-working beavers.
A lazy beaver is a freeloading beaver. Find them a job or employ them at a hauling post. Every set of paws is useful while transporting materials to warehouses or building sites.
You can employ non-working beavers in buildings such as the district center or the hauling post, as long as there is available space. If a newly built facility requires a worker, remove one full-time position from the hauling post. However, keep in mind that the fewer carriers you have at your disposal, the slower your colony's transportation network will be.
Water wheel and power wheel
Some production buildings will require power. Early in the game, you can provide power with water and power wheels.
Water wheels should be placed in water where its current is strong, preferably near waterfalls. A well-placed water wheel will be able to produce enough power to supply several buildings.
When the drought comes, the water wheels will stop working. To counteract this, it's a good idea to plan your factories so that there is room left to build power wheels next to them. The power wheel requires a worker and it will only generate 50 power units.
The power wheels will prevent your colony's output from dropping even during a protracted drought. Mills will continue grinding wheat and cattails, and workshops will keep producing materials to expand the city.
Build roads
All buildings and bridges should be connected by roads. If you don't see any workers approaching a tree, plant, or dam listed for removal, make sure they have access to said object. Sometimes it's enough to build a road nearby, other times stairs or platforms will be required.
Building roads uses up no resources and you'll be able to remove them at any time.
Natural dams
All crops need well-watered land. Trees and shrubs won't grow on dry soil. There are various ways to irrigate the new areas you're planning to add to your colony.
On the map, you will find natural dams that can be removed by one of your workers. Select the barrier and click on destroy. If your workers can reach said barrier (i.e. there are roads nearby or a bridge in case the barrier is on another island), they will remove it after a while, and the area behind it will be flooded. Remember that if the region is at the same or lower level as the flowing river, it will be flooded.
Use explosives
Explosives can be made in a special workshop, and you'll require paper to produce them. When you have enough explosives, you will be able to modify the terrain to your liking.
Make use of the landscape's existing valleys to create lakes, or build a network of narrow rivers to ensure that water reaches even the locations farthest from the main source.
Pay attention to the distance limit
Each district center has a set distance within which other structures should be built. You can check the district center's range by clicking on the building.
The distance of a building from the district's center can't exceed the red line marked on the road. No worker will reach such a building. The color of the line also indicates the speed at which the carriers will reach the building in question. If you need to get supplies to a faraway building fast, place a Hauling Post near it or assign a high priority to the structure.
Build dams
Dams are a great way to retain water for the duration of the drought. In this case, make sure the tank holding the water is deep enough to keep you hydrated for an extended period of time.
Build a dam to cut off the lake from the main river, for example. When the drought comes and the river dries up, the blocked reservoir will remain irrigated. The deeper the tank, the longer the water will keep.
Another approach to irrigate land during a drought is with a strategically placed water dump. This building dumps the water brought by the workers and helps to keep the area green. Try placing a water dump near a riverbed to irrigate a nearby forest or farmhouse.
Adjust the working hours
What good is rest and sleep when your colony is on the verge of extinction? Adjusting the working hours of the beavers is another key tool in the game.
The beavers' basic working time is 16 hours. You can modify these hours as needed by using the plus and minus icons in the top right corner of the screen. If you find yourself in a situation where a drought is approaching and your colony has not yet prepared enough resources, force them to work harder. This will allow you to gather more water and food as well as produce resources in the workshops.
Remember that food provides bonuses
Your beavers' diet will consist of blueberries at first, and all they do is satisfy their hunger. In contrast, all the vegetables you can cultivate provide lots of interesting bonuses, such as having your workers complete their jobs quicker or lift more resources at a time.
Click on any beaver and check out all the bonuses you can gain for eating and satisfying other needs, such as social life or knowledge.