Tips

Use the keyboard for changing screens:
M = map
D = details
P = puzzles
T = technology
Space = pause
esc = main menu

Change the settings under 'OPTIONS' on the main menu to 'EASY', at least until you get the hang of the game. I also like the speed set at 'x2' so that projects will be completed faster. You need to do this for every game if you are playing more than 1 game at a time.

If you want time to go faster, quit the game and increase the time on your computer by 2 hours. Start the game again and 2 years have gone by. Don't jump more than 2 hours into the future at a time as your villagers may run out of food and starve. You can then buy technology or get a new project underway and jump 2 years into the future again and again and.... If you adjust the time on your computer past midnight be sure to increase the date by 1 as well. Otherwise you will accidentally jump into the past, which often has grave side effects for the villagers. You can push the space bar to pause the game before you reset the computer's time back to the correct time and that will save your villagers.

When the population is large and you are trying to get the adults on a certain task but the children keep getting in the way, click the drum.

Click on a project to see what percent completed it is.

Puzzles are not solved in order.

When you want a baby don't let them walk back to the hut. Keep an eye on the population count and keep trying until the population size increases.

Drop a villager on the cactus to increase their healing powers. Keep putting them back on the cactus until they learn and then they will continue studying the cactus and learn healing on their own.

When a mushroom first appears, press the space bar to pause the game. Then quickly put several children on the mushroom then press the space bar again to start the game. Each child will carry a mushroom back to the food bin.

Always use a child to heal anyone who is sick. That is the only skill a child can be taught and when they reach 14 years old they will heal the sick on their own even if you are not around. The sick hang out around the well or the lower cemetery as if they don't have confidence in your healing abilities. If a villager coughs when you pick them up then they are sick and must be cured or else.

Keep an eye out for mushrooms, especially at the beginning of the game until you buy Level 2 Farming. Only children can pick them up and the mushrooms may desperately be needed for food in the future.

Don't let villagers waste their time trying to push the boulder.

Pause the game if you will not be playing again for a long time.

To get to a different part of the map quickly, push 'm' then click where you want to go.

Make sure not all your farmers are old.

Click the mask to the right of the words: Puzzles, Map, Tech, and Menu for more tips.