How to play Kingdom Rising — your first ten minutes
Kingdom Rising is a free browser strategy game: build a kingdom, train an army and raid real players. This guide walks through exactly what to do from the moment the map loads. Watch the 100-second tutorial first if you prefer, then follow the steps below.
Step by step
Minute 1 — place your Town Hall and get producing
Your Town Hall is the centre of everything: it sets your army capacity and gates which buildings you can unlock. Straight after it, put down a Gold Mine and a Farm. They produce around the clock, even while the tab is closed, so the sooner they exist the faster everything else moves.
Minutes 2-4 — collect, then upgrade the economy first
Tap the floating gold and food icons above your producers to bank them. New players almost always over-invest in defense too early. Upgrade Gold Mine, Farm and Storage first: without Storage capacity your resources cap out and production is wasted.
Minutes 4-6 — build Barracks and train an army
Barracks give you army space and training queue slots, and higher levels train troops faster. Start with Militia (cheap, fast) and add Archers as soon as your Town Hall allows. Troops cost food, so a Farm shortage is an army shortage.
Minutes 6-8 — put up towers and walls
Defense Towers fire automatically at attacking troops, with damage scaling by level and falling off with distance. Walls exist to buy your towers time, not to be unbreakable. Keep towers close enough that their ranges overlap over your Storage and Town Hall.
Minutes 8-10 — your first raid
Open Attack, pick a target and use the 20-second scouting window to actually look at the base before you commit. Choose which troops to bring, deploy away from tower clusters, and remember: surviving troops come home. Only the ones killed are lost.
After the battle — shields and repairs
When your base is attacked, you get a 24-hour shield so you can rebuild in peace, and damaged buildings repair over time. You can spend gems to repair a building instantly. While a shield is active nobody can attack you, and the remaining time is shown on your HUD.
What your first upgrades actually cost
Level 2 costs, straight from the game's own data.
| Building | Gold | Food | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold Mine | 233 | 155 | 26 min |
| Farm | 155 | 233 | 26 min |
| Barracks | 388 | 310 | 41 min |
| Defense Tower | 465 | 233 | 47 min |
Want every level? The upgrade cost calculator lists costs, build times and gem rush prices for all 40 levels.
Which troop should you train first?
Militia
Cheap and fast. Great for swarming.
56 damage · 180 HP · 1 army space · 40 food · 8 min to train · unlocks at Town Hall 1
Archer
Strikes from range, takes less damage back.
88 damage · 140 HP · 2 army space · 90 food · 15 min to train · unlocks at Town Hall 2
Knight
Balanced frontline fighter.
184 damage · 520 HP · 4 army space · 220 food · 40 min to train · unlocks at Town Hall 3
Beginner questions
What should I upgrade first in Kingdom Rising?
Economy before defense: Gold Mine, Farm, then Storage. Storage sets the maximum gold and food you can hold, so upgrading it prevents production from being wasted once you cap out.
Do I lose my troops when I attack?
Only the troops that are actually killed in the battle are lost. Every surviving troop returns to your army when the raid ends.
How do shields work?
After your base is raided you automatically receive a 24-hour shield. Nobody can attack you while it is active, and the remaining time is displayed on your HUD.
Can I speed up upgrades?
Yes. Every upgrade shows a live countdown and a Finish Now option that costs gems. The gem price scales with the remaining time and the building level.
Get the iOS app or share the kingdom
Kingdom Rising is on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, and it stays free in any browser. Same account either way.
Download on the App Store