How to play guide

RimWorld Beginner's Guide: Day One, Stockpiles, Growing Zones, Work Priorities and Mood

A RimWorld starter guide: choosing a scenario and storyteller, first-day setup, stockpile and growing zones, work priorities, food, mood, drafting colonists and default keys.

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RimWorld is Ludeon Studios' sci-fi colony sim. You do not steer your crash survivors directly; you give them jobs, zones and priorities, and they live out their own needs, traits and relationships. What sets it apart from a typical builder is the AI storyteller that deals out raids, illnesses, passing traders and surprises.

This guide is for players building their first colony, starving through their first winter, or wondering why a colonist suddenly stopped working and locked themselves in their room. We stick to the base game without expansions or mods.

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Below you will find the core loop, default PC keys, first steps, tips, common mistakes and FAQs.

Goal of the game

Your goal is to keep the colony alive and help it grow. Colonists need food, sleep, recreation and comfort; when those needs go unmet their mood drops, and below certain thresholds they can suffer a mental break. So the game is as much about keeping people happy as it is about building walls.

Each game you choose a storyteller and a difficulty. The Steam page describes them this way: Cassandra Classic builds rising tension, Phoebe Chillax gives long breathers between disasters, and Randy Random does crazy stuff. There are win conditions such as escaping the planet, but for most players the real point is the story the colony writes.

Controls

Key	Action
`Space`	Pause / unpause
`1 · 2 · 3`	Normal · fast · superfast speed
`W A S D`	Pan the camera
`Mouse wheel`	Zoom in / out
`Left click`	Select; place zones or buildings
`Right click (colonist selected)`	Context orders (prioritize, go here, pick up)
`Tab`	Architect menu: build, zones, orders
`F1`	Work tab
`F2`	Schedule tab
`F3`	Assign tab
`F4 · F5`	Animals · Wildlife
`F6 · F7`	Research · Quests
`F8`	Toggle world map
`R`	Draft / undraft selected colonist
`Esc`	Cancel / menu

First steps

Start classic and gentleCrashlanded is the most balanced first scenario: three colonists and some supplies. In the difficulty list, the in-game descriptions recommend peaceful and community builder for new players. Cassandra Classic or Phoebe Chillax are good first storytellers.
Keep the tutor onThe game offers a tutorial and shows hint notes in the corner as you play. Leave them on for your first colony; it is the fastest way to learn what sits in each Architect category.
First job: a stockpilePress Tab for the Architect menu and draw a stockpile from the Zone category. Items scattered by the crash will be hauled there. Moving the stockpile under a roof later keeps things from deteriorating in the weather.
Open a growing zoneDraw a growing zone from the same category and pick a crop. Soil fertility affects growth; the plant's info box tells you how long it takes to mature. Start with food crops and leave luxuries for later.
Beds and a roofFor the first night place sleeping spots from Furniture, then build a small walled barracks. Sleeping on the ground or outdoors hurts mood. Enclosed spaces get roofed automatically; use the roof overlay to check.
Set work prioritiesOpen the Work tab with F1 and tick which jobs each colonist does; let the best cook cook and the best miner mine. Enable manual priorities to rank jobs with numbers 1-4.
Build a cooking spotBuild a campfire or fueled stove from Production and add a meal bill. Raw food hurts mood. Setting the bill to 'do until X' makes the cook stop once stock is full.
Plan cold storageFood spoils in heat. Once you have power, put a cooler in an enclosed room to make a freezer, with the hot side venting outside. Until then keep food stocks small and fresh.
Start researchBuild a research bench and pick a project from the Research tab (F6). Early goals are usually electricity and better cooking or crafting benches; the tab shows what each project unlocks.

Tips and tactics

Pause oftenPausing with Space to give orders is not cheating, it is how the game is played. When a raid arrives, someone gets hurt or an important letter pops up, pause first and think second.
Don't forget the home areaColonists only clean, repair and extinguish fires inside the home area. Make sure new buildings are included using Expand home area.
Read mood from the Needs tabSelect a colonist and open Needs to see exactly what is hurting their mood: sleeping outside, ugly surroundings, raw food, lack of recreation. Find the cause in the list instead of guessing.
Use the scheduleThe Schedule tab (F2) lets you assign sleep, work, recreation or anything for each hour. In the same tab you can restrict allowed areas to keep colonists away from danger.
Drafting stops workColonists drafted with R only follow your orders; the in-game description says they will not work, eat or rest. Undraft them when the danger is over.
Defend at a choke pointColonists scattered in the open are easy targets. Grouping behind cover such as sandbags and meeting enemies in a narrow passage cuts losses; check the Security category of the Architect menu.
Choose your huntsMark animals for hunting in the Wildlife tab (F5). Some animals fight back; read the notes in the info box before sending a colonist after something big.
Make a dumping zoneDraw a separate dumping stockpile for rock chunks and junk so your main stockpile stays tidy and haulers do not waste trips.
Know your save modeNew game settings let you choose Reload Anytime or single-save Commitment mode. On your first colony Reload Anytime lets you learn from mistakes without losing everything.
Leave the Workshop for laterThe Steam page lists Steam Workshop support for mods. Still, a vanilla first run makes it easier to tell whether a problem comes from the game or a mod.

Common mistakes

Leaving the stockpile outdoors: items deteriorate in the weather and food rots.
Letting everyone do every job: the worst cook ends up cooking; assign roles in the Work tab.
Cooking huge food stocks before a freezer exists: meals spoil and effort is wasted.
Forgetting to undraft: drafted colonists do not work or eat.
Ignoring mood: raw food, sleeping outside and no recreation pile up until a mental break is unavoidable.
Starting on the hardest setting: the in-game descriptions recommend high difficulties for experienced players.

Frequently asked questions

Is RimWorld available in Turkish?

Yes. The Steam page lists Turkish, and Ludeon's official translation repository includes a Turkish translation. Change the language from the main menu.

Is it single-player or multiplayer?

According to its Steam categories RimWorld is single-player; there is no official multiplayer mode.

Which storyteller should I pick?

Per the Steam description, Cassandra Classic builds rising tension, Phoebe Chillax leaves longer gaps between events and Randy Random is fully random. Cassandra or Phoebe gives a more predictable first game.

Why do my colonists stop working?

Most likely their mood is low and near a mental break. Select them and check the Needs tab; a proper bed, cooked meals and recreation are the usual fixes.

Can I use mods?

Yes, the Steam page lists Steam Workshop support. Mods depend on the game version, so check compatibility after updates.

Which platforms is it on?

Our game page lists Windows, Mac and Linux.

This guide was written for version: Guide written in September 2026 for the base game without expansions. Keys can be rebound under Options > Keyboard; expansions and mods may add tabs.