Light Green:

Starting Out: If you begin with only a ship or an escort, purchase all available wood from Lord Northburgh's Warehouse. For an aggressive start, sell fish and buy as many tools as possible.

Island Selection: Aim for a large, flat island with no lakes, close to a neutral port, centrally located, and possessing Cider and Hemp fertility, plus at least two deposits each of Stone and Iron Ore. Settle on the southern end, as initial deliveries come from the south. Later, build Harbor Master's Offices on other sides for faster deliveries.

First Settlement: Immediately after landing, build three woodcutters near your warehouse port, ensuring they have space to operate at 100%. Use the construction menu to add Trees around them if needed. Build two Fisherman's Huts adjacent to the port and connect them with roads.

Housing and Taxes: Construct a Marketplace and surround it with as many houses as your current wood supply allows. Increase taxes from 'Euphoric' to 'Happy' to encourage new settlers while boosting income. Once peasant houses are full, raise taxes to 'Calm' to maximize revenue, but remember to revert to 'Euphoric' for house upgrades.

Cider and Chapel: Once 60 peasants have settled, build one or two Cider farms and connect them to a warehouse. Cider increases tax revenue and is required for citizens to ascend. Do not build a Chapel until peasants are satisfied with cider, as it only incurs maintenance costs.

Exploration: While building or after, send your Flagship to explore the archipelago to claim good islands. Visit Northburgh again and buy a Diplomatic Scroll with your 50 honor points (earned at 90 peasants). Purchase all available Tools and Wood.

Al Zahir's Scroll: Deliver the Diplomatic Scroll to Al Zahir's harbor. You will receive a Caravel with Tools, Wood, and Dates. Send this ship back to your main island to aid in building Stone and Tool production, or use it to start your Oriental settlement.

Stone and Tool Production: While exploring, continue city growth. Prioritize producing Stone and Tools independently. Block house ascension after reaching 16 Citizen houses (240 capacity) to conserve tools. Build enough Fish, Cider, and one Chapel. Construct one or two Stonemason's huts for stone, then build your Tool chain: Iron Ore mine, Charcoal burner, and two Tool maker's workshops connected to a Market. Sell buildings if necessary to expedite the Tool chain.

Citizen Needs: With Tools production active, focus on Linen Garments (two chains of Hemp Farms and one Weavers Hut) and Ropes (two Hemp Farms and two Rope Yards for sale and ship production). Set up a second Tools chain. Once you exceed 355 Citizens, ensure all houses are covered by Carpenters or Fire stations; Fire stations are more cost-effective until late game.

Oriental Development: Settle a large Oriental island with Spices and Dates fertility. Build 10 Nomad Houses (for 150 Nomads to enable Spice production). Build one Date plantation and a Noria if in a desert area. Once 150 Nomads settle, build Spice plantations and use a Trade Route to deliver Spices to your northern island. Aim for at least 440 Nomads (30 houses) for building access and honor rewards. Build Milk farms for tax income but postpone Carpet production. Raise taxes to 'Calm' when houses are full. A Stonecutter's hut is useful for warehouse upgrades and Tool chains. The Bath house is the only Oriental building requiring stone, needed later.

Northern Development: With Spices, Citizens can become Patricians. Settle a new northern island with Brine deposits, a river, and Crop and Herb fertility (you may need multiple islands). Build production chains for Bread (2x Crop Farm, 1x Mill, 1x Bakery), Beer (1x Monastery Garden, 1x Crop Farm, 1x Monastery Brewery), and Leather Jerkins (4x Pigs, 1x Salt Mine over Brine, 1x Salt Works, 1x Charcoal Burner, 2x Tannery over river). Use ships for deliveries to your main island and sell surplus. Use Honor points to upgrade trading fleets of Al Vizir and Northburgh.