Dwarf Fortress: Tutorial TOC

Dwarf Fortress: The Tutorial

Dwarf Fortress is a notoriously complicated game. It's a full-throated simulation of a fantasy world with everything from legendary cyclops attacks to secret vampire crimes. Also, there are no graphics.

I love this game. I want you to love it, too. Unfortunately, a lot of places overwhelm you with a lot of irrelevant details when they try to get new players started. I want my tutorial to be streamlined, simple, and amusing to play through. That's why comments are enabled on the pages - if something doesn't make sense, or you get confused, or lost, or frustrated, let me know. I want to make the best damn tutorial you've ever played.

Table of Contents

Each page has links to the previous and next pages. This is just a reference.

1) Setup - How to download and configure Dwarf Fortress. OS and version agnostic. 

2) Starting the Game - Creating a world, selecting a site, picking dwarves and supplies.

3) Decoding the View - How to read the graphics and use the interface

4) Exploring the Views - How to use the different tools in the game to understand and interact with the world

5) Getting Started With Your Fort - Building the bare neccessities, getting used to buildings, tasks and designations

6) Economy and Dwarves - Trade, dining rooms, and more!

7) Homefort Security - Constructions, traps, and military squads.

8) Military Management - Equipment, scheduling and waypoints

8) Misc - Dead dwarves, moody dwarves, and other conditions that can pop up (plus other things to try)