23 Pop Fast Castle Boom — Arena
Steps 11 · 6 → 25 pop · ~14 min
Source: Hera
Recommended Civilizations
Race to Castle Age off a clean 23-pop economy on a closed map, then snowball with extra Town Centers before the opponent can punish you.
Step Timeline
Follow the villager rail and resource-split columns while you play.
14 
7 
2 Castle 25 vils 14:00 14 6 2 Opening
6 steps · pop 6–21Bld - 6 6000
6 → sheep under the Town Center - 9 6300
+3 → wood, build a Lumber Camp - 11 8300
+1 → lure the first boar; +1 → House, then a Mill on the berries ↳ Lure the 3 deer with the scout to stretch your food
- 13 10300 +2 → hunt; lure the second boar when food runs low
- 17 14300
+4 → berries ↳ As the boars run out, re-task those villagers onto 4 new farms
- 21 14700 +4 → wood on a single Lumber Camp
Feudal
2 steps · pop 23–25 10:30Bld - 23 14720 +2 → gold, then click Feudal Age 10:30
↳ Spend as little time in Feudal as possible
- 25 14623
Feudal: 1 → Blacksmith, 2 → Market (use straggler-tree villagers); +2 → wood
Castle
3 steps · pop 25 14:00Bld - 25 14623
Click Castle Age; research Double-Bit Axe and Horse Collar 14:00 - 25 14623
Castle: drop a new Lumber Camp and your extra Town Centers; research Bow Saw; seed more farms - 25 14623
Keep booming — Wheelbarrow near 18 farms, then Hand Cart; add a 4th TC off a stone mine; buy food/wood at Market as needed
Strategy Notes
- This build trades all early military for economy, so it only works behind walls — Arena, Hideout, Black Forest, or a fully sealed Arabia pocket. Wall before you commit.
- Keep Feudal as short as possible: the only Feudal buildings are a Market and Blacksmith to unlock the upgrades and trading you need, then click straight to Castle around 14:00.
- The moment Castle lands, your wood economy pays off — drop a fresh Lumber Camp and your extra Town Centers, then research Bow Saw so the booming villagers keep up with demand.
- Stack Town Centers (3, then a 4th off a stone mine) and ride the villager count up; pick up Wheelbarrow near 18 farms and Hand Cart shortly after to keep the food flowing.
- Use the Market to flatten resource spikes during the boom — buy food or wood when one stockpile balloons so you never idle Town Centers.
- When you stop booming, commit to one gold unit, one trash unit, and one siege unit, then push into Imperial with an economy the opponent cannot match.