> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/openfrontio/OpenFrontIO/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Core Gameplay
> Master the fundamental mechanics of territory expansion, resource management, and combat in OpenFront
OpenFront is a real-time strategy game where you expand your territory, manage resources, and compete against other players to control the map.
## Territory Expansion
Expand your territory by conquering adjacent tiles. Your border tiles determine where you can expand next.
Border tiles are automatically calculated based on neighboring territories. Focus expansion on strategic positions.
### How Territory Works
Your territory consists of all tiles you control. The game automatically tracks:
* **Border Tiles**: Tiles adjacent to enemy or neutral territory
* **Interior Tiles**: Tiles completely surrounded by your own territory
* **Territory Size**: Total number of tiles owned determines victory progress
To win the game, you need to control a specific percentage of the map's total tiles. Monitor your territory size relative to the win condition.
## Resource Management
OpenFront features two primary resources that fuel your expansion:
Gold is the primary currency used to build units and structures.
**Earning Gold:**
* Passive income based on territory size
* Trade ships arriving at ports
* Trains delivering goods via railroads
* Conquering enemy players (inherit their gold)
* Workers generating steady income
**Spending Gold:**
* Building military units (warships, nukes)
* Constructing structures (ports, cities, defense posts)
* Upgrading existing structures to higher levels
Gold income scales with your territory and structures. Larger empires generate more passive gold per turn.
Troops (also called manpower) are required to attack and defend territory.
**Gaining Troops:**
* Automatic increase every turn
* Cities provide additional troop generation
* Receive troops from allies via donations
* Troops scale with territory size
**Using Troops:**
* Launch land attacks against neighbors
* Load troops onto transport ships for naval invasions
* Defend against incoming attacks
* Larger attacks consume more troops
There's a maximum troop capacity. Once reached, excess troops are lost. Launch attacks before hitting the cap.
## Combat System
### Attack Types
The primary method of expansion. Launch attacks from your border tiles against neighboring enemies or neutral territory.
* Attacks consume troops based on attack size
* Battles resolve automatically each turn
* Both attacker and defender lose troops in combat
* Larger borders with the enemy result in faster expansion
* You can order retreats to conserve troops
Use transport ships to attack across water and establish beachheads.
* Build transport ships from coastal tiles
* Load troops onto the ship when created
* Ships automatically navigate to the target location
* Upon arrival, troops unload and begin conquering
* Vulnerable to warship interception during transit
Advanced warfare using specialized military units.
* **Warships**: Patrol coastal waters and bombard land targets with shells
* **Defense Posts**: Boost defensive strength and provide artillery support
* **SAM Launchers**: Fire missiles to intercept incoming nuclear weapons
* **Missile Silos**: Launch nuclear strikes against distant targets
### Combat Mechanics
**Attack Speed**: The number of tiles conquered per turn depends on:
* Number of attacking troops
* Size of the shared border
* Defensive bonuses (defense posts, fallout)
**Casualties**: Both sides lose troops during combat:
* Attackers lose troops based on terrain and defenses
* Defenders lose troops based on attack strength
* Defense posts provide defensive bonuses to nearby tiles
**Retreat**: You can order your attacks to retreat, returning remaining troops to your territory. Retreats take time to execute.
Attacks against allies or teammates are blocked. Break alliances before targeting former allies.
## Structures
Strategic structures provide economic and military advantages:
| Structure | Purpose | Benefits |
| ---------------- | ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| **City** | Population center | Increases troop generation rate |
| **Port** | Naval base | Enables trade ship spawning for gold income |
| **Factory** | Industrial center | Spawns trade trains on railroad networks |
| **Defense Post** | Military fortification | Artillery support and defensive bonuses |
| **SAM Launcher** | Air defense | Intercepts incoming nuclear weapons |
| **Missile Silo** | Strategic weapons | Launch nuclear strikes at enemies |
Many structures are upgradable. Place a new structure on the same tile to upgrade it to the next level, improving its effectiveness.
## Win Conditions
Victory is achieved by controlling a specific percentage of the map's total territory:
* The required percentage varies by map and game mode
* Your progress is tracked in real-time
* Last player/team standing also wins
* Conquered players' territories become available for capture
## Spawn Phase
Games begin with a spawn phase where players are immune to attacks:
* Use this time to expand into neutral territory
* Position yourself strategically for the main game
* Build initial structures and units
* Immunity ends after a fixed number of turns
Nations (AI opponents) may have different immunity durations than human players.