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Peter Tyson
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Getting Started with Dwarf Fortress: Learn to play the most complex video game ever made 1st Edition

by Peter Tyson (Author), Tarn Adams (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 168 ratings
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Dwarf Fortress may be the most complex video game ever made, but all that detail makes for fascinating game play, as various elements collide in interesting and challenging ways. The trick is getting started. In this guide, Fortress geek Peter Tyson takes you through the basics of this menacing realm, and helps you overcome the formidable learning curve.

The bookâ??s focus is the gameâ??s simulation mode, in which youâ??re tasked with building a dwarf city. Once you learn how to establish and maintain your very first fortress, you can consult the more advanced chapters on resource management and training a dwarf military. Youâ??ll soon have stories to share from your interactions with the Dwarf Fortress universe.

  • Create your own world, then locate a site for an underground fortress
  • Equip your party of dwarves and have them build workshops and rooms
  • Produce a healthy food supply so your dwarves wonâ??t starve (or go insane)
  • Retain control over a fortress and dozens of dwarves, their children, and their pets
  • Expand your fortress with fortifications, stairs, bridges, and subterranean halls
  • Construct fantastic traps, machines, and weapons of mass destruction

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Previous page
  1. ISBN-10
    1449314945
  2. ISBN-13
    978-1449314941
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    O'Reilly Media
  5. Publication date
    July 10, 2012
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    7 x 0.51 x 9.19 inches
  8. Print length
    245 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From the Author

"Getting Started with Dwarf Fortress" is current to the April 2012 releases of Dwarf Fortress. It's full of art, and I'm told, humor and good guidance. I hope you enjoy it!

About the Author

Peter Tyson created the AfterActionReporter blog in February 2009 for reporting on, listing and writing great after action reports (game reviews through storytelling). He created the online resource "The Complete and Utter Newbie Tutorial for Dwarf Fortress." Tim Denee is an illustrator from Wellington New Zealand.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ O'Reilly Media; 1st edition (July 10, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 245 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1449314945
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1449314941
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 0.51 x 9.19 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 168 ratings

About the author

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Peter Tyson

Peter Tyson

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"Peter Tyson is a human born in 1975 in New Zealand. He is the oldest son of Ron Tyson and Ann Tyson. In the Summer of 1996 Peter became a student at Auckland University. In the Summer of 1999 Peter became a student at Victoria University. In the Spring of 2000 Peter became an Analyst at Datamonitor. In the Spring of 2002 Peter became a Community Manager at Codemasters. In the Autumn of 2005 Peter became an Administrator in the New Zealand Government. In the Summer of 2008 Peter married Laura. In the Winter of 2009 Peter wrote popular tutorials for Dwarf Fortress on his blog, afteractionreporter.com. In the Winter of 2011 Peter was struck by a Strange Mood.

In the Summer of 2012 Peter wrote "Pasubabo Thrathdad Teme", "Getting Started with Dwarf Fortress", a legendary wood-pulp paper bound book. The written portion consists of 180 page guide to the game Dwarf Fortress entitled "Getting Started with Dwarf Fortress". The writing is lighthearted with moments of humor.

In Summer 2012 "Getting Started with Dwarf Fortress" was stored in O'Reilly by the human administrator, Peter Tyson."

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
168 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Michael Valdivielso
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and helpful...
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2013
Verified Purchase
Dwarf Fortress is known as one of the most complex, detailed, confusing, interesting, painful, funny, amazing, awesome, hardest-game-to-learn computer game to exist. Which may make it the hardest game EVER. The amount of enjoyment one gets from playing a long game is a great reward ONCE you figure out HOW to play it. This book takes you step-by-step through the process of starting a game, explains the basics of Dwarf management and Fortress design, and also gets into the finer details about how to set up the many industries, how the military works, and the steps needed to help run things smoothly.
Do you need to read it from cover to cover? No, if you have played the game and are just looking for hints and tips, you can just go to the chapter you need. It also has a very useful appendix in the back of the book that allows you, at a glance, to see how things work - what workshop does what, what ore produces what metal, what you need to do this and that.
And then there is the wonderful images by Tim Denne that help explain many of the points hit on in the chapters while showing us the rich and detailed history of the game, Dwarf Fortress, and its many famous characters.
While the fact the game is always being developed may make this book outdated soon, 90% of the information and tactics inside will likely never become outdated. Remember, this book is on the Dwarf Mode of the game. The Adventurer Mode is not explained inside this book - that is a whole different kettle of fish.
Once you are comfortable with the game you can do almost anything. Grand engineering projects, above ground apartment buildings, underground zoos, massive greenhouses, grand dining halls, redirecting rivers to make pretty water falls, and even Dwarf breeding programs! Yes, people are carrying out eugenic programs on their Dwarfs. Some players have done so well that there are Fortresses out there that are hundreds of game years old.
And remember, in the end, Losing is FUN!
7 people found this helpful
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Neon Orange
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible book, but now I can't stop playing Dwarf Fortress
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2017
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PRO: If you buy this book, you will learn how to play Dwarf Fortress.
CON: If you learn how to play Dwarf Fortress, you may not be able to stop.

I had been curious about Dwarf Fortress for several years, but I never approached the game due to its intimidatingly minimalist graphics and so-called "learning cliff". I wasn't 100% certain I would enjoy DF, but after hearing some amazing stories and reading a handful of the reviews here I threw caution to the wind and bought the book without having played the game first. Buying the book was a good move!

On first play through, I followed the first four chapters of this book to the letter. The author's lighthearted approach and the book's sprinkling of humorous/educational illustrations made following along feel like fun instead of homework. Hotkeys, menus, and actions are explained in detail and marked in bold text. The bold text and smattering of screenshots were both very helpful, as it was easy to locate key interface items when I forgot something and needed to go back a page (or chapter). I paused gameplay frequently to stay in sync with the book, and as I tackled more and more that the game had to offer I boggled at how I could have figured any of this stuff out on my own. As I started to get the hang of things, I used the book's later chapters as reference when I had questions or wanted to yet again expand my horizons. It would appear the book (somehow, incredibly) is able to describe how to play Dwarf Fortress in detail without delving into spoiler-y territory.

My book is marked with numerous post-its and bookmarks, which I recommend keeping close at hand while playing. :) I can't imagine this book will leave my desk anytime soon. I can't imagine I will stop playing Dwarf Fortress anytime soon, either.
16 people found this helpful
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Matt Barker
5.0 out of 5 stars Confused on how to play DF? Get this book!
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2014
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Why did I get this guide? Several months back I was reading articles on DF on how epic this game was. The graphics are lacking and I heard the learning curve is very steep, but I thought I would give it a try. Downloaded the game and 5 minutes later uninstalled it. Way to confusing to get a game started and then had no idea what I was doing. I watched several YouTube videos, but none of them came nearly as close to helping me get started with DF as this book has.

I decided not to give up and looked for good starter guides on DF. Thankfully I spotted an amazon ad on one of the articles I was reading about DF that took me to this book. (Ironic I hate ads but they led me to this book) So I went ahead and purchased this book and two days later I was playing DF and actually could understand what was happening, what stuff meant, and the basics of creating your group of 7 dwarves, picking a place to start your fortress, and actually starting to create your fortress.

This book does not tell you everything about DF. It simply does a great job of getting you started with DF. I owe my many hours (don't want to say how many) on DF to this book. This is truly a great game and this book is an excellent place to start if you want to start playing DF.

The book now is on my coffee table and always a great conversation piece with my friends.
11 people found this helpful
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G. College
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Way to Get Started
Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2013
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In an age where most people utilize "Let's Play" videos to learn, it seems fittingly appropriate that a game so visually retro would benefit from being taught in the "retro" style of print media.

For a person like myself, who is a tactile leaner, I just find the idea of watching someone else play unhelpful. Peter Tyson, on the other hand, presents the concepts of Dwarf Fortress into a straight-forward, "learn as you need it" sort of manner. I originally learned to play Dwarf Fortress from his well-known After Action Reporter guide online (published back in '09). Coming back to Dwarf Fortress recently (and discovering the now-infamously complicated military screen), I figured I would need a more modern brush-up.

This book was just what I needed. I know that Losing is !!FUN!!, but because of Peter Tyson, I have never suffered from many of the early deaths that I see mentioned on Reddit and the Bay12 forums. I have always been well-prepared - never running out of supplies or succumbing to early tantrum spirals.

Highly recommended.
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Mag Andreas Timel
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Guide, even for Steam Version
Reviewed in Germany on January 17, 2023
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This is a very comprehensive but easy to understand guide. It lists all relevant topics in a sensible order (from basics over military to very sophisticated elements like trap mechanisms). Very good read and currently the best work on this game.
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Anton Maslo
5.0 out of 5 stars Great introduction even if a bit outdated
Reviewed in Canada on July 13, 2020
Verified Purchase
Some of the UI is different, new features were added since this book came out, but I found it a great introduction, easing me through the key concepts, helping overcome my df-anxiety.
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Stefano
5.0 out of 5 stars A little gem
Reviewed in Italy on November 10, 2019
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This book is a small work of art, I recommend it or all Dwarf Fortress fans (although the version of the game described in the book is now quite old).
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Cliente Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Buen libro, ideal para poder jugar decentemente.
Reviewed in Spain on May 20, 2017
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Es un libro realmente completo sobre el juego. Además, incluye comics que te cuentan historias reales que han sucedido a otros jugadores, lo cual está genial.
One person found this helpful
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Captain Savoie
5.0 out of 5 stars très bon (very good)
Reviewed in France on March 12, 2017
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Très bon pour les débutants, couvre tout les aspects de base du jeu avec des conseils et astuces avisées tout du long.
Very good for beginners, it covers every basics and every game mechanisms. It also give great advices and tips.
2 people found this helpful
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