RimWorld early game — priorities, orders, storage and shelter
Default PC controls, manual priorities, forbidden/allowed items, storage, zones and construction blocks. Check a new three-person colony until beds and meals function.
Edition: PC Steam base game (app 294100), no DLC/mods. Examples use Crashlanded, Cassandra Classic, Community builder and temperate forest with a long growing season, without custom difficulty changes. Adjust for other scenarios, biomes and console editions
Verification scope: Normal 1.6 release branch. Official updates and June 8, 2026 Update 1.6.4850 checked on 2026-10-04. Running build untested: also inspect the title-screen number and Steam branch
Sources checked: 2026-10-04
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Pause and inspect people, resources and terrain
Examples use 3 Crashlanded colonists, Cassandra Classic, Community builder and temperate forest. These ease starting conditions without guaranteeing victory. Check who can cover essential work rather than seeking three perfect colonists.
- Pause after landing with Space. Open each Bio for skills, passions/incapabilities and Health for current conditions.
- Assign possible cooks, growers, builders and doctors. One person can cover several roles but cannot perform them simultaneously.
- Inspect nearby food, medicine, wood and steel for red forbidden × marks. Do not allow everything far away or near enemies indiscriminately.
- Hover planned sites to inspect terrain and temperature. Connect farmable ground, roofable shelter, storage and entrances nearby.
Construction 4 is needed for electric stoves/wood generators; 5 for coolers/heaters. Check the assigned builder before using this electrified example.
Match default keys to screen actions
Use screen buttons with rebound keys or Fn-dependent keyboards. Check each input's result before issuing the next order.
Wide tables scroll horizontally.
| Action / target | Requirement | How to order it | Success check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pause time | Ordinary single-player | Space or time-control button | Time stops; orders can still be placed |
| Place buildings or zones | Materials, terrain and research | Tab → Architect; choose type and rotate with Q/E | Blueprint/zone appears at intended position and direction |
| Select a colonist's task | A capable colonist | Left-click colonist, then right-click target | Priority option or reason it cannot be done appears |
| Queue another task | Executable target | Shift + right-click to add | Queued job appears in the selection panel |
| Use forbidden items | Safely reachable target | Select item → Allow; default F also works | Red × disappears; hauling destination still needs configuration |
| Draft / undraft | Mobile colonist | R or crossed-swords button | Drafting enables positioning; undrafting returns normal work/needs |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Drafting is not faster work mode. Check forgotten draft status when construction or hauling stops.
Divide three roles by competing work time
Open Work with F1 or the bottom tab; enable Manual priorities for numbers. Blank means unassigned. Numbers below are editorial examples to test main jobs in quiet periods, excluding emergencies. Swap roles for different skills/incapabilities.
Wide tables scroll horizontally.
| Role | Initial example | When overloaded | Display to inspect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary builder | Construct 2, supporting Haul 3 | Avoid distant mining or huge projects while building cooling/shelter | Current job and missing blueprint materials |
| Primary food worker | A suitable Cook or Grow job at 2 | If sharing both empties meals, give harvesting or cooking to someone else | Meal stock, crop maturity and current job |
| Support worker | Set the currently needed Haul or Clean to 2, secondary work to 3 | Favor hauling when items scatter, cleaning when the kitchen is dirty | Storage acceptance, bench surroundings and Home cleaning area |
| Medical worker | Prioritize Doctor for someone capable | Check a backup in case the primary doctor is injured | Inspect the doctor's Health as well as Medical skill |
| Everyone's emergency jobs | Place available Firefight, Patient and similar work ahead of main roles | Higher priority cannot override incapability | Bio incapabilities and Work blanks/priorities |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
1 is highest, 4 lowest. Equal numbers run left to right; Cook and Grow at the same number do not split time equally.
Complete a small bed/storage/meal cycle
The first goal is people eating, sleeping and returning to work, not an impressive town. Finish essential areas in sequence instead of one large build.
- Assign enough sleeping places under Architect furniture and first enclose one room with walls, a door and roof. Check roof display and entrance access.
- Add nearby stockpiles accepting needed food, medicine and materials. A roof alone does not freeze food.
- Designate only enough safe trees for construction. Select the builder and right-click unfinished walls/beds to inspect material and work requirements.
- Create a small growing zone on fertile ground and choose rice or another suitable crop. Check a capable grower, season and sowing permission.
- Connect harvested ingredients to cooking. A fueled stove costs 80 steel plus operating wood; test one simple-meal bill.
- When electrifying, connect generator, stove and cooler to the same network. Check individual power and actual food temperature; see Production/research.
This temperate example starts with carried food. Move existing hunger, bleeding, extreme temperature or nearby enemies ahead in priority.
Stockpiles, allowed areas and Home have different roles
Wide tables scroll horizontally.
| Work / facility | Requirement | How to order it | Exception |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ingredient stockpile | Acceptance, space, hauler and reachable path | Zone → Storage: allow needed items; raise priority for a nearby work stockpile | High priority cannot fix forbidden items, excluded areas or full storage |
| Food-only storage | Food acceptance and preservation conditions | Separate food zones and review rotten/unwanted items | Storage priority does not improve freshness; inspect temperature separately |
| Restrict movement | An area connecting beds, meals and needed workplaces | Create an allowed area under Architect → Zones, then assign colonists | Two separate allowed patches can still cause travel across disallowed ground between them |
| Cleaning, firefighting and repair | Home designation and corresponding work | Add/remove Home under Architect → Zones | Automatic construction expansion can add distant cleaning duties |
| Growing | Fertility, crop skill and seasonal requirements | Choose crop and sowing toggle in the growing zone | Ordinary base-game farming does not require watering |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Start hazard-avoidance areas by connecting essential destinations. Creating an area does not automatically assign everyone to it.
Four checks for idle colonists
Read the selected colonist's right-click explanation before adding buildings.
Wide tables scroll horizontally.
| Symptom | Colonist / target display | Action | Success check |
|---|---|---|---|
| No jobs performed | Draft status, injury or mental state | Undraft if needed; inspect Health/Needs and prioritize treatment or rest | Returns to ordinary current work |
| Only one job is absent | Bio incapability or blank Work assignment | Assign another capable colonist | The right-click option appears |
| Cannot reach materials | Allowed area, doors/walls and forbidden item | Restore safe access to both work and ingredients; allow only safe items | Walks to and carries materials |
| Only construction stalls | Materials, Construction skill and delivery | Supply the blueprint and use a qualified builder | Materials enter the frame and building progresses |
| Hauling never finishes | Acceptance, space and priority | Confirm one matching destination; avoid adding unnecessary huge hauling orders | One stack reaches its intended zone |
| Research keeps waiting | Topic, Research assignment and earlier main work | Separate from forced production orders; leave time for research | Actual research points increase |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Expand settings after one successful normal-speed task. Changing materials and work competition together can obscure the cause.
Frequently asked questions
Does a missing prioritize option mean low skill?
Other causes include incapability, unassigned work and inaccessible targets. Inspect Bio → Work → right-click explanation.
Why do materials remain outside new storage?
Check acceptance, durability filters, room and priority. Then inspect forbidden state, hauling assignment and allowed area.
Is walking outside an allowed area a bug?
Colonists may cross disallowed ground between allowed destinations. Check the actual path, not only endpoint areas, to avoid hazards.
Can I cook on day one without electricity?
A fueled stove or campfire can work. A fueled stove needs construction steel, operating wood, a bill, a cook and ingredients.
Why is the kitchen dirty despite Clean being enabled?
Check Home and the cleaner's allowed area, then higher-priority ongoing jobs. Temporarily prioritize cleaning with a capable colonist.