Castle Story Walkthrough

Team Lava’s Castle Story has you playing as ruler of your very own kingdom! Design amazing landscapes, tend animals, craft items from natural resources and build beautiful royal buildings. Gamezebo’s quick start strategy guide will provide you with detailed images, tips, information, and hints on how to play your best game.

Game Introduction – Castle Story

Quick Start Guide

Getting Started

Castle Story can be found by clicking on the “Play Now!” button at the top of this page.
Push notifications – You will be asked if you would like the game to send you push notifications when you load the game the first time. You can change these settings any time in the settings area of your device under “application notifications”

Name your kingdom – Once you visit the “Social” area of the menu for the first time you will be prompted to name your kingdom. Note that this is not necessarily the same as your user name unless you want it to be. The game is associated with Storm8 and if you already have a Storm 8 ID from other Team Lava games this will automatically appear on your device as your username. Note – When inviting others to play send them your user name not your kingdom’s name.
Brief tutorial – There is a brief introductory tutorial seen only when you start the game the first time. You are the ruler of your kingdom and you will be introduced to “Baron Garland Pfeffernot” who is your tutorial guide. You will be shown how to place a farmhouse on your land after purchasing it from the market, how to collect from buildings, gather goods from animals, harvest crops and craft items to construct buildings, and complete quests. This guide will get you started by giving you a more detailed look at the game and will help you with strategies and tips to earn higher overall scores.
Daily player bonus – Logging in daily will earn you bonus coins. Once every twenty four hours when you log in you will earn a coin bonus. If you log in each day consecutively you will earn a larger coin bonus each day up to day four which is the maximum. After day four the daily bonus starts over again. This is a great way to get free coins so be sure to log in and don’t miss a day.

Game Character – Your game character (ruler) moves around the screen and does whatever job you give to him or her. Anywhere you tap on the screen you will see a small circle and he or she will walk to it. You can change the gender anytime in the profile area or by tapping on the XP star in the upper left corner of the game screen.

Message Center

Messages – If you see a number next to the scroll icon at the top right of the game screen you have messages from other players. These are usually neighbor invitations or notifications of gifts they have sent you that you will need to accept or material requests for you to respond to. Go through all of your messages several times a day to keep adding neighbors and gifts to your inventory. You can always access this menu by tapping on the scroll icon or you can tap on menu then “Social” then “Messages.
Newsfeed – This is a listing of all players that have visited your kingdom and any messages they may have left you. There is a link to visit them in the newsfeed if you wish.

Game Settings

Game setting controls -To access the game settings menu tap on the menu icon at the lower left of the game screen and when this menu appears tap on “Settings” and you will see the menu shown in the image above. Here you can toggle the game music and sound effects, connect to Facebook and adjust your push notifications for specific tasks.

Game Currency

Gold coins -This is the basic game currency used to purchase items such as buildings, decorative items, and expansions of land. You will earn gold coins each time you collect rent from a building, as a reward for quest completion, and as a bonus when neighbors visit your kingdom or your visit theirs. The currency indicator is shown at the top left of the screen. When you start the game you are given twenty thousand gold coins to start out with. You will earn the coins you invest in your buildings back in the form of rent you will collect at various intervals per building you place.

Gems – This is the premium virtual currency that allows you to purchase privileges in the game such as special buildings that earn you much higher coin payouts, extra energy, instant quest completion, instant resources, instant crafting, instant expansion of your kingdom and more. You are given twenty pink gems when you start the game for the first time and may use it however you choose. You can purchase a high end building that will pay rent to you or you may use these gems to speed up processes that take a long time.
Purchasing additional currency – You have the ability to purchase additional gems by tapping on the “add” button underneath the currency indicator at the top center of the game screen. You will now see the purchase menu and you will use real currency to purchase gems. This is considered an in app purchase and charged to your device according to how you have set it up to do so.
If you do not want to make in app purchases tap on the “Help” button in the “FAQ” section and it will tell you how to set your device to avoid this
Prices of gems range from $4.99 USD for 120 gems to $99.99 for 2900 gems and the more you purchase the better rate you will receive.

Exchange gems for gold coins – You cannot purchase gold coins outright if you need more. You must either purchase gems and exchange them for coins or wait until you can collect rent on your properties. Tap on the “add” button under the coins indicator or look for the “coins” tab along the top of the purchase menu.
The rates range from 750 gold coins for 10 gems up to 7,500 for 100 gems.

Energy

Energy – Energy is critical to the game as you must energy points to construct buildings, collect rent, harvest crops, cut down trees, mine rocks, fish and craft items, in the game.
It will cost one energy point each time you collect rent from a house or royal building in your kingdom
Your energy indicator is located along the top of the screen and is shown with the lightning bolt icon. The maximum amount of energy you can hold in your meter begins at fifteen energy points and reaches a maximum of twenty as you level up in the game.
How to get more energy – There are a couple of ways to get more energy once you run out if you wish to continue playing.

Purchase more energy – Tap on the energy icon or visit the market and you may purchase energy here using gems. It is very expensive at a rate of five gems for ten energy points. If you purchase larger bundles you will get a better deal. The maximum amount of energy you can purchase is thirty energy points for fifty gems.
Energy regeneration – You can also wait until energy regenerates which happens at a rate of one point every two minutes. Note the countdown clock under the meter which always lets you know how long until the next energy point will be added.
Level up – Each time you level up in the game your energy meter is refilled to its maximum as a reward.

Royal Points

Royal points can be earned by placing particular buildings and castle structures such as walls and towers in your kingdom.
The more royal points you have the more valuable your kingdom becomes. You must have royal points in order to qualify for the purchase of an expansion. (See “Expansion” below)
In the upper left corner you will see your royal points total which is shown next to the purple crown icon.
Each time you construct a royal building which is shown in the market under that heading you will earn at least sixty royal points. You must go through all the construction phases which may require you to gather resources and craft items in your workshops.

XP Stars

(XP Experience points) – At the top left of the game screen you will see a blue star with a number in it. This number is your current level in the game.
Each time you level up in the game you will unlock more items in the market for purchase and your energy meter will refill to its maximum level as well as coins or energy points may be added.
Each time you collect rent, construct a building, purchase a building or décor item, craft an item, or visit a neighbor you will earn star points. You will see these blue stars when you collect rent and do just about every action in the game. These are what help you to level up in the game.

Gathering Resources

Each tree, rock, sapling, pond or any other structure or animal that has an icon over it can for one energy point have some kind of resource taken from it.
Tree – Tap once using one energy point and you can gather wood and sometimes sap and other special items.
Rock – Tap once using one energy point and gather stone, ore, gems and other special items which will go into your inventory.
Well – Tap on the well and you will gather water and sometimes fish or mermaid scales and other materials for crafting.
Pond – Tap on the pond to gather fish, buckets of water and other special items.
Flower bush – You can gather for one energy point white or orange petals which can be crafted into decorative items for your kingdom.
Note – All trees even though they look different still produce wood for you but can give different special items.

Workshop/Crafting items

When you start the game you will be shown how to build a workshop. You will need to gather ten stone and ten pieces of wood to complete a workshop. Once you reach level six you will be allowed to purchase a second workshop and as you level up even more.
Once the workshop is completed you will see a box icon over it. Tap on it and a menu will appear.
Here you will see a menu of all items unlocked that you can craft into other items.
Sometimes you will need to chop trees, and mine stones or ask friends to send them to you. Once you have all items tap on the “Craft” building and you will have to wait until it is finished.
When you see the white check mark over the workshop tap on it and gather the item you have crafted.
Note – Whenever you build royal buildings you will have to craft several items to complete it. Once you do complete the royal building you will be able to expand once you have all required items for expansion.

Market

The game market is seen at the lower right corner of the game screen. Tap on it to bring up the menu.

The market menu has several categories for you to choose from;
Featured – These are special items for sale for a limited amount of time that can only be purchased with premium currency. (Gems) and when these items are placed they earn you a higher number of XP stars, royal points, and/or coin payout. You will likely have to wait until you reach certain levels to unlock certain items. If you see a padlock over an item it will tell you what level you need to reach to unlock it for purchase.
Buildings – Purchase royal, crafting, town, and other buildings.
Nature – Purchase animals for your kingdom.
Expand – Tap here to expand your kingdom which allows you to construct more buildings on it and it gives you more trees and rocks to gather resources and unlocks new citizens and quests. (See “Expansions” below for more details.)
Decorations – Tap here to see the décor items you can purchase for your kingdom. Note – décor items do not earn coins for you. They earn XP or royal points when you purchase them which can help you level up faster and make your kingdom more attractive.

Buildings

There are four types of buildings you can place in your kingdom and each building serves a function.

Royal buildings – These are buildings which earn you royal points when placed in your kingdom. They allow you to expand your kingdom. Royal buildings include the Lantern spire, watchtower, library, king’s keep, Queen’s court, conservatory, observatory, theater, and cathedral. These buildings become available as you level up in the game.
Town buildings – These are buildings that once placed in your kingdom will earn rent for you at various intervals. You must construct these buildings using materials you gather from trees and stones and the more advanced building require you to craft items to build with. Town buildings include the farmhouse, cottage, market place, and tavern
Crafting buildings – These are buildings that once in place you can tap on them to bring up a crafting menu. You will gather resources from your kingdom or ask for them from neighbors and over time craft parts to build other buildings or complete quests with. You can own several of each type of crafting building once you reach the correct level to unlock it. Crafting buildings include the workshop, kitchen, magic forge and potion shop.
Resource buildings – These are buildings that once constructed and added to your kingdom will produce resources for you over time. When you see the icon over the building tap on it to collect the resource that can be used in crafting buildings to build more items. Resource buildings become available as you level up and include the sparkling mine, sawmill, hatchery, and the stable.
Special buildings – There is only one building available under this category at this time and you must reach level eight to purchase it. You can purchase the storage cellar which increases your maximum inventory.

How to construct buildings in your kingdom

Once you tap on an item you wish to purchase in the market you will need to place it in your kingdom.
Tap on the building you wish to purchase and you will be taken back to your kingdom with the building showing a green grid underneath. If you see any red you can’t place the building in this area.
Use your fingertip to guide the building or décor item where you want it. You will see a green check mark or a red “X” button on each side of the structure. Once you see the green base in the grid tap on the green button to lock in the purchase. At this point your coins or gems will be deducted for purchase. If you choose the “X” this will cancel the transaction.

How to move, rotate or store items in your kingdom

If you need to move, rotate or store a building or décor item simply tap on the “Edit” button at the lower right corner of the game screen.
Now you can tap on the item you wish to move or rotate and it will highlight. Tap on the button above to rotate, move or sell the item. Use your fingertip to move it then tap on the green check mark to lock in the new location.
Storage – Tap on the item you wish to store then tap on the box icon over the item and the structure will move into storage immediately for later use. There is no confirmation screen and the item will instantly disappear. Note – If you take a structure out of your kingdom that is worth royal points it will not count toward your overall total any longer nor will it earn any money for you.

Finding items in Inventory

How to find items in your inventory – Tap on the “Market” button at the lower right corner of the game screen then tap on “My inventory” to bring up the inventory menu. Note there are category tabs along the top or you can tap on “All” If you wish to place an item in your kingdom tap on it and place it just as you do when purchasing it.
You may also tap on the “?” symbol to read about the item and its uses.
Sell items – Tap on the “$” symbol to sell an item back to the market. A message will appear at the bottom of the screen allowing you to confirm that you wish to sell the item. Note that you will not get the same amount you purchased the item for. You will only get back one quarter or less than the original purchase price. If you purchase items with gems and attempt to sell them you will not get gems back you will get coins and it will only be a quarter or less of the original value.

Building Status

Each building you place will earn rent for you at different intervals. To see when the next payout is simply tap on a structure and a menu will appear above the structure such as the one shown above.
Here you will see how much time is left via a countdown timer before you can collect coins, or constructed goods. You will also be offered the ability to instantly complete this time using gems if you choose.
Speed up/Instant completion – Each structure you can collect from if you tap on it offers you the ability to purchase instant completion for a cost of one or more gems. Tap on this option and you will instantly be able to collect rent or goods from a structure.

How to collect rent

Once you place farm or royal buildings in your kingdom they will instantly begin to collect rent for you at various intervals. You can tap on any structure to see a summary screen of when and how much it will earn for you and you can speed up the progress if you wish to use premium gems to do so.
You will see a gold coin icon over a building once rent is ready to be collected. Simply tap on the gold coin icon and the coins will be placed in your bank and the XP star(s) will be added to your total.
Note – It is a good idea to check the game frequently throughout the day and collect the rent as often as possible. If you don’t you will miss out on a lot of income as you must collect rent before it can start to build up again.

Goals

Tap on the leather bound book icon at the upper left side of the game screen to access the “Kingdom goals” menu.
Here you will see tasks that you will need to complete in order to advance in the game. Once you complete these goals you are given large coin and XP star rewards that will help you level up in the game much faster.
You will need the rewards from these goals in order to afford items in the game. It is also a great way to learn how to play.
It is best to follow the game goals and not make purchases without consulting them as you could miss large rewards and delay the unlocking of additional goals.

Once the kingdom goal menu opens you will see a list of goals and the order you complete them is up to you. Tap on a goal to read it.
You can sometimes purchase required items right from the goal list by tapping on the “buy” button which will take you directly to that item in the market which is much easier.
Once you complete a goal a reward menu will appear showing you what you have earned and once you accept the coins and XP stars will be added to your totals above.
You have the option to spend premium currency to bypass certain goal requirements or to purchase materials to complete them without having to craft them.

Planting and harvesting crops

You will start out with a few farm plots in your kingdom. You can go into the market and purchase more for one hundred coins each.
Farming is very important as it will help you to complete several quests early in the game and it will provide the necessary materials needed later in the game when you have a kitchen and potions buildings which create goods for you.
Gold arrows appear pointing down over empty farm plots. Tap on an arrow or plot to bring up the farming menu.
Note that each item has a cost to plant and takes a certain amount of time to mature.
Harvesting – Once a crop is ready for harvesting you will see a shovel icon above it. Tap on the items to harvest and they will go into your inventory.
Caravan – A caravan is part of a quest that allows you to earn 15,000 coins for collecting a certain number of many items such as crops, animal goods, fish, etc. As you play there will be several caravans available to so be sure to watch for these.

Fishing

Fishing can be done in two areas of your kingdom which is from the well and the pond.
Tap on the well or the pond and you will get different items each time. You may get a bucket of water, fish, mermaid scales and more.
The items you earn fishing will go into your inventory until needed in crafting recipes.

Animals

You will be able to place two different animals in your kingdom by purchasing them from the market under “Nature” category.
Each animal when you feed them will grow up and then will produce materials for you that can be gathered and taken into inventory and later used in recipes in kitchens and potions.
Cows will produce milk and leather hides.
Chickens will produce eggs and roasted chickens.
It is expected that more animals will be added with future game updates.

Plants and Trees

In the market you can find an extensive number of plants and trees to place in your kingdom.
These plants will need to be watered and will earn you XP and goods to use for crafting.
Saplings will grow into large trees that can be cut into wood to build buildings.
Flower bushes will provide petals and other materials for potions and recipes in your crafting buildings.
Tap on the watering can icon over a plant to water it.
Once a plant is a tree it can only be chopped for wood or sap.

Expansion

You will need to expand your kingdom frequently in order to keep up with the game goals. You will also uncover more trees and rocks you can tap on and gather materials for crafting projects.
Citizens – Sometimes when you expand you will find a new citizen waiting for you with a new storyline and quests to follow. Sometimes you can see the people in the land so you will want to look carefully before you choose which block of land to expand to.
Tap on “Market” then on “Expand” or tap on one of the “Expand” signs in the outer perimeter of your kingdom and you will see a grid of yellow squares such as in the image above. Choose one of these squares you wish to expand and tap on it. A menu will appear showing you how much it will cost and what materials you will need to expand in that area. You will only be able to expand one square at a time.

You will need to purchase the expansions with gold coins, a special item that must be gifted to you from your neighbors, and royal points which are earned by placing royal buildings on your land.
Once you have the correct items needed and enough money tap on “Expand” the area will open up for you instantly. Each time you expand the materials needed to complete and the cost of the expansion will increase.
Once the expansion is complete you will have new trees and rocks you can use for resources for crafting materials and sometimes there will be people on your land who will move in as citizens and give you new quests.

How to gather resources from trees and rocks

Gathering wood from trees – You will likely need wood to construct buildings and you can get that from trees. You will have a few trees when you start the game and each tap is equivalent to one chop and will give you one piece of wood, one XP point and possibly a special item for your inventory. You will be able to use the wood and resources you gather as you chop down trees to help you build buildings and craft items in the crafting buildings.
Each tap is one energy point and the larger trees usually have ten pieces of wood in them. Once you deplete the wood the tree will disappear. The complete removal of one tree is usually ten energy points and you will need to tap it ten times to chop it down and remove it completely. Special items may be found when chopping down trees. If you find a special item it will be moved into your inventory until you are ready to use it on a crafting project or in the caravan.
Rocks – Tapping on rocks will earn you stone, ore, and possibly gems and other related items. These are used in the workshops to craft items to build buildings and complete special quests.
How to get more – If you have no trees or rocks left in your kingdom and need wood or stone for the workshop you can purchase additional trees and rocks in the market under the “Nature” tab.

Annoying Monsters/Creatures

As you play the game from time to time annoying creatures will appear in your kingdom that take up a large area of space and you will not be able to collect or do anything in the space this monster touches.
When you see this monster you will see a brownish red grid around them representing the area they are locking up and you will need to tap on them three or more times to destroy them.
The first monster is called a “Skunkupine” and different ones will appear as you level up and several quests revolve around getting rid of them.

Social Menu

Castle Story is a very social game and you will need to have many neighbors to do well.
Each person that plays the game has a “Storm8” ID. If you have played any other Team Lava game on your device the game will automatically log you in under that name. If you are not sure what your ID is tap on “Menu” then “Help/FAQ” then on “Storm8 ID” and the game will reveal your ID here. It may also be shown at the top right of your social menu screen. You will need to give this name to others so they may invite you and add you as a neighbor.

How to invite and attract neighbors to your game

How to invite neighbors and have others invite you – Once you know your ID you can visit others in the community menu and after you help them out to give them a bonus, be sure to post your storm8 ID on their wall asking to be invited and soon others will contact you with invitations.
Tap on “Wall” at the bottom right then paste a message on their wall asking to be added to their game.
Tap on “Invite” when you read the Storm8 ID of other players on their and other people’s wall and type in their ID in the box provided. The game will tell you if the invitation was successful and once the other person accepts you will be neighbors.
You may also invite people by email address, SMS, and Facebook by choosing the options on the invite menu.

Community members vs. Neighbors

While playing the game you will see two tabs in the social menu and you will need to know the difference.
Community member – The players listed here are not your neighbors, they are players of the game that have high social rankings because they visit a lot of others and help them out. This raises your name higher on the list and more people will see you and invite you to be their neighbor.
Neighbor – These are players that either you have invited or have invited you to become neighbors. You will earn a once per twenty four hour bonus each time you visit a neighbor versus community members. This reward will be five coins or one star XP.
Your goal is to visit as many community members as you can and help them out and post on their wall with your storm8 ID or look for theirs and others and invite them by name using the invitation menu. If you devote a few hours to doing this you will have a large number of neighbors in a couple of days and these people will send you materials needed to craft certain items and complete structures. You will also be able to visit them for coins, energy and XP bonuses once each day.

How to help out community members and neighbors

Whether you are in the community menu or the neighbor menu tap on the “visit” button to visit that person’s kingdom.
You will see heart icons over any crafting, royal, or basic house that has not yet been helped by another person since the player’s last collection of rent.
Tap on four hearts per visit for community members or up to six hearts for neighbors and you will see that structure begin to sparkle.
Sparkling buildings will give the player an additional coin bonus when they collect rent from it.
Once they collect rent then another visitor can help by clicking on that building but each player can only help another player once every twenty four hours.
If you visit a kingdom and all the structures are sparkling this is known as being “Full” and you can’t help out the neighbor at that time. They must come into their game and tap on all these structures to collect their rent and bonuses. Once they do a heart will appear over the buildings again and others can help them out. This is why it is important to log into your game frequently and collect the funds. If you have a lot of neighbors this is even more important as it is free money for your kingdom to reinvest.
Sometimes people will visit you and if they are unable to help out they will post on your wall that you were full. Try to visit these people and help them out and keep your kingdom updated frequently so they can help you and increase their social ranking.
If you can build relationships with others you can send each other daily gifts and keep each other’s social rankings high.

Neighbor daily bonus

Note – Neighbors only when you visit their kingdom will earn you a special daily reward of either five coins, one XP star, or one energy point. Visiting community members will not earn you this reward but you will earn social points for helping out either neighbors or community members so it is worth your time and effort as the higher your social ranking the higher up the list your kingdom will be on the community menu for others to see and visit.

Social Rating

As you visit other people’s kingdoms you will see a small heart icon at the bottom left of the game screen. You can earn up to a four heart social ranking.
The more people you visit and help out by tapping on their buildings, the more of these hearts you will earn.
You can tap on four buildings when you visit a community member and you can tap on up to six if you visit a neighbor plus you will earn either coins, an energy point, or an XP point once every twenty four hours.
Having a high social rating will help you as it causes you to appear on or near the top of the community menu where thousands of other players will see your name and will visit you for bonus coins and hopefully post on your wall asking for a neighbor invitation for even more bonus coins and points.
Note – If you get your social ranking high you must continue to visit others daily to keep it up. It goes down over time if you stop visiting.

User Profile overview and your wall

Tap on the menu button at the lower left corner to reach the main menu then tap on “Overview” with the large castle icon. This will take you to your “Kingdom overview” menu. Here you can choose between “Profile” and “Wall” If you choose “Profile’ as shown in the image above you may change your ruler’s profile picture to male or female free of charge. You will also see a summary of your game progress such as how many neighbors you have, the number of royal and crafting buildings you own, how many royal points you have accumulated and your overall social ranking.
Note – You also have the option to change the name of your kingdom but it will cost you ten gems to do so.
Wall – If you tap on the “wall” button you can see all the messages left to you by neighbors and community members. This is a great way to get new neighbors as many people will post their storm8 ID here for you so you can send them an invitation or to let you know they have sent one to you.
Be sure to refer to your profile frequently to see how you are doing in the game.

Game Tips

Be sure to log in every day without missing a day. If you have to set an alarm on your mobile device do so as there is a daily bonus you earn which increases each day as long as you don’t miss a day. At the end of five days you will earn a very large prize and then the process starts all over again. Definitely worth the wait and effort.
Prioritize your actions based on your goals. You only have so much energy so try to do the actions that will give you the most XP when completed. If you are very close to reaching the next level your energy meter will refill again for free. If you learn to keep an eye on your XP you can use this information to your advantage.
Factor in the cost of energy and how much XP it will earn for you when you are placing a new building or animal in your kingdom.
Follow the goals and use them to guide you in your purchases and actions especially in the early levels as this will ensure you have enough funds to complete tasks and will help you level up faster..
If you are out of energy but close to leveling up, tap on your main menu and then on “Social” and start visiting neighbors. If you have a lot of neighbors you can earn XP points to level up and once you do you will have your energy meter filled back up as a reward.
The key to leveling up fast and building a large kingdom is working the social features so that you have a large number of neighbors. Visit a lot of community members and work to get your social rating high. Post your Storm8 ID on as many walls as you can and especially on the walls of those that have reached a high level in the game and that have a lot of visitors. If you post your name on as many people’s walls as possible along with an “Add me as a neighbor” message you will have several invitations waiting on you to accept.
Remember to post your Storm8 ID name and not your kingdom’s name or people will not be able to invite you to be their neighbor.
Visit your neighbors and help them out daily. You will earn coins and blue XP stars which will help you purchase more items and level up faster which will in turn unlock even more items for you to purchase.
Only sell back items if you really don’t want it or desperately need the coins as you will only get a quarter of the purchase price back when you sell something. If you spent gems on an item you will not get gems back when you sell it.
Chopping down trees costs energy so make sure you factor this into placing large buildings on a new expansion.

Congratulations!

You have completed the basic quick start guide for Castle Story by Team Lava. Be sure to check back often for game updates, staff and user reviews, user tips, forum comments and much more here at Gamezebo