Beginner's Guide: Getting Started
New to Nova Roma? This guide covers the fundamentals: setting up your first town, farming basics, citizen management, and the production chains that power your Roman settlement.
Core Concepts
Nova Roma is a Roman city builder from Lion Shield Studios. Your goal is to grow a small settlement into a thriving city-state by balancing production, trade routes, laws, and expansion.
Key Game Features
Grid-Less Building
Freely place houses, shops, farms, and decorations anywhere. Rotate, offset, and arrange buildings organically. The voxel art style supports detailed placement and customization.
Three Citizen Tiers
Citizens progress from Workers (basic labor) to Artisans (skilled craftsmen) to Bourgeoisie (elite wealthy). Each tier unlocks new buildings, has different needs, and pays different taxes. Satisfy citizen needs to enable tier upgrades.
Crop Farming & Supply Chains
Farms grow 13 different crop types across 4 tiers of farm upgrades. Crops feed production buildings — for example, the Bakery needs Corn and Wheat to produce Bread. Plan your crop ratios based on what buildings you want to operate.
Multiple Towns & Specialization
You can develop multiple towns connected by trade routes. Specialize different towns for different purposes — farming towns (like Fontebrac), tourism towns (like Rocemarée), and your main administrative hub (Belvau).
First Steps in Your Town
Getting Started
1. Place Your Town Hall
The Town Hall is your administrative center. It unlocks basic services and serves as the hub for citizen registration. Place it centrally in your desired main town area.
2. Build Worker Houses
Your starting families need basic housing. Workers staff your farms and basic production. Place houses where they can eventually be served by market stalls, food stalls, and other services.
3. Start Farming
Place Farms and begin growing your first crops: Corn, Wheat, and Grapes. These feed your initial production buildings — Bakery and Winery. Farms upgrade through tiers, unlocking new crop types at each level. Farm surface area doubles at Tier 3.
4. Build Market Stalls and Food Stalls
Your citizens need access to food and goods. Market Stalls and Food Stalls distribute what your farms and production buildings create. Place them within walking distance of residential areas.
Citizen Management Basics
Understanding Your Population
Citizen Tiers at a Glance
| Tier | Role | Staffs |
|---|---|---|
| Worker | Foundation workforce | Farms, basic production, warehouses |
| Artisan | Skilled labor | Bakeries, Wineries, Hatteries, Pubs |
| Bourgeoisie | Elite class | Advanced buildings, highest tax income |
Housing Upgrades
Houses upgrade through the three tiers alongside your citizens. Worker Houses (basic), Artisan Houses (mid-tier), and Bourgeoisie Houses (elite). Each upgrade requires meeting specific needs of the current tier first.
Labor Priority
Nova Roma has a labor priority system. Different citizen tiers are needed for different jobs. Be careful when upgrading — an upgraded Artisan may leave a Worker job slot empty. Balance your tier ratios to maintain essential services.
Farming Overview
Crops and Production
Farming is the economic foundation of your town. Crops are grown on farms and consumed by production buildings. Each farm tier unlocks new crops:
Tier 1: Grapes, Corn, Wheat
Powers Bakery (Corn + Wheat) and Winery (Grapes)
Tier 2: Beeswax, Cotton, Rose
Powers Hattery — your first apparel building
Tier 3: Hops, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Lettuce
Powers Pub — leisure building. Farm surface doubles!
Tier 4: Pumpkin, Lavender, Medicinal Herbs
Powers City-rank buildings (Apothecary, Perfumer, Cathedral, Restaurant)
Essential Tips for New Players
Use Warehouses for Supply Chains
Warehouses have a transport range — production buildings within range automatically access stored crops and goods. Place warehouses strategically between farms and processing buildings to minimize logistics issues.
Specialize Your Towns
The default map has three towns: Belvau (main hub), Fontebrac (agriculture), and Rocemarée (tourism). Develop each with a focus — farming in Fontebrac, administration in Belvau, tourism in Rocemarée. Trade routes connect them.
Research Unlocks Progress
The Research Center unlocks new buildings, decorations, and technologies. Assign Research Workers to progress through research tiers. Research is essential for unlocking higher-tier buildings and citizen upgrades.
Beauty Matters for Tourism
Tourism income scales with your town's appeal. Hotels, scenic routes, and attractions (Lighthouse, Art Atelier, Monumental Ruins, Obelisk) draw visitors. Develop dedicated tourism infrastructure for late-game income.
Plan Crop Ratios
Different buildings consume crops at different rates. The Pub requires 75 Hops vs. 25 of each other crop — grow 3x more Hops. Use our Crops & Farming page for detailed building input requirements.