On this page 13 sections
TL;DR
- Not sure which side? Go civilian. Start in Port Marlow for fair land, or Havenbrook if you like food businesses.
- Day one, inside ten minutes: two edge lots, a House and a Taco Stand (or a Food Cart) cost about $18,000 of your $25,000. Then run the in-game Guide: its ten steps pay $3,150.
- Rent waits in each building's register. It holds 12 hours, so collect at least twice a day, then bank everything above your safe (two days of salary).
- Every day: streak, free wheel spin, three contracts, your activities. That's your second salary.
- Land costs the same under a cart as under a deli. Past five buildings, overhead kicks in: go bigger, not wider.
- Want backup? Hire an Enforcer or a Bodyguard from the 💪 Muscle tab. The first costs $2,500 and $200 a day.
The plan
Tick these off as you go. The boxes are just for you: nothing is saved.
First hour
First day
First week
Look around, then play as a guest
No account needed to explore. Fly into any city, open any property card, read the live feed, check the GPS and look up who owns what. Nothing costs a thing until you act.
Your first action asks you to sign in to play: create an account, sign in, or pick a side and play as a guest. Guests get 5 free moves. Buying, building, fighting, services, gambling, travel and starting an activity each count as one.
- Guests can only fight bots.
- Your guest lives in this browser for 3 days. Sign up and it becomes your character, cash, lots and all.
- Unclaimed guests are deleted after 3 days and their lots go back on the market.
Pick a side
Everyone starts at level 1 on the same $100,000-a-year salary. What changes is how fast it grows, how hard you hit and what you're allowed to do.
| Criminal | Police | Civilian | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best at | Attacking and looting | Defense and arrests | Wages and rent |
| Wage growth | 4% per level | 7% per level | 10% per level |
| Pay at level 10 | $742/day | $816/day | $890/day |
| Attack / defense | ×1.30 / ×0.90 | ×1.10 / ×1.25 | ×0.80 / ×1.15 |
| Attacks per day | 12 | 10, wanted players only | 8 |
| Property | Costs +10%, earns −10% | Standard | Costs −10%, earns +20% |
| Only you can | Rob registers and properties, hustle, smuggle | Arrest, overtime, cold-case bounties | Grocery shifts at 1.5×; never gains heat |
Pick civilian if
You want the most forgiving start. A civilian's House pays back in about 13 days instead of 17, and police can never touch you.
Pick criminal if
You want action. Twelve attacks a day and 150% loot, paid for with heat, jail and a 5% bank fee.
Pick police if
You like hunting. You only fight wanted players, but every arrest pays a fine and a bounty.
Pick a starting city
Everyone starts in Port Marlow or Havenbrook. The rest open by level: Sundale at 3, Ironbridge at 5, Neon Bay at 8.
| Port Marlow | Havenbrook | |
|---|---|---|
| Land | Standard | 20% more |
| Earns extra | Warehouses, fish markets, shipyards +25% | Restaurants, delis, bakeries +25%; homes +15–20% |
| Special service | Docks: shifts at 1.8× wage, or smuggling | Auction House: Tommy Gun, Armored Overcoat |
| Best for | Cheapest first lots, a smuggler's or cop's town | A day-one House (+20%), then a Deli (+25%) |
Attacks a day grow by one every 4 levels and one per Enforcer you hire, up to 30.
Both protect newcomers: in a starting city, beating someone five or more levels below you pays nothing.
Your first business
You can only buy within 3 blocks of a block that already has a property. Downtown lots near the Golden Ace run about $6,750 in Marlow; edge lots about $2,750. A building earns the same wherever it stands, so buy on the edge.
- Starting cash
- $25,000
- Two edge lots ($2,750 each)
- −$5,500
- House
- −$9,000
- Taco Stand
- −$3,500
- Guide rewards for streak, lot and build
- +$850
- Left in your pocket
- $7,850
The House earns $22 an hour ($528 a day) and the stand $252, so the pair brings in $780 a day. The buildings pay back in 16 days; counting both lots, about 23. A Food Cart instead of the stand saves $2,000 up front but earns only $108 a day, and pays back the whole $4,250 with its lot in about 39. Take the stand if you can. Bank most of what's left, and keep a little for the gym.
The starter ladder
| Business | Cost | Rent/day | Payback | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food Cart | $1,500 | $108 | 14 days | Permit: 2 max, level 5 max |
| Taco Stand | $3,500 | $252 | 14 days | Permit: 2 max, level 5 max |
| Laundromat | $5,000 | $336 | 15 days | Permit: 2 max, level 5 max |
| Corner Store | $8,000 | $504 | 16 days | No permit, upgrades to 10 |
| House | $9,000 | $528 | 17 days | No permit; the day-one anchor. +20% in Havenbrook |
| Deli | $12,000 | $708 | 17 days | +25% in Havenbrook |
Base rates, before land and your side's multiplier. Civilians pay 10% less and earn 20% more; criminals pay 10% more and earn 10% less. The full ladder up to the $120M Resort is in the property guide.
Registers, the safe and the bank
The world clock pays every hour. Your salary lands in cash on hand. Your rent fills each building's register, up to 12 hours' worth, and waits for you to collect it. A full register stops filling, so a cart nobody visits for a week has earned half a day. Collect at least twice a day: once in the morning, once before bed.
- 12 hRegister cap
- $548Safe at level 1
- $5,000Banked tax-free
- 5%Criminal deposit fee
Your safe shelters two days of your salary from muggers; everything above it is fair game. Money in the bank can't be stolen at all. Balances above $5,000 pay a small daily bank tax in brackets (0.2% up to $50K, 0.4% up to $250K, rising to 2% above $20M), which is a nudge to put big money into property. The full table is in the property guide.
Short on cash for a build? The bank wires the difference for a 1.5% fee. No need to walk around with the whole price in your pocket.
Your second salary: the daily routine
- Daily streak: day n pays $25×n plus $10 per level. Every 7th day pays triple plus first aid kits and energy drinks; every 30th adds a Box of Havanas. Miss a day and you're back to day 1.
- Free wheel spin at the Golden Ace: cash, supplies, energy, or a jackpot worth 50 times the smallest prize.
- Three contracts from your contact: Rook, Commissioner Croft or Bad Penny. Clear all three and the pay plus bonus comes to about a day of salary.
- Activities at every city service. See the activities guide.
The Guide's ten steps
The in-game Guide walks you through ten steps, each with a "Show me" button and a cash reward.
| Step | Reward | The smart way to do it |
|---|---|---|
| Claim your daily reward | $100 | Every day, first thing |
| Buy your first lot | $250 | Edge of town, not downtown |
| Build a business | $500 | A House, then a Taco Stand or Food Cart |
| Hit the gym | $100 | The free bench press counts |
| Bank some cash | $100 | Everything above your safe |
| Play a city activity | $250 | Chess in the park is quick |
| Pick a fight | $250 | A bot with 60%+ odds. It ends your new-player protection, so do it last |
| Visit another city | $100 | Bus to the other starting city, about $54 |
| Join or start a crew | $500 | Joining is free; founding costs $10,000 at level 3 |
| Invite a friend | $1,000 | Real friends only |
Hire some muscle
Once your first buildings are up, open the 💪 Muscle tab in the player menu. An Enforcer adds +6% attack and one extra attack a day; a Bodyguard adds +6% defense. They stand beside you in every fight scene. Guests have to sign up first.
- You can keep one of each at level 1, plus one more of each every 4 levels, up to 8.
- The first hire costs $2,500, the second $10,000, the third $22,500 ($2,500 × n²).
- Wages are $200 a day for one, $600 for two, $1,200 for three, per kind, paid from cash and then the bank. Can't make payroll and one walks.
A civilian who never fights can skip the Enforcer, but a Bodyguard makes you a worse mark. The full numbers are in the combat guide.
Levels and new cities
Every action earns XP. Each level adds +1 strength and +1 defense, refills your health and raises your wage (an extra 15% per level until level 10, so early levels pay off fast). The quickest XP: contracts (30 each), heists (80), fights, building and the bench press.
Level 3 opens Sundale, where land is 40% off. That's the best place for business number three or four.
Common mistakes
- Buying downtown. A $6,750 lot earns exactly what a $2,750 one does.
- Sleeping on cash. Your payroll piles up in your pocket every hour. Bank above the safe.
- Letting registers fill. After 12 hours they stop. A week away earns half a day.
- Upgrading carts forever. Street businesses cap at level 5. Put the money into a Corner Store or a Deli.
- Breaking the streak. Day 30 pays far more than day 1. One missed day resets it.
- Fighting hurt. Health scales your power. A sandwich costs $8.
Pro tips
- Cluster. Buy next to your first lot. One crew holding a block earns +5% there, and you'll want your buildings on it.
- Energy is cheap. An Energy Drink is $15 for 25 energy. Don't wait on the regen if a contract needs two more gym sessions.
- Stack your timers. Start every activity that's ready, then go do something else. Cooldowns run per activity, not per city.
- Take the bus early. It costs a fraction of a flight. Save flights for when energy matters.