Short trips beat big hauls
Two quick trips produce more than one overloaded one, and they keep you home before the wave. The walk back is the cost that ends runs — never the depth you reached. A Lift (Shaft slot) or Teleporter (Cellar slot) collapses that distance: the Lift rides a shaft you build with the Drilling Rig or Drillbert, and the Teleporter links a cellar station to a portable portal for an instant return.
Recon before you dig
A blind tunnel wastes the day. Install the Probe (reveals iron within 4 tiles) or the Prospecting Meter (distance to iron within 5 tiles) and dig toward what they show. See the exploration guide for the full recon setup.
Dig to a shopping list
Decide the upgrade you are about to buy, mine exactly that resource, then go home. Targeted days beat greedy ones, and the resources guide explains why water is the linchpin of a stable economy.
Convert everything
Bank nothing overnight. The Condenser makes water and the Resource Converter turns it into iron (1 water → up to 8 iron on the efficient path), so idle resources should become upgrades, not storage. Unspent ore did not help you survive the night.
Use delay when a dig runs long
If a wave is coming and you are still underground, the Furnace (+10s, +6s per iron) or Repellent buys the time to get home. Delay is the habit that saves greedy days — see the defense guide.
Use the databases
Do not hold 26 gadgets and 8 domes and keepers in your head. The gadget database and dome database are the planning tools that make a set workable — filter by slot, pick the conflicts, build around them.
Related guides
- Gadgets Guide — slot conflicts behind every pick.
- Mining Guide — distance is the real cost.
- Beginner Guide — first-run priorities.