Getting started

Tidebound is a free, mobile-first idle skilling game played in the browser. You gather, craft, sail and fight across a drifting archipelago, and the game keeps playing while you are away.

1. Sign in

Open the game and enter your email. You get a 6-digit code and a sign-in link; use either. The code is handy in the installed app, since tapping a link on a phone opens the browser instead.

• An account is needed to play: your save lives on the server, so it follows you to any device.
• After the first sign-in on a device you can keep playing offline; your actions sync when you are back online.
• Pick a display name in Profile to appear on leaderboards and event boards.

Install it like an app with your browser's "Add to Home Screen".

2. Start a skill

Open Skills, pick a skill and tap an action. It repeats until you stop it, run out of materials or fill the bank. You run one main action at a time (a skilling action or a fight), plus slower timers alongside it: expeditions and Aquaculture plots.

Good first steps:

1. Fishing, Mining or Foraging: no materials needed.
2. Turn what you gather into something worth more: Cooking, Smithing, Carpentry, Weaving.
3. Buy a tier 1 tool in the Shop for each skill you train. Better tools are smithed later (tools).

3. The bank and gold

Everything goes to the Bank tab. It starts with 24 slots; rare and better items always fit. Sell items for gold, buy more slots, and fill Harbour Orders for gold and Trade XP (Trade). See Bank.

4. Come back later

Close the game and come back: up to 8 hours of progress is simulated (24 hours with the Ledger Pass). See Offline progress.

5. Play with everyone

The Events tab has weekly Harbour Drives, World Tasks and World Bosses. Rewards include gold, items, titles and Tide Marks.

Where next

• Skills overview: how skills, tools, Expertise and bonuses fit together.
• Items: where every item comes from and what it is for.
• FAQ.