How to Play OpenFront
The full match loop from spawn to the 80% land threshold.
OpenFront is a real-time map war in the browser. You claim tiles, grow an army, spend gold on structures, and win by owning enough living land. This page is the loop, not the first-match script. If you have not spawned yet, read Getting Started first, then return here when the attack slider and win condition start deciding games.
Play for free on the official site. Steam Early Access date is 17 September 2026 (Windows, macOS, Linux, Steam Deck, offline, cross-play). The Guides Hub is the index of specialist chapters.
The loop in one paragraph
Spawn, take cheap plains, keep troops near the growth band, convert gold into the structure that solves the current problem, and stop attacking when a new border would cost more than it pays. Repeat until you hold about 80% of non-fallout land, or until Overtime lowers that FFA bar. Everything else (nukes, trains, warships, pacts) is a tool inside that loop.
Attack slider
The attack ratio is the percent of current troops sent on a click. T lowers it, Y raises it, and Shift plus the wheel does the same. The in-game help notes that having more attackers than defenders reduces your losses, with the effect flattening past about 2:1. That is not a reason to send 100%.
Use a low ratio (about 10–25%) for empty plains and for several small claims at once. Use a medium ratio (about 30–50%) on a Bot you can wrap. Use a high ratio only when you can finish a pocket and still hold the home tiles against a neighbor. Controls lists the keys; this page is the decision.
Left-click on a border attacks or, over water, sends a transport. G is a dedicated ground attack on the hovered target; B is a boat attack. Confirm the route before you tap either key. An army walking a mountain chain is not the same order as an army walking plains.
Workers versus troops
Population is one pool that you split. Troops fight and occupy. Workers (the rest of the cap) grow the economy. If you keep the troop share too high on a quiet map, gold crawls and the next City is late. If you keep it too low on a hot border, someone walks through you while you “invest.” In a first FFA, bias toward troops until Bots are gone, then let the bar recover so gold and the next structure can happen. Team backliners reverse this; see Team Games.
Troop growth is not the same as troop count. Growth peaks near 42% of cap. A full bar is a reserve for a fight, not a farm. After a big send, wait. After a City, the cap jumps 250,000 per level, so the same army is suddenly a smaller percent of cap and growth speeds up again. That is why a City is often the correct purchase when you keep bumping the ceiling.
Terrain
Plains are fast and cheap to take (community reference: mag 80, speed 16.5). Highlands sit in the middle (mag 100, speed 20). Mountains are slow and expensive (mag 120, speed 25). Higher mag means more attacker losses; higher speed in this formula means a slower advance. A Defense Post inside 30 tiles multiplies mag by 5 and speed by 3, which is why a mountain plus a post is a wall and a plains post is still a wall, just a cheaper one to assault than the mountain version.
v33 maps can include impassable terrain. You cannot walk it, you cannot “cut through,” and MIRV warheads still need to spawn correctly over it. Read the map with Space (terrain view) before you commit a long attack. Buildings covers where a post belongs on a neck; do not pay mountain prices for land you do not need for the win condition.
Win condition and Overtime
You win by controlling about 80% of non-fallout land. Water does not count. Fallout from nukes removes land from the usable pool, which is why a hydrogen strike can help a leader or deny a rival the last percent. After minute 30, FFA Overtime lowers the threshold in steps so a stalled board can end. Public FFA can default Overtime on; still play as if 80% is the real target until the UI says otherwise. Full falling-bar table: Overtime.
Doomsday Clock is a different end rule: a 10-minute grace period, then a rising territory-share test (FFA waves 2/4/7/11/17/25/35%; team modes use a higher ladder). It is not a shrinking circle. Sides below the live bar get a warning, then troops and warships drain with a floor. Water still does not satisfy the land-share test. If you queue that mode, expand before the first wave instead of stacking a pretty navy.
Modes
FFA is every player for themselves, with Bots and often Nations on the map. Duos / Trios / Quads share a color and a win. Ranked 2v2 (v33) has its own ladder, 1 minute of spawn immunity, Compact maps 50% of the time, and an early end if a full team is dead or disconnected. Queue rules for both 1v1 and 2v2: Ranked. Human vs Nations is you (or a small human set) against building NPCs. Private lobbies can disable ports, nukes, or donations. Single player versus bots is the lab for hotkeys and build order.
Nations are not Bots: they build, they ally, they nuke. Bots never place a City. Players will use Alliances as timers. Naval maps add Naval as a second economy. Nuclear games add Nukes. None of those pages replace the loop: slider, growth band, terrain price, land share.
The Tier List Hub is a short meta read after you know the rules. The Updates Hub tracks patches. The Links Hub holds Discord, GitHub, and Steam. Developer OpenFront Inc ships the game as AGPL-3.0 open source.
If you remember only four numbers from this page, remember these: attack with a slice of the army, grow near 42% of cap, pay plains prices before mountain prices, and play for ~80% of living land (or the Overtime / Doomsday bar the lobby actually uses). The next specialist guide is optional until those four stop killing you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common OpenFront questions.
How do you win an OpenFront match?
Control about 80% of non-fallout land. Water and fallout do not count. After minute 30, FFA Overtime can lower the threshold in steps — Overtime. Doomsday Clock uses a rising territory-share test instead of a shrinking circle.
What does the attack slider do?
It sets the percent of your current troops sent on an attack. Lower it for empty land and multiple small claims. Raise it only when you can finish a pocket and still defend home tiles.
Why is mountain land so slow?
Mountains use a higher combat mag and a slower advance than plains or highlands. A Defense Post on that tile multiplies both. Take plains first unless the mountain is the only neck.
What is the difference between Bots, Nations, and Players?
Bots are weak and do not build. Nations are NPCs that build and can nuke. Players are humans. Annex Bots first; treat Nations like slow players with extra buildings.
Is Doomsday Clock a battle-royale circle?
No. After a 10-minute grace period it checks a rising share of usable land. Sides below the bar drain troops and warships with a floor. Land share wins; a big fleet does not.
Which mode should I learn in?
Public FFA or single player versus bots. Add Duos after you can spawn with a teammate. Save Ranked 2v2 until the 1-minute immunity window is something you use on purpose — Ranked.