The road from a single gold pan to the biggest operation in the valley runs through you. Keep the diesel flowing, the crew paid and your timing sharp, because gold is only worth what the market pays the day you sell.

The old claim

You've inherited a gold claim from your late uncle, a creek he never got to work. The ground is rich, he just ran out of seasons. Now it's yours, and his old friend Errol is here to help you get started.

Start by hand in the river: upgrade from a pan to a shovel and wash your first dirt in the plant. Earn enough and the whole operation shifts gears:

• 10+ machines: bulldozers, loaders, excavators, dump trucks, drill rig, water pumps and multi-tier wash plants.

• Rent or buy: rent cheap to get started, or save up to buy outright and cut long-term costs. Every choice hits your books.

• Build your site: place machines, wash plants, fuel tanks and housing across your claim, no grid snapping. 

Run the whole business

Gold is only half the game. Good management is vital to keeping the machines fed and the crew paid.

• Crews: the mine won't run by itself, hire different types of workers, each one with a job the mine can't run without.

• Fuel: machines burn diesel, order deliveries in time to make sure you never run dry.

• The weigh-in: every month ends at the scales. Watch the gold pour, see what the landlord takes, and find out if the month paid for itself.

• Breakdowns: machines will break down eventually. Stock spare parts and keep mechanics on hand, or watch production grind to a halt.

• The bank: take a loan to scale fast, but the monthly payments come due whether the gold flows or not.

Dig smart, sell smarter

• Prospect first: survey the ground before you commit, and chase the rich paystreak buried deep below the surface.

• Lease or buy claims: leasing is cheap up front but the owner takes a cut of every ounce. Buying costs a pile, then the ground is yours.

• Permafrost: only the heaviest machines can break it, and the deepest, richest paystreaks wait down there.

• Time the market: the gold price rises and falls. Stockpile, watch the chart, and sell at the peak. But don't stockpile so long that a crash leaves you unable to pay your bills.

Beat the season and the competition

You get eight months each year. Use them well. When winter closes in and the ground freezes solid, the dig stops, but the bills don't.

• Climb the leaderboard: You start from nothing while the established companies are already deep in the gold. Chase them down on the season leaderboard and prove the new guy can outearn them all.

• Know your numbers: detailed expense breakdowns, a live gold-price chart, and season-by-season stats show you exactly where every dollar goes.

  Wishlist Paystreak and stake your claim at launch!