Voxhorde beginner's guide: your first 30 minutes
Updated September 25, 2026. Figures come from the live game.
The short answer
Spend your starting 130 scrap and 100 timber on a Scrapworks, a Binding Pit, a Serum Lab and a Rot Garden. Bind two batches of zombies at the Pit, then raid a nearby village. After about 30 minutes you will run dry, and that is normal: come back in a few hours.
What you start with
Every new settlement is the keep alone, three bound zombies, 10 gold and a small stock of supplies. The keep produces 8 scrap and 8 timber an hour on its own, forever.
| Resource | Starting stock | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Scrap | 130 | Buildings, upgrades, research |
| Timber | 100 | Buildings and upgrades |
| Biomass | 30 | Binding zombies |
| Serum | 8 | Binding and research |
| Gold | 10 | Skipping timers and boosters in the Store |
Storage holds 960 of each material and 300 serum at first, about a day and a half of scrap from a keep and one Scrapworks. Anything produced past that is wasted, so a full store is a reason to spend, not to wait.
Meet Mort, your foreman
Mort was the first zombie you ever bound. After the walkthrough he waits in the bottom-left corner of the village with a speech bubble: one job at a time, a Show me button that opens the right screen and rings the spot, and a small reward when the job is done. Tap his portrait for the whole checklist. He guides your first five days: the First Night, then a new list each day that opens about 20 hours after the last one began, once you've finished the day before.
Mort's portrait, his line, the reward for the job, and Show me or Later.
The First Night is zombies first: a Binding Pit, a batch, then guards. The Scrapworks job comes fourth, and running it loud is the fifth.
Research and upgrades open at tier 2, so Mort's day 2 list starts there. If you would rather not wait for strength 120, the Trial route is in the unlocks and Trials guide.
| Job | Reward |
|---|---|
| Build the Binding Pit | 30 timber, 10 biomass |
| Bind your first zombies | 6 serum, 10 biomass |
| Post guards at a gate | 30 scrap |
| Build a Scrapworks | 40 scrap, 20 timber |
| Run the Scrapworks loud | 20 scrap |
| Hold the gate against the First Horde | 10 biomass, 6 serum |
| Build the Serum Lab | 8 serum |
| Send a hunting party | 20 biomass |
| Claim the daily reward | 30 timber |
| Train once in the Training Yard | 6 serum |
| Win a raid on a rival | 10 gold |
| Day | Jobs | Day reward |
|---|---|---|
| 2 · Growing the Grove | A research, an upgrade, a Rot Garden, a second Scrapworks, a finished level 2 upgrade, three more Training Yard runs, guards on two sides | 5 gold |
| 3 · Pushing the Fence | Expand the island, a Warehouse, a research at level 2, a full squad of six, a won hunt | 5 gold |
| 4 · Teeth and Walls | A barricade, a road gate upgrade, a squad at level 2, a won raid, a level 3 path | 5 gold |
| 5 · Before the Blood Moon | Fortify the keep, guards on all four sides, a decoy, a mutation, two attacks out at once, skill 3 in a Training Yard game, 250 strength | 10 gold |
Step by step
- Name your village. The name is permanent and unique across the realm, so pick one you'll want to see on the leaderboard.
- Build a Binding Pit (40 scrap, 30 timber, 6 minutes). It is where you bind zombies.
- When the Pit stands, bind a batch: 6 serum and 20 biomass for 3 zombies (more with a good Serum Shot grade). Your starting 8 serum pays for one. Pick the strain on the chips under Bind as first; both Bind buttons name it. Later, Bind ×10 binds ten batches at once for ten times the cost and the time, as long as the horde has room for all of them.
- Build a Scrapworks (30 scrap, 15 timber). It makes 24 scrap an hour and takes 2 minutes.
- Switch the Scrapworks to loud for 1.5× output.
- Build a Serum Lab (45 scrap, 25 timber, 20 minutes). Serum is the resource that runs out first; one lab makes 10 an hour, and it is where you research.
- Build a Rot Garden (20 scrap, 25 timber). It makes 12 biomass and 15 timber an hour.
- Open the Map, tap a village in range and raid it. The fight happens when your horde arrives.
Open the build picker to see what you can afford. Only one thing builds at a time.
Why you run dry after 30 minutes
Voxhorde is built for a daily visit of about half an hour. The game's own pacing test plays a greedy first session: by the 30-minute mark it has four buildings, six new zombies and one raid out, and only 1.8 serum left. After four hours away it can act again.
- Wait for the timers and production to catch up.
- Play the Training Yard: three paid runs per mini-game per day pay materials back.
- Spend gold: one gold finishes ten minutes of any timer.
Coins over buildings
Coins float over whatever needs you: Fix, Full, Bind, an upgrade, Build, Study or Grow.
- Bind: the Binding Pit is idle and a batch is affordable
- Full: a store is at its cap
- Fix: a wrecked building
- The Training Yard
At most three coins show at a time, most urgent first. Tapping one opens exactly the place where that action happens.
Questions players ask
Who is Mort in Voxhorde?
Mort is your foreman, the first zombie you ever bound. He guides new players through their first five days: the First Night's eleven jobs in order, from building the Binding Pit and binding your first zombies to winning a raid, then four more days of lists, from a first research to reaching 250 strength before a blood moon. Every job pays a small reward and every finished day pays gold (35 gold across the week). After that he points at the next thing that needs you, and Options → Ask Mort brings him back.
What should I build first in Voxhorde?
A Binding Pit first (40 scrap, 30 timber, 6 minutes), where you bind zombies. Your first income build is a Scrapworks: it's cheap (30 scrap, 15 timber), quick (2 minutes) and takes your scrap income from 8 to 32 an hour. After that comes the Serum Lab, which takes 20 minutes, brews serum and runs research.
Is Voxhorde pay to win?
No purchase is needed to play. Gold only skips time or buys boosters; everything it buys can be earned by playing, and new players start with 10 gold and the daily calendar adds 30 more each week (5 on day 3, 5 on day 6, 20 in the day 7 Blood Crate).
How long does a Voxhorde session last?
The game is paced for about 30 minutes of decisions a day, then timers and production refill while you're away. Production keeps running for up to twelve hours after your last action.
Can I change my village name later?
No. Village names are permanent and unique across the realm, so choose carefully on the first screen.