⦁ Reroll map until you have a region with rich deposits of berries and iron (berries should be close, iron can be far); if wild animals are far away, use wild animal migration to get them fairly close to your village.
⦁ In Early Game time is key to success. So whatever you do, quickness should be highest priority. Having the 1st family move in in April is possible, but usually at the expense of aesthetics. And since we might want to continue the game in sandbox mode, we want the city to look neat and organized. So we aim at May.
⦁ Pause the game whenever you need to make decisions or build complex structures.
⦁ Always keep ways as short as possible.
⦁ Build auxiliary roads from source to destination – in the beginning the city may look like a spider web. You can delete those later.
⦁ Use the reassign button to transfer a worker from one site to the other – releasing them ( - button) and then adding them (+ button) somewhere else may cause extra ways, or a switch of families, if several available.

Early Game:
⦁ Pause
⦁ Buy an Ox
⦁ Build a logging camp in very close proximity and add 3 workers to it
⦁ Build a hitching post
⦁ Build a granary in direct vicinity to the supplies; uncheck the market stall allowance and REASSIGN the least productive worker (usually a woman, since they cannot fell trees) from the logging camp to the granary; when supplies are safe, REASSIGN worker to storage house, which should have been built by then
⦁ Build a marketplace with at least 6 stall spaces in direct vicinity of the granary; 50 places, if you want your resource hub right there
⦁ Build a storage house directly next to granary, marketplace and supplies; uncheck market stall allowance and REASSIGN the granary worker, when all the bread is in the granary
⦁ Build a forager hut, uncheck stall allowance and add a worker to it
⦁ Build a hunting camp, uncheck stall allowance and add worker to it; when 6 hides are available, release the worker
⦁ There should be enough timber now to start building the burgage plots; use block building - 6 pits in a rectangle (3x2); a road all around it; that block provides space for 2 double plots with a lot of space for extensions on the outsides and 4 plots (3 single and 1 double) with small extensions on the inside; for this work the second ox should arrive shortly
⦁ When this work is ongoing the forager will have gathered around 20 berries; activate the stall allowance at the granary and REASSIGN the forager to the granary; when the food stall is built and full with 5 types of food each (depending on how many plots have been built already), release the worker from the job
⦁ Activate stall allowance at the storage house an add a worker; when firewood stall is built and supplied with 5 firewood (depending on how many plots have been built already) release the worker
⦁ Build a tannary. Keep stall allowance active and add a worker; when stall has been built and supplied with 5 leather (depending on how many plots have been built already), release the worker
⦁ The 1st Development Point goes to Berries (Forest Management) doubling the already rich deposit
⦁ Build a well
⦁ Build the small double out to housing 2 families
⦁ Build a sawpit and start producing ONLY 20 planks for church
⦁ When all resources available for church release all workers from their jobs and have them build the church asap.
⦁ Go back to producing timber (1 worker); man the granary and tanner to have market full; release tanner when clothing stall is full
⦁ Build a firewood cutter close to market and allow market stall (takes over firewood stall)
⦁ Add a forager to pick berries again
⦁ Add a hunter and have him harvest down to 8 animals, then release worker
⦁ Build a trader, add a worker and activate the trading route for berries; sell down to 6 in the short run, down to 90 in the long run (food for winter)
⦁ Relocate logging camp and sawpit to final destination
⦁ Relocate hitching posts directly adjacent to sawpit and logging camp along the road to the village
⦁ Remove all auxiliary roads and build final roads in the village center
⦁ If you have done all this smoothly and kept ways short, then you should have the 1st family move in in May latest. You are good to continue to Mid Game

⦁ With the first money from selling berries coming in, build 2 Veggy fields in big plots and goat farms in small plots
⦁ Build stable next to trader and purchase 2 horses for the trader (assign them); set berry surplus to 90 to have enough berries for the winter
⦁ Stay ahead of population growth; aim at 75 % approval rate to have 2 families move in each month
⦁ The AI will take the initial bandit camp – let him
⦁ The AI will claim a region sometime around October – let him, it will be his first and last
⦁ Gather 25 stones for manor and church upgrade
⦁ Build the manor – look if AI left empty bandit camp; get the money if it did
⦁ Gather 10 clay and turn them into roof tiles
⦁ Upgrade the church
⦁ Gather 72 iron ore and turn them into iron slabs
⦁ In Mid Game it is paramount, that approval rate soars as high as possible to have as many families move in as possible. Build 5 single plots with small extension each next to the market place – those are the only plots, that we will ever upgrade to level 2, AFTER the church upgrade, but BEFORE we run out of bread
⦁ Episodically tax to have some treasury. NO LONGTERM TAX, as it is very bad for approval rate. Tax only, if there is more than 400 regional wealth; that will give us the necessary funding to hire some mercs soon
⦁ Try to participate in fighting bandits (influence) with Retinue and maybe steal the money away from AI
⦁ Leave wild animals for winter to supplement berries
⦁ Trade of berries should be done now; release worker
⦁ Add Oxen, when you have the funds (8 max.)
⦁ When church is upgraded level up the 5 plots closest to market
⦁ 1st level 2 burgage plot becomes a cobbler with market stall (leave toggle on). Watch out! Cobbler will burn through your leather; pause his work every once in a while
⦁ 2nd level 2 burgage plot becomes a black smith. Start producing 36 sidearms. We will never produce anything else there
⦁ 2nd Development Point goes to Apples
⦁ 3rd level 2 burgage plot becomes a joiner. Start producing 36 small shields
⦁ Build 4 double plots with LARGE extension area for orchards; plant apple trees right away – they grow without anyone living there
⦁ 3rd Development Point goes to Basic Armormaking
⦁ 4th level 2 burgage plot becomes an Armorer. Start producing 36 helmets. You may need to micromanage the supply of iron ore and iron slabs for a while, since workers are scarce at this stage
⦁ 5th level 2 burgage plot stays in reserve
⦁ You will approach winter now and food variety drops dramatically. Do not tax now, in order to not fall under 50 % approval rate. Supplement with Meat as much as possible. Do not worry, you will not run out of food. It is close, but enough.
⦁ Build a second Forage Hut (with garden) to get berries in quick and have more than enough herbs for sick workers. Place 1 worker each in those huts at the beginning of March.
⦁ Start trading whatever you can (Berries for one more season (save 200), small shields, sidearms, shoes, helmets, tools)
⦁ From now on, we will not give an inch to the AI. We should have a small Retinue and a 36 men strong militia equipped with small shields, sidearms and helmets - you will be surprised, how well the later will perform in battle
⦁ In April market supply should be at 3 x 100% as vegetables pick up and there is some meat for the 5 leveled up plots next to market (we do NOT care about lack of entertainment; EVER!) Approval rate should soar to 75 % plus shortly
⦁ Prepare for battle! The AI will shortly start claiming the next region. That may concur with an appearance of a bandit camp. Finish the bandits off as quickly and cheaply as possible, hire ALL mercs and position yourself somewhere in the center of the map not to far from your hometown. Then declare war and beat the AI. Et voila you have your 1st region. We do NOT waste influence on claiming neutral regions. Save all those points. No exceptions! We will contest the AI every time, beat it and use our influence to take away it’s regions.
⦁ Keep building single plots with goat sheds, double plots with veggies and double plots with apples on the outskirts
⦁ Keep increasing the output of iron ore - iron slabs - helmets and sidearms until you have 4 miners, 2 bloomeries and a smithy at full capacity
⦁ Tax 10 % land tax whenever approval rate is above 80 % for one month. Turn it off again. Repeat.
⦁ Start thinking about forestry. We do not want to have our firewood and building material too far out
⦁ When it is time for the raiders, you should have a retinue of 6+ and two 36 men militias with sidearms, small shields and helmets. 10 days before the raiders appear hire the Wayward Sons (2 archers). These mercs will stay for the rest of the game and become a monthly payment. Calculate that! Shield them from any melee attack! Be smart with them (wide formation and missile alert if in a bow fight)
⦁ Shortly before the raiders appear there will spawn a bandit camp. Take it out swiftly. If the Raiders appear far away run to them, so that the AI cannot steal the kill from you. Then hire all mercs, position yourself and declare war, win the battle and claim your 3rd region. WARNING: Wait until AI's mercs are off the map, before you declare war. Otherwise it WILL use them against you immediately.
⦁ After this altercation turn off the trade with berries. From now on we save all our food.
⦁ With the raiders killed you should have enough influence to claim one of the AI’s regions. Do it – Waldbrand would be best -, hire all mercs, if they are not still under contract anyway and win the battle.
⦁ Set trade of sidearms, shields and helmets to 36 surplus. With that we can mobilize a new regiment on the spot. Do that whenever possible.
⦁ By June the economy should be firing on all cylinders pumping out sidearms, small shields, helmets and tools at full capacity (4 miners, 2 bloomeries, 1 cobbler, 1 blacksmith, 1 joiner, 1 armorer, 1 smithy)
⦁ When cobbler continuously working and leather does not become less, stop building goat sheds! Focus on veggies and apples
⦁ Tax when regional wealth is high to build up treasury for settling into two adjacent regions (500 coins) that will be the start of the end game

⦁ Settle in 2 regions adjacent to your hometown; resources do not matter. Do that right after winter of year 3 going into year 4 before berries start growing.
⦁ Use the exact same technique as in Early Game to get a good start
⦁ Build 8 single plots with goat sheds and 2 double plots with veggies; start with the veggies
⦁ Set up trade with berries and leather in those regions
⦁ Build church and manor + manor extension to increase Retinue to 24
⦁ Whichever region develops better (higher population grow) may become the home of a bow militia. Since you would need a fletcher for that, you would need to level up at least 1 burgage plot and increase the population to at least 18 families. The alternative is to turn the reserve level 2 plot in our hometown into a fletcher and barter bows with the designated region. I did not bother about more bows and went with the army as shown in the pictures – there is one more space for a bow militia
⦁ After the second raid in March/April of year 4 you should have enough influence to claim one of the AI’s last 2 regions. Do that and win the battle (easy at this point, if it ever was a challenge)
⦁ Tax the crap out of your people to get the funds needed. At this point we do not care about approval anymore – we are preparing for the final battle and need to pimp up our Retinues (amor)
⦁ At same time all that saved food comes into play. To get the influence needed to claim the AI’s home region (Selbitz) we give our surplus of food (50 % of it should be plenty at this point) to the church
⦁ Position yourself somewhat in the center of the map and claim
⦁ In the last battle we are slightly outnumbered; with the potential extra bow militia we would be more or less on par
Win it never the less!
⦁ Et voila! You have just won challenging mode in a little over 4 in game years

There are more routes to victory, but this is the one I figured out myself. I hope you enjoyed it, too. If it was helpful at all please leave a thumbs up. Thanx.