First five hours

When you first start the game, you will be introduced to the basic gameplay mechanics through a reasonably lengthy tutorial. You have very simple tasks to accomplish - building a Cannon to see off a Goblin threat, and then watching as the Goblins attempt their attack. You should ignore the game's suggestion that you spend Gems to rush the production of the Cannon - there is no need to do this, and the Gems are better saved for when you have a serious wait-time to skip, or for purchasing more Builders.

Having successfully seen off the Goblins, you must launch a counter-attack. All you have to do really is tap where you want your units to be deployed in the enemy camp. It's pretty straightforward, and once that's done you will receive some Gold and Elixir for your troubles. You then need to construct a Builder's Hut (which does require the use of Gems), followed by an Elixir Collector, Elixir Storage, Gold Storage and Barracks. With your resources coming in and the Barracks built, you need to train some Barbarians. Following that, you can access the world map, choose the Goblin Forest to attack, and successfully launch an assault upon it.

All this will take you between 30 minutes and one hour, and it is at this point that you are let loose to play as you see fit. By this stage, you will be at Level 2. Your focus from here should be to level up as quickly as possible - absolutely paramount is the fact that you are given a shield in your first few days in the game (the first three, to be precise) which ensures no enemies can attack you. You should make the most of this time, playing as much as possible to get your base up to scratch.

First off, you want your resource collectors to be as upgraded as possible. The basic principle of Clash of Clans is to ensure you have a regular supply of resources coming in to fund your army and future upgrades. Focus on your Gold Mine and Elxir Collectors, building as many as possible and leveling them up as far as you can. You don't need to build more storage at this stage, but should update the Gold and Elixir storage that you have available.

There are a couple of things to avoid in your first few hours of play. There is no need to attack enemy players, and doing so actually removes your shield - so it is best to hold-off on that until you reach the third day or are very comfortable with your defenses. Also, as you are basically invincible for this period, you should wait until the second or third day before putting any money into defenses - you don't need Walls or Cannons as no one can attack you yet!

Once you have leveled up as much as you can and upgraded all your resource buildings, then you can look to defenses and beefing up your army.