Getting Started
Project Zomboid is a survival game with one famous tagline: this is how you died. It is not a game you win. It is a game you survive, for as long as your discipline holds out. This wiki is built around that reality.
The survival mindset
Most beginner deaths are not bad luck. They are predictable consequences of moving too fast, fighting in bad positions, or staying somewhere too long. The survivors who last are not the bravest — they are the most patient.
Your first hour
- Find a melee weapon. Anything beats bare hands.
- Grab a bag and a water container.
- Locate a quiet house with two exits to use as a temporary base.
- Learn the shove-and-stomp combat rhythm on isolated zombies.
- Note which direction zombie density increases — and avoid it.
The goal of your first day is not progress. It is to still be alive, calm, and informed when night falls.
Where to read next
Start with the First Day Survival Guide, then How Infection Actually Works, then How To Survive The First Week. After that, the Traits and Occupations sections will help you build a stronger survivor next time.