Use Build New Settlement or Press C
Founding a settlement starts with the Build New Settlement button on the bottom bar, or the C keyboard shortcut. Choose the starting building, then place it inside the blue area suitable for that resource. In the tutorial, your first settlement must also use one of the marked white-circle starting locations.
These are the steps in the official County of Fortune demo FAQ. You are placing the starting point for a settlement that develops around its industry, rather than drawing a town one house at a time.
Inspect the Site Before Placing It
The blue placement area reflects the resource needed by the selected starting building. A food settlement, forest-based industry, and stone operation do not all have interchangeable sites.
Before confirming, consider what the surrounding region will need next. The official FAQ recommends inspecting available resources and river direction. Food and equipment supply will support growth, while wood and stone matter for construction-point production.
A river is not automatically a useful connection in both directions. Demo rafts only travel downstream, so a later region that depends on heavy imports needs a compatible route.
Appoint a Mayor and Provide Needs
After founding, open the settlement window and select its empty red portrait to appoint a mayor. Compare the available bonus with the starting building. If nobody is a good match, the official FAQ allows using a different mayor and changing them later.
Assign an available food recipe so the settlement can use the relevant supply. Producing a food elsewhere is only part of the job: the receiving settlement also needs to accept it and have a valid delivery connection.
As the economy develops, equipment such as wooden chests or wool tunics helps unlock additional building space. That gives you a way to add an industry without always founding another settlement.
Connect the Settlement to Its Neighbors
Select Build a road, or press V, and connect the settlements' central market squares. They highlight yellow with the road tool active. Use the bridge tool where water prevents a road crossing; red segments indicate an invalid road section.
Connected vendors distribute goods within a region once the receiving needs are assigned and enough supply exists. A road touching the settlement's outskirts should not be assumed to replace the central-square connection described by the FAQ.
If you later need a better position, the October demo permits moving the settlement near its original location within the same region. That correction has no relocation cost or penalty, but it does not let you transfer a settlement across the map.
FAQ
What is the settlement-building shortcut?
The official default keyboard shortcut is C.
Why does the tutorial restrict my first location?
The FAQ tells players to use a marked white-circle starting location for the tutorial's first settlement, then place the selected building within its blue resource area.
Must every new settlement produce its own food?
No. Connected settlements can receive products from other settlements in the region after you assign the relevant need and enough stock is available.
Can I change a settlement's starting industry later?
The official FAQ says even the starting building can be demolished and replaced, allowing production to change when necessary.