Shakes and Fidget is Playa Games' satirical browser RPG, spun out of the German comic strip of the same name and on Steam since 2016. Combat runs itself: you spend a daily pool of adventure thirst on Tavern quests, pick an opponent in the Arena, and read the fight log afterwards. The depth sits outside the fights, in eleven classes with fixed damage and health multipliers, a Fortress that caps every other building at its own level, and an Underworld that only opens once your Gem Mine passes level 10.
Starting Shakes and Fidget can feel overwhelming. This guide tells you exactly what to focus on during your first hours so you don't waste time on things that don't matter yet. For the full progression path, see our walkthrough.
What Kind of Game Is This?
Shakes and Fidget is a rpg game built around Adventure thirst and quests and Automated combat and class multipliers. The core loop involves mastering these systems to progress through increasingly challenging content.
What to expect: Time investment in learning mechanics, experimentation, and gradual mastery. The game rewards patience and knowledge.
Choosing Your First Build
| Build | Beginner Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Warrior | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Mage | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Scout | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Berserker | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Paladin | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
Our recommendation: Start with Mage. It offers the most forgiving experience while teaching core mechanics.
Avoid Paladin as your first pick. It requires deep knowledge of game systems to use effectively. Once you're ready, check our classes guide for all options.
First Session Step-by-Step
Step 1: Learn Adventure thirst and quests
Every day refills a pool of adventure thirst measured in minutes, and each Tavern quest spends a slice of it for gold, experience and items. The Time Machine in the Underworld banks whatever thirst you fail to drink, so it is the only building that turns a missed day into a delayed day rather than a lost one.
This is the foundation. Spend your first 15-30 minutes getting comfortable with how Adventure thirst and quests works before worrying about anything else. Our combat guide breaks this down further.
Step 2: Head to Arena
Player against player on a queue timer. The first ten fights of each day pay experience on top of the usual gold and honour, and honour is what moves you up the Hall of Fame.
Clear the main content here before moving on. Everything teaches fundamentals you'll need later. See our maps guide for all locations.
Step 3: Get Your First Upgrade
Look for Shield: it's the most accessible early upgrade. A restricted slot. Warriors and Paladins carry a shield for its block value and free attribute rolls, while the Assassin fills the off-hand with a second weapon instead.
Step 4: Understand Automated combat and class multipliers
You never press an attack button. Each class carries a fixed damage and health multiplier, so a Mage swings at 9 damage on 2 health while a Paladin sits at 4 damage on 6 health. Your main attribute scales damage, Constitution scales health, and gear supplies both.
This is the system most new players overlook. Invest time here early. It pays off throughout the entire game.
Step 5: Push to Dungeons
Nine light-world dungeons that stretch from level 10 up to around level 110, each a fixed ladder of bosses that only moves forward when you win. Clearing all nine is the requirement for the Tower.
Essential Mechanics Explained
Adventure thirst and quests
Every day refills a pool of adventure thirst measured in minutes, and each Tavern quest spends a slice of it for gold, experience and items. The Time Machine in the Underworld banks whatever thirst you fail to drink, so it is the only building that turns a missed day into a delayed day rather than a lost one.
Automated combat and class multipliers
You never press an attack button. Each class carries a fixed damage and health multiplier, so a Mage swings at 9 damage on 2 health while a Paladin sits at 4 damage on 6 health. Your main attribute scales damage, Constitution scales health, and gear supplies both.
Fortress building and raids
The Fortress unlocks at level 25 and its own level, capped at 20, sets the ceiling for every other building. The Woodcutter's Hut and Quarry produce wood and stone, the Barracks trains attackers, the Archery Guild and Mages' Tower defend, and the Smithy upgrades all three unit types at once. Raiding other players eventually out-earns your own production, which is why veterans stop upgrading the Quarry early.
Gem Mine and the Underworld
The Gem Mine runs to level 100 and digs socket gems plus the dungeon keys for the shadow world. Once the Tower is open and the mine passes level 10, it can turn up the Heart of Darkness instead of a gem, and dragging that onto your character portrait unlocks the Underworld.
Scrapbook and Toilet aura
The Scrapbook fills in as you see new items, monsters and portraits, and each entry adds a permanent percentage to your stats. The Toilet takes one flushed item a day to fill its mana tank, and the aura it builds raises the quality of what the Weapon Shop and Magic Shop put on the shelf, alongside your level.
Common Beginner Mistakes
1. Saving adventure thirst without a Time Machine, which simply deletes it at the daily reset
2. Building the Fortress Quarry to maximum before the Barracks, then having no attackers to raid with once production stalls
3. Ignoring the Toilet because the reward is invisible, then wondering why a level 300 shop still offers weak items
4. Playing a Mage into an Arena queue full of Paladins and Warriors and blaming the block chance, when the real problem is 2 health per point of Constitution
5. Spending mushrooms on shop rerolls at low level, where the offer pool is capped by your own level anyway
First 5 Hours Checklist
- Understand Adventure thirst and quests and Automated combat and class multipliers
- Choose Mage as starting build
- Clear Arena main content
- Acquire Shield or equivalent upgrade
- Reach Dungeons
- Adventure thirst does not carry over on its own. Build the Time Machine in the Underworld as early as you can, because it is the only building that stores unspent thirst for a day you can actually play.
- The Weapon Shop and Magic Shop both refresh at midnight, and one mushroom rerolls them. Since offer quality scales with your level and your Toilet aura, a reroll early in a new server is far weaker than the same reroll 200 levels later.
Tips for New Players
- Adventure thirst does not carry over on its own. Build the Time Machine in the Underworld as early as you can, because it is the only building that stores unspent thirst for a day you can actually play.
- The Weapon Shop and Magic Shop both refresh at midnight, and one mushroom rerolls them. Since offer quality scales with your level and your Toilet aura, a reroll early in a new server is far weaker than the same reroll 200 levels later.
- Flush one item into the Toilet every day even if it is a shop-bought piece of junk. The aura is a permanent multiplier on shop quality and it only moves when the tank fills.
- The Scrapbook counts items you have seen, not items you have worn. Walking through the shop and clicking every listing adds entries for free.
- Stop upgrading the Quarry and Woodcutter's Hut past what your build queue needs. Once your Fortress can raid other players reliably, raids supply more wood and stone than your own production ever will.
- The Mages' Tower is worth more than the Archery Guild for defence because attackers cannot see your battle mage count before they commit, while archers are visible.
- Gem Mine level 10 is the hard gate for the Underworld, but the Tower has to be open first. Finishing the ninth dungeon and pushing the mine at the same time saves weeks.
- The Gladiator Trainer adds 5 percent critical damage per level to your hero, your Tower companions and your pets, which makes it the single best souls purchase for anyone who fights in the Arena.
- The Academy and the Gold Pit both stop producing when their storage fills, so log in and collect rather than leaving a full building idle for two days.
- Class choice is not permanent on most servers, but the gear is. Switching from Mage to Warrior means replacing every Intelligence item with a Strength item, so plan the switch around a shop cycle rather than doing it mid-week.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many classes does Shakes and Fidget have?
Eleven: Warrior, Mage, Scout, Assassin, Battle Mage, Berserker, Demon Hunter, Druid, Bard, Necromancer and Paladin. Each carries a fixed damage and health multiplier, so a Mage at 9 damage and 2 health plays nothing like a Paladin at 4 damage and 6 health.
What is the fastest way to unlock the Underworld?
Clear the first nine dungeons to open the Tower, then push the Gem Mine to level 10 or better. From there the mine can turn up the Heart of Darkness instead of a gem. Drag it onto your character portrait and the Underworld opens.
Is the Demon Hunter actually revived after dying?
Yes, with a caveat. The Demon Hunter has a chance in the mid-forties percent to come back at around 90 percent health, but only when the killing blow came from a non-Mage. Mages bypass the class defences in this game, including that one.
Do I need to spend money to compete?
Mushrooms speed up quests, shop rerolls and building queues, so paid accounts climb the Hall of Fame faster. The Fortress, Underworld and Scrapbook all pay out on daily attendance rather than spending, which is why consistent free players still land near the top of an older server.
Which class should a new player pick?
Warrior. At 4 damage, 5 health and a block chance of roughly one in four it survives the early Arena and the first dungeons without needing perfect gear, and the Strength items it wants are the cheapest thing the Weapon Shop stocks.
More Shakes and Fidget Guides
- Shakes and Fidget Shakes and Fidget Overview
- Shakes and Fidget Best Builds
- Shakes and Fidget Tier List
- Shakes and Fidget Walkthrough
- Shakes and Fidget Tips & Tricks
- Shakes and Fidget Weapons Guide
- Shakes and Fidget Combat Guide
- Shakes and Fidget Boss Guide
- Shakes and Fidget Maps & Locations
- Shakes and Fidget Crafting Guide
- Shakes and Fidget Classes & Characters
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- Cyberpunk 2077 Beginner's Guide: rpg game with similar mechanics
