Each technology requires a certain number of 'Forge Points', one of which is gained every hour. To progress through ages, players must research technologies through their research tree.

Many players believe the change unfairly punishes players for an obvious oversight on the part of the game's developers. On 16 January 2017, InnoGames announced that they will radically alter the stats of a building released three months ago for 'balancing purposes'. (In the case of residential buildings, before the Industrial age, they are 2x2, but after, they are 2x3 or larger.)

They can move the buildings later, during renovations of their city, or when progressing past the Colonial age, at which time the size of some buildings (such as residential) becomes bigger. To buy a building, players must spend coins and supplies, and then place it where they would like it within their city. Other buildings include special buildings (gotten during events) or Great Buildings. As players progress through various ages (shown by their town hall) by researching new technologies, they can unlock new buildings (either residential, goods, military, production or cultural), decorations, and an expanded building area. The main part of the game takes place on a city map, similar to SimCity. There is a timeline on which the player has to unlock the eras in order to proceed in the game a battle ground and a continent map that shows the provinces the player has to conquer. To buy new buildings and decoration the player needs coins and tools which can be collected from residential and production buildings (or by buying diamonds and technological advances for cash from InnoGames). For this purpose there are limited building grounds which can be expanded gradually. The main goal of the game is to build and enlarge a city beginning in the Stone Age and ending (currently) in Arctic Future.

Old graveyard forge of empires