Separate the three point types
| Point type | Verified supply | Practical check |
|---|---|---|
| Carpentry | Logs supplied to a carpenter's guild | Check logs, delivery and guild production |
| Masonry | Stone supplied to a mason's guild | Check stone, delivery and guild production |
| Free points | Starting construction support | Check whether carpentry substitution applies |
The official FAQ identifies the two guild chains and the substitution role of free points. This distinction matters because a stockpile of logs is an input to production, while carpentry points are what that production supplies to construction. The same reasoning applies to stone and masonry, so finding a quarry does not by itself establish that the county has a working masonry supply.
Start a stalled-building check by identifying the resource the construction process is actually asking for. If it needs masonry, an available balance of free points is not evidence that the requirement can be covered, because the verified substitution rule concerns carpentry. Keeping those labels separate avoids expanding the wrong industry in response to a shortage that only appears to be a general lack of building resources.
Read the top-right construction display
The Construction Points Overview explains that the top-right bar shows point availability and that expanded tooltips expose more of the underlying supply. Those tooltips identify production locations and material storage, which are the places to investigate when a displayed balance reaches zero. Use the interface to connect the missing point type to an actual producer rather than guessing from the number of settlements on the map.
A visible zero is the beginning of the diagnosis, not the complete explanation of why construction has stopped. Follow the tooltip information back to the guild and its input supply, checking whether the correct material is available where production happens. This approach also helps separate a material shortage from a producer that has not been supplied, even when both situations leave you looking at the same empty point balance.
Trace carpentry back to logs
The carpenter's guild requires logs, so the logging side of the economy deserves attention before a large expansion depends on it. A guild building and a logging camp are complementary parts of a chain, not interchangeable ways of solving the same problem. When carpentry is unavailable, check the relationship between those buildings and the material supply before assuming that another construction site will somehow improve the balance.
A useful check begins with the guild, then moves to the source of its logs and the connection that allows those logs to reach production. Inspecting the chain from the blocked consumer back toward the producer keeps the investigation focused on the material that matters. The production chains guide uses the same input-to-consumer reasoning for equipment, which helps distinguish a construction shortage from a separate shortage of finished goods.
Trace masonry back to stone
Masonry is supplied by a mason's guild receiving stone, making quarry supply and processing two separate parts of the problem. A county can have access to stone without that material already serving the guild that needs it. Check the production location and storage information shown by the tooltip, then compare that information with the route by which stone is expected to arrive.
If the stone comes from another region, investigate its transport before adding another processing building at the receiving end. The stone guide covers quarry supply and the demo's downstream river restriction for inter-region stone deliveries. That distinction is important because improving the guild does not establish that its required input can travel from the exporting region in the direction your county currently needs.
Use free points for the verified purpose
Free construction support is useful, but it should not replace an understanding of the regular production chain. The official FAQ describes free points substituting for carpentry during construction, which is a specific relationship between two point types. It does not establish that free points cover every material or every construction requirement, so check the actual requirement before counting them as a general solution.
Use that starting support while building a regular supply you can explain through logs and the carpenter's guild. If an empty carpentry balance returns as expansion continues, revisit the producer and its input rather than assuming the earlier free support proves the chain was sustainable. This keeps the distinction between temporary help and ongoing production visible without inventing a regeneration rate or an amount of free points that the research did not establish.
Include maintenance in the investigation
The researched construction rules also identify maintenance needs for infrastructure. That means checking only the next building's immediate requirement can leave part of the county's ongoing construction demand unexplained. Read the current interface alongside the supply chain so that existing infrastructure and a new construction project are both considered when you decide where the available production must go.
Do not translate that maintenance rule into a fixed cost schedule unless the current game explicitly supplies the value you need. The confirmed point is that infrastructure needs support, not that every road or building consumes a particular amount in every version. If several projects are competing for attention, identify the affected point type and the documented producer first, then use the live display to assess the actual state of the county.
Diagnose the blocked chain before expanding
The most useful sequence is to identify the missing point, locate its guild, inspect the required material and check how that material reaches production. This is an editorial workflow assembled from the official interface and FAQ explanations, not a guaranteed fix for every possible technical problem. It gives you a reason for each check, which is more reliable than rebuilding unrelated settlements until construction happens to resume.
Once the supply is working, return to the construction display and confirm that you are watching the same point type that blocked the original project. A full material store, an available free-point balance and a produced masonry balance answer different questions, even though all three can look like construction resources. For the broader opening sequence, the beginner guide connects these checks with food, logging and equipment needs before wider county expansion.
Official sources
Information checked November 4, 2026. Send a correction.