For new players, I recommend that you play with the storyteller Phoebe Chillax. Set the difficulty to Builder. This difficulty provides little challenge but is great for new players who want to learn. Choose the "Crashlanded" scenario.

When you start, pause the game. Find a spot that you think is good to build a base. Click on the various items on the map and unforbid them. Once this is done, go into the work tab. Set priorities to manual. This allows you to choose how colonists prioritize their work. Set Firefight, Bed Rest, Patient, and Basic as number 1 priorities for everyone. Find who has the best Medical skill. Lower the priorities of Firefight, Bed Rest, Patient, and Basic by one for this person. Set Doctoring to be their highest priority. From here, choose what you want your colonists to prioritize.

Make a stockpile zone where it seems appropriate. Make the basic layout of your base. For just starting out, colonists can sleep in one big room. Now that you have your basic layout, build a growing zone and set it to grow rice. Rice grows the quickest, meaning that your colonists get food sooner. Your starting food does not last forever. Summer also does not last forever unless you are in an area that has a permanent Summer. Make sure to grow enough food for winter.

Once you unpause, equip weapons to your colonists based on the appropriate skills.

Your next priority is getting electricity. Build a wood fired generator. Colonists will automatically refuel this as long as they can haul. Remember that they will not refill it if they have other work with a higher priority to do.

Build a room for food storage. Put enough coolers in it to get the temperature to 0 degrees Fahrenheit. The coolers will not take too much power, so feel free to build 2 of them if needed. Make a stockpile zone in this room and set it's priority to "Preferred". Make it so that it will only store food.

Make a hole in the wall which is 3 tiles wide. Put a nutrient paste dispenser facing out of it. Set up hoppers to feed the nutrient paste dispenser. If everything is powered, the nutrient paste dispenser will provide colonists with nutrient paste meals when they need it. Remember that everything must be powered.

Your colonists have needs. The one you need to make sure is filled right away is recreation. Build a horseshoe pin somewhere. This will add recreation variety.

As the game goes on, you will need more recreation variety. Add more when it says to.

Your colonists also have Mental Breaks. These can range from them walking around in a daze to leaving the colony. To prevent them, check your colonist's needs. It will show what is giving them mood debuffs. Try to change things so that they are happy.

Remember: A satisfied colonist is a useful colonist.

Prisoners are to be treated as scum. They are your enemies, and are to be treated as such. Put them in individual rooms which are 1x2. Put down sleeping spots. Do not build floors here. Feed them nutrient paste. If a colonist needs an organ transplant, you have prisoners who can give "donations". Only release prisoners if you need better relations with the faction they are from. Otherwise you execute unwanted prisoners.

This is my first time writing a steam guide. If you have any questions or need me to add something, tell me.