Merge County Beginner’s Guide: Tips, Tricks & Strategies to Build and Expand Your Town

Merge County is a brand new title from little-known Chinese developer Microfun that bets on the well-established merging game formula. If you played games like Evermerge or Merge Tales before and enjoyed it, you’ll feel right at home in Merge County as gameplay here feels extremely similar.

Obviously, the main thing differentiating them all is the story line. Merge County is all about reviving the town of Newburyton which has fallen under a mysterious fog. Help Esther, the protagonist who has just returned home, and her new pals rebuild the city building by building.

Start your journey by merging lower-tier objects and progress them up to their final states in order to bring back key town buildings such as the Post Office, Fire Department, High School and more. Each of these buildings is associated with a specific character which you need to unlock, as well. For instance, Esther is a postwoman so her corresponding building is the Post Office.

Overall, getting the hang of Merge County is quick and painless, especially if you dabbed into the waters of merge games before. However, be advised that Microfun’s latest title offers a pretty sluggish experience when it comes to making progress. You need to be willing to put in time and effort in order to craft ALL the buildings required to rebuild the town of Newburtyon.

Don’t worry, though, the task set out before you is doable. And if you need any help achieving this ambitious goal, we’ve put together a Merge County beginner’s guide which contains some of the best tips and tricks to help you move gameplay along as fast as possible so you can start seeing the brand new town emerge from the mist.

1. Always Merge Large Amounts Of Items

The main mechanic in Merge County consists of merging 3 similar objects to create a higher tier one, and so on until you reach the maximum allowed. The length of the progression varies depending on the item you’re merging. For example, creating a major building will take you through 8 different phases of merging. Alternatively, things like food items are derived from primary sources that you have to merge in succession only 5 times.

Given how long it can take to create higher-tier buildings, it’s essential that you learn to merge en masse. Forget creating groups of 3 items, focus on bringing together 5 and beyond. The larger the number the better, as follows:

5 pieces -> 2 higher-tier items

8 pieces -> 3 higher-tier items

12 pieces -> 4 higher-tier items

16 pieces -> 6 higher-tier items and so on.

Using this trick speeds up your pace in the game considerably. For example, if you’ve just created 3 new (level 2) items using 5 (level 1) pieces, you can continue merging to create one (level 3) element. On top of giving you more pieces to work with, larger merges also yield more XP points, thus allowing you to level up a lot faster in the game.

With each new level you reach, you’ll unlock new elements and you’ll get a much needed Energy reserve infusion each time, but we’ll talk about this aspect in a later section. For now, it’s suffices to say that creating larger combos should be high on your agenda. The only problem with this tactic is that at one point you won’t have that much space left to work with, but there are workarounds to solve this issue and we’ll describe what you can do about it in a later section. So try not to overcrowd the map with items too much. Collect and group, but also be proactive and merge.

Make sure you merge all kinds of objects. Every and each and one has a certain role in this game, so don’t ignore some in favor of others. Most of the items which appear in Newburtyon can be merged, even if they are of a rarer variety and so might not show up on the map as often. Find a spot for them, nevertheless, and wait until you have enough to make a merge. Don’t forget, the more you use the better the outcome will be.

2. Keep Similar Items Organized

As you intensify your mining activities the map will fill up with countless objects. In order to maximize the use of these elements, we recommend that you keep similar items organized. Just group elements of the same tier in a certain part of the map. This way you can also keep count of them a lot better.

It’s important that you sort through your items, also due to space limitation. The more you keep mining, the more items you’ll have on the map and so you need to be able to find the ones that are similar quickly and merge them in order to create more space.

If your map ends up getting extremely crowded and you wish to get rid of some of these items fast, you can do so by using the Shovel to destroy them. Unfortunately, you can’t get any compensation for these pieces, but at least you can clear away some of the clutter if you want to.

3. Catch The Flying Leafs When They Float By

Pay attention to the flying leafs (and occasional snowflakes) that tend to fly by at random intervals. Quickly tap on them and they will turn into basic crop ingredients. In Merge County you can produce various food products including Milk, Fish or Tomatoes.

These are super important for reasons we’re going to detail in the next section, but what we should note here is that the flying leafs are the most common way of getting access to these basic crop items.

At times you might find some of these items inside chests, but these occurrences are pretty rare. Instead make it a point to catch all the flying leafs whenever you see them gliding over your town. From time to time, you can even get higher-tier items by tapping on the leaf that looks like a “Play” button and grants you a free gift in exchange for watching a quick ad.

Anyway, start merging the basic crop ingredients and complete the progression (most consist of 5 separate phases) in order to start producing food items which you will need to be able to produce orders.

4. Never Stop Completing Orders

The characters you unlock in Merge County are usually quite hungry. As soon as they make it to your budding town they will start asking for various food items, for example, Pancakes (made from Potatoes and Milk) or Hot Pockets (made from Potatoes, Milk and Tomatoes). There are many other recipes and every time you level up you’ll be unlocking new and more complex ones.

While it might seem tempting to focus on the merging and building aspect of things in Merge County, we urge you not to ignore food orders. Make sure you’re constantly catering to the needs of your town’s residents, so that you can collect Pinwheels. These are a type of resource needed to unlock new portions of land which are hidden by blankets of mist.

To remove this fog, extend your map and reveal what’s hiding underneath you’ll need to gather a large numbers of Pinwheels. This means that unless you collect enough, you won’t be able to access certain areas in Merge County.

Fortunately, Pinwheels can be merged just like any element in this game and so you can grab more of them by completing orders and merging the basic tier ones (these are worth 5 points) which you can get for cooking up simpler recipes. Once you start making more complex orders, you’ll be able to grab higher-tier Pinwheels which are worth more points. You can merge those as well and so you should have enough to unlock new lands in no time.

Just don’t forget to cater to your town folks’ needs and requests. Don’t ignore them or you’ll end up stuck playing in the same region on the map, which isn’t what you want to do given that the goal is to expand the borders of your town, as well as make more space on the map for your merging activities.

5. How To Ensure A Constant Flow Of Energy

Mining in Merge County costs a tiny amount of Energy which is knocked off your reserve. As you advance and level up in the game, the limit (which is initially set at 85) will progressively increase giving you more room to do things in one session.

Given that mining takes a big chunk of your time in this game, you’ll end up going through your energy savings quite quickly. Don’t let that deter you from sending your workers down the mines to get resources, though. Fortunately, there are a few ways you can supplement your Energy reserve and continue playing for a lot longer:

• Claim the Free Energy Gifts – every four hours the game will allow you to grab some Bonus Energy by letting you chose a random gift. Just tap on the “+” next to the Energy bar in the upper left corner under your Level and select the “Bonus Energy” option. Make your choice quickly and enjoy the free Energy!
  
• Watch an Ad – need even more Energy for your explorative sessions? Tap on the same “+” and select “Free Energy” instead to watch a quick ad and get a bonus of 30 Energy points.
  
• Buy Some Energy – once you’ve collected enough Gold coins, you can go ahead and spend 350 in exchange for 75 units of Energy. It’s a pretty sweet trade, especially if you’ve set out on a pattern of saving up diligently since the beginning of the game.  Coins can be obtained by merging gold fragments which you can usually be found by mining or cracking open various chests.

• Hit the Stages – get active in the game and hit the stages (there are 10 daily). Each time you do so you’ll be able to unlock a small 25 Energy prize, so you can keep remaining active in the game.
  
• Level up – every time you level up your Energy reserve will be restored. So continue merging large groups of objects so as to get bigger XP rewards and level up faster.
  
• Complete tasks – complete various Daily or Weekly tasks to win small amounts of extra Energy.

As you can see the game puts plenty of opportunities for Energy reserve renewal at your disposal, so you shouldn’t lack for the juice needed to drive mining activities around your town. The breaks you’ll naturally end up taking will provide enough additional Energy, as well so that you can take advantage of longer gaming sessions.

6. Don’t Forget The Tasks

Tasks in Merge County don’t take center stage, so they might easily slip under the radar. Don’t let it happen, though. These quests provide nice rewards in the form of XP and additional resources including Gold coins, which as we explained in the previous section can be used to purchase more Energy. XP is also essential to your activities in Merge County, so the more you can grab the better.

You can find the tasks on the left side of the display. Slide your finger over them to see what tasks are available and try to focus your attention towards completing them. Some of them take longer to complete, while others you can finish right away.

Make sure you also check the list of Daily and Weekly tasks (it’s the compass icon on the left) which can also yield various rewards. For instance, opening 3 Gifts will provide you with a reward of 10 Gold coins, while creating 100 merges of 5 yields an additional 5 Gold coins, as well as 15 progress points. Earn enough of these points and you’ll be able to win extra Energy, coins and special chests and gifts. 

7. Use The Red Workers To Your Advantage

The game comes with two Yellow workers which take care of all your construction projects in this town. Additional Red workers can be unlocked by removing mist and revealing new portions of your town. Alternatively, one can create them by merging Shovels. These are pretty rare elements which can sometimes pop up when you’re mining.

More frequently, they are offered as rewards in exchange for watching a quick ad via the floating leaves. Make sure you take advantage of these opportunities when they pop up, so you can collect as many Shovels as possible.

Red workers are superior in the sense that they provide 1 hour’s worth of building time and so you can finish building constructions which take minutes to complete almost instantly. We recommend that you save most used Red workers for long builds (5-15 minutes).

Even if such constructions will still take a long time to finalize, using the Red workers will free up the Yellow ones who can be put to work on smaller jobs. Speaking of which, make sure you always take advantage of the “Free” button which expedites the last 30 seconds of building time for any construction, whenever it shows up.

When it comes to key buildings such as the Post office, High School etc, these can take up to 24 hours to complete. Which is why it would be a good idea to start construction on them before you tune in for the night. The building won’t be finished when you wake up but at least it would be half way through.

8. Get The Most Value For Your Rainbow Rocks

Rainbow rocks are super powerful elements in Merge County in the sense that they can take the place of a piece in a merge. For instance, if you have 2 or 4 items, you can throw in a Rainbow rock and complete the merge. These Rainbow rocks are especially important when you’re trying to unlock a major building. These require that you create 4 maximum tire elements, but if you have a full-blown Rainbow rock at your disposal, you only will only be needing 3.

This makes Rainbow rocks extremely valuable resources which are worth collecting. The trouble is there are pretty scarce. You start off with 2 already on the map, and we suggest that you hold on to them for as long as possible. You can use one to complete the Post Office and the other one you should invest to build the Fire Department. In the meanwhile, you can work to create a new Rainbow rock from the level 1 hard rock fragments which you will find by cracking open the occasional chest and sometimes mining.

Additionally, you might be able to obtain such fragments by watching a quick ad when the floating leaves fly by your town. Prioritize getting the Rock fragments before anything else, including the Shovels which are pieces that can eventually create the Red workers.

Furthermore, you can purchase a Hard rock from the Shop in exchange for 75 Gold coins, which isn’t too bad. If you keep up your order making efforts, you should have enough coins to spend. Alternatively, a fully formed Rainbow rock costs 195 Dollar bills in the shop and you’re limited to buying one per 5 hours. Dollar bills come in really limited amounts in this game, and so it would be best if you could just hoard them as much as possible. You’re better off purchasing the little Hard rock instead and just wait for a floater to drop additional Rock pieces.

9. Check The Evolution Book And Grab Free Coin Rewards

Check the Book icon in the lower right corner (the middle one) to redeem some pretty sweet coin prizes. For every new item you discover on your map, you’ll be granted a small reward. Be sure to collect them all and you’ll manage to put together quite nice sum.

As you continue merging and unlocking new elements, buildings and characters it’s inevitable that you’ll be stumbling upon novel elements. Therefore, you should be able to enjoy a constant flow of such rewards throughout the entire game.

10. Travel To Other Locations And Get Even More Rewards

Visit other locations in the game which come with their own maps and distinct ecosystems to win additional rewards. Tap on the Submarine icon in the lower right corner (the 3^rd one) and select one of the available locations. For instance, the Arctic Tundra. Here you’ll be greeted by a host of adorable animals which you need to start merging in order to unlock hidden parts of the map. You can win coins and Dollar bills and all kinds of other resources.

Don’t shy away from travelling to these locations. Luckily these alternate words rely on their own Energy sources, so you won’t be tapping on the main one to complete these quests. Whenever you feel that you might need a break from your Newburyton duties, jump into the submarine and travel to the next available locations.

11. Don’t Forget To Check The Running Events And Redeem What’s Available

Events are always happening in Merge County. Check the bottom of the display and the right side to see those ongoing. In players are automatically enrolled in most of them. During normal gameplay alternate resources will be offered as rewards for completing various tasks such as building a level 3 Spiffy Hydrant. These are then collected and once you hit a certain threshold you’ll unlock even more prizes.

For instance, during Merge Festival you get tiny gold stars in exchange for merging items on the map. The more you merge the more stars you’ll win. These are then used to unlock various prizes including Rock fragments, Dollar bills and higher-tier Shovels.

12. Remember To Visit The Key Buildings You’ve Constructed

One you’ve unlocked one of the major buildings in town, make sure you visit them regularly. These can yield various rewards including items you need during Events. All you have to do is drag and drop the items you previously used for the creation of the construction to level up the building.

For instance, if you’ve stumbled upon a Deluxe Mailbox after you’ve already unlocked the Post Office, feed it into the location. Continue doing so until the building gains another star and starts producing more rewards. 

There you have it! With this last tip we conclude our Merge County beginner’s guide. We hope that you’ve enjoyed reading and it and that you discovered some novel strategies which you’ll be able to apply to your own gameplay so that you can become a lot faster at merging and start growing your town. If you have knowledge of any tips we haven’t included in this guide, we invite you to share them with us via the comment section below!