New Player's Guide

Assumptions

This guide assumes that you are not a Saudi prince, or born to wealthy parents that spoil you by buying you gems. I am not saying Supercell does not deserve to make a living, just that YOU might not have to support their financial growth.

This guide also assumes you have just started.

What to know first

1. Save your gems for builders huts.

   You will soon find that the speed of your growth is limited by the number of
   builders huts you have. If you have spent gems already, do not despair, you
   will earn more in the game. Just remember, save them for builders huts!
   
   Another common mistake is to not take care when you are clicking through screens. If you are not careful you may accidentally spend gems on an upgrade
   or some other thing. Just don't be too quick to hit buttons, know what you are clicking.

2. Do not rush your Town Hall upgrades.

   Many people get in a rush to upgrade their Town Hall thinking that is what makes them better. It is true that you get new and improved troops, buildings, etc. with each Town Hall upgrade. But here's the truth: If your base does not keep pace with your Town Hall it is weak both offensively and defensively.
   
   
   Weak players end up quitting because it just gets too hard. Don't be one of them. Exercise patience, upgrade everything in your base (including your walls) first, then your Town Hall.

3. Get your splash defense and walls upgraded as soon as possible.

   What is splash defense? Mortars and wizard towers. They hit multiple troops at
   once, and will take out hordes of archers,  barbarians and goblins. So, the stronger your splash defense, ultimately the more defenses you will win and consequently may keep more of your resources.

Ok, I understand all of that, what's next?

Get out there and clash

Don't be bashful. They didn't call it "Clash of Clans" for nothing! If you aren't attacking, then you aren't getting resources and using them to grow. And that is the key. It takes resources to upgrade your stuff. If you are not going to upgrade your stuff, then you are not going to grow and get strong, and you might as well stop playing now.

So you want to grow? This is how you do it smart:

1. Use your cheapest and fastest to build troops. If you are spending tons of elixir on building troops to get resources, then you are not using that elixir for upgrades. You will have more elixir for upgrades. And the faster you build your army, the more attacks you can make, and therefore the more resources you will earn.
2. Target bases to attack smartly.  This is a critical point. What should you look for? Look for bases that have easily accessible resources in storages, and especially in mines and collectors. Look closely at mines and collectors to determine if they are full. You get more from them than you generally do from storages.
3. Clash often. Simple rule. The more you clash, the more you get, the more you learn. Simple huh?

 Don't be in a rush to join or make a clan

What? Isn't it "Clash of Clans?" Yes, but if you've just begun you need to learn the basics I have outlined above and practice them. Once you have mastered those tasks, then you will be a good asset to a clan.

And I would never recommend that a newish player create a clan. That just wastes a lot of time you need to spend growing. When it is time, join a clan. More on that topic later. Just not here.

My recommendation is that you grow your base organically to Town Hall level 4 or 5 before you join a clan. Look for information on that later.