Progression & Milestones — A Game About Digging A Hole Guide

Navigate the progression of "A Game About Digging A Hole". Understand key milestones, upgrades, and strategies for digging efficiency towards the deepest depth.

Welcome, aspiring diggers! This section will guide you through the core progression of "A Game About Digging A Hole," detailing key milestones, essential upgrades, and strategies to maximize your digging efficiency. While the game is casual, understanding these steps will help you reach the deepest depths and uncover all its secrets.

Early Game: Establishing Your Dig

Your journey begins with a humble shovel and a vast, untouched patch of earth. The initial focus is on accumulating enough resources to purchase your first significant upgrades.

• First Digs & Initial Funds: Start by simply clicking to dig. Each click yields a small amount of "Dirt Dollars." Your immediate goal is to gather enough Dirt Dollars for your first upgrade.
• The Basic Shovel Upgrade: As soon as you have 50 Dirt Dollars, head to the "Tool Shop" (accessible via the main menu). Purchase the Reinforced Shovel. This significantly increases your Dirt Dollars per click, accelerating your early game.
• Unlocking the Pickaxe: Continue digging with your Reinforced Shovel until you accumulate 200 Dirt Dollars. Return to the Tool Shop and acquire the Basic Pickaxe. The Pickaxe is crucial for breaking through harder soil layers that your shovel struggles with.

Mid Game: Automation & Efficiency

Once you have a reliable manual digging setup, it's time to introduce automation and improve your overall digging rate.

Automated Digging

The key to mid-game progression is investing in automated digging tools. These tools dig for you, even when you're away from the game, providing a steady stream of Dirt Dollars.

• The Auto-Digger Mark I: This is your first automated companion. It costs 1,000 Dirt Dollars and can be purchased from the "Automation Depot." Place it on any diggable tile, and it will continuously generate Dirt Dollars. Aim to purchase at least three of these as quickly as possible.
• Conveyor Belt System: Once you have a few Auto-Diggers, consider investing in the Basic Conveyor Belt (500 Dirt Dollars per segment, available at the Automation Depot). While not directly generating Dirt Dollars, it significantly speeds up the collection of resources from multiple Auto-Diggers, especially useful when you start expanding your digging area.

Resource Management & Upgrades

As you delve deeper, you'll encounter new types of soil and valuable minerals. Efficiently managing these resources is vital.

• Iron Veins: Around depth 50, you'll start encountering Iron Veins. These require your Pickaxe to break and yield significantly more Dirt Dollars than regular soil. Prioritize digging these out.
• Steel Pickaxe: Save up 5,000 Dirt Dollars to purchase the Steel Pickaxe from the Tool Shop. This upgrade dramatically increases your efficiency against Iron Veins and prepares you for even harder materials.
• Storage Expansion: upgrade your storage capacity! The "Warehouse" building (available for 2,500 Dirt Dollars) allows you to store more raw materials, preventing valuable resources from being wasted.

Late Game: Advanced Technology & Deep Exploration

The late game is all about maximizing your passive income, unlocking powerful drilling technology, and reaching the game's ultimate depths.

Drilling Technology

Shovels and pickaxes have their limits. Drills are the future of deep digging.

• The Basic Drill: This monumental upgrade costs 25,000 Dirt Dollars and is available at the "Advanced Engineering" facility. The Basic Drill is a game-changer, capable of breaking through almost any material you've encountered so far with incredible speed.
• Fuel Management: Drills require Drill Fuel to operate. You can purchase Drill Fuel at the Advanced Engineering facility for 100 Dirt Dollars per unit, or craft it using Coal Deposits (found around depth 150) at the "Refinery" (10,000 Dirt Dollars to build). Crafting is more cost-effective in the long run.
• Upgraded Drills: As you progress, look for the High-Torque Drill (75,000 Dirt Dollars) and eventually the Diamond-Tipped Drill (200,000 Dirt Dollars). Each upgrade significantly boosts drilling speed and efficiency.

Milestones & Secrets

Beyond simply digging, there are specific achievements and hidden elements to discover.

• The "Bottomless Pit" Achievement: This achievement is awarded upon reaching depth 500. It grants a permanent 10% bonus to all Dirt Dollar generation.
• The Gold Shovel / Drill Unlock: To unlock the prestigious Gold Shovel / Drill, you must complete all in-game achievements. This includes reaching maximum depth, collecting all rare artifacts, and fully upgrading every tool. The Gold Shovel / Drill offers a massive boost to both manual and automated digging rates, making it the ultimate reward for dedicated diggers.
• The $10,000 PC Secret: For a significant early-game boost, especially on PC versions, locate the hidden tile that grants $10,000 per click. Position yourself near the table and the chair by the window in your starting room. Look for a tile with a small dot on it. Focus your clicks on the right side of this tile, near the darker tile, to repeatedly gain this substantial amount. This can drastically accelerate your initial progress and allow you to purchase Auto-Diggers much faster.

By following these steps and strategically investing your Dirt Dollars, you'll be well on your way to becoming a master of "A Game About Digging A Hole" and uncovering all its hidden depths!