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The House is the basic unit that allows you to built a larger population supply. A House increases your max population by 10. You also need at least one House to construct a Barracks.
Strength[ | ]
Walling
As a 3x3 structure for 125 Gold with a measly 35 second build time, the House is easily the best defensive walling structure in the game. Its only rival, the Forge, costs another 50 Gold and another 20 seconds in build time for equivalent HP but is a 4x4 structure. While a Forge may cover more space, its size means more surface area can be attacked on any one side than a House. Additionally, losing a Forge is quite a bit more costly since they can research upgrades. All other options are too comparatively inefficient and are unit-producing structures whose loss is far more damaging than the loss of a House.
Scouting
While Workers and other traditional units are more commonly used for scouting, a House is a surprisingly effective scouting tool. Compared to a Soldier, a House has four times the HP and builds in almost the same amount of time for only 20 more Gold. While the disadvantage of this method of scouting is that your House is obviously immobile, placement of your House at choke points leading from your opponent's base, near the middle of the map, or around future enemy expansions will make you far more aware of your opponents movements, either giving you map control outright or keeping you even with your opponent.
Weaknesses[ | ]
Supply Block
Whenever a House is destroyed, it lowers your maximum Supply by 10. With this in mind, make sure to place your Houses in such a way that they can be defended from rushes or sniping by enemy Catapults, especially if you are using them to wall. Given the above, it's not unreasonable to build a few more Houses than necessary once you reach a 3-base economy and have established your tech route.
Inactivity
While excellent for scouting, avoiding Supply Blocks, and walling, Houses are not capable of producing any units or researching any Upgrades. Additionally, they provide the same Supply as a Castle and none of its economic benefits.
Development[ | ]
Prior to Version 1.7, a House cost 150 Gold.
Version 1.7 - A House costs 125 Gold.
Version 1.72 - A House costs 100 Gold.