How to play this game

Welcome! I'd start with the Ogame wiki:

http://wiki.ogame.org/index.php/Main_Page/en

I'd find an established/older universe, and reach out to good players there for help/advice.

Quote from Mogul_Phoenix

Hello.

I would like to know where I can find information about how to play the game. The FAQs page provides all sorts of specialized info about diverse aspects, what I need is basic info - what are the rules, what is the goal of the game, what are you supposed to accomplish, general tips and hints, basic info necessary to be able to play at all - you know, that sort of stuff?

A general tutorial of sorts, which does ot go into too many details but gives basically what you need to know to play the game.

Basicly this is long term game planning and help from established players for tips and tactics is a must. when you first start the game. but what you want to do first is build a metal mine to level 3 crystal mine to level 3 sit and watch for a day or so if you do not have officers then build up your solar plant and deuterium mine to 4 and build another 2 metal mines and crystal mines. build a research lab and robot factory. robot factory to level 2 research energy tech to level5 and combustion drive to level 4 computer tech to level 3 espinioge tech to level 5 and you can ask for a start up gift from a higher ranked player for your uni there should be a players helping players thread. so you can find help starting up. and remember the game is a long term game I have been playing since 2007. others have been around much longer than I have been. and reading the facts and guides nuts and bolts builds will help you alot.

you can always to the tutorials in game and win some rewards in the process

Quote from Mogul_Phoenix

What's is with those univetses in OGame anyway? What is their role in the game? I mean, isn't our universe already large enough to accommodate everyone? What are the implications of choosing a particular universe to play in?

With the implementation of a large variety of features which requires RL currency to use, new universes have often become a race of who can spend the most RL currency to gain the top, and over time these players tend to be destroyed by better players, making them quit the game. Simply put, new universes is a new chance for failed players to try to achieve a top position, and since Gameforge (the company behind OGame) earn a lot of money each time a new race for the top happens, they open far too many universes, far too quickly.
Most seasoned players greatly oppose having many empty and dead universes, which is why you will often hear calls for a merge, which is a process of limiting the number of universes by combining several old ones.

Also, different universes have different settings. So the implications of choosing one universe over another is having certain aspects of the game changed, most commonly whether it is a slow or fast universe and how large a part of destroyed fleet can be recycled. But again, the rapid opening and emptying of universes and the resulting merges means this is no longer a definitive choice but a long-term temporary (2-3 years) choice.

Quote from Mogul_Phoenix

Thanks. I think you posted tthis link in another thread as well, didn't you?
What's is with those univetses in OGame anyway? What is their role in the game? I mean, isn't our universe already large enough to accommodate everyone? What are the implications of choosing a particular universe to play in?

Indeed, I did

As DD mentioned, different universes have different settings. If you're new to the game, I recommend picking out a universe with lower fleet speeds (1-2x), as the higher fleet speed universes can be insanely intense - think going to use the bathroom for 10 minutes and losing your fleet.