No way to take a break from the game. If you are gone for any length of time you'll be attacked. There is no winning just a continuous power struggle with tons of pay to play. You can put up a shield or join an alliance for a time but if you have to be gone for longer period of time then you may as well get rid of the game. So in short it's very much just resource collecting or paying money 24/7 with a few underwhelming battles in between. Do not recommend.