I would choose a phased approach for a brand new player.

Learn about tiles, z levels, and investigating what an object/unit is (navigation and inspection).

Learn about designations (how to mine, gather plants, chop down trees)

Learn about rooms and workshops (mason, carpenter, bedrooms, dining rooms, offices, walls, doors, grates, stairs, ramps)

Learn about farming (underground preferred)

Learn about trading (crafts, trading depot)

Learn about nobles (bookkeeper and manager to start, followed by broker)

Learn about mechanisms (mechanisms and levers, let power come later)

Learn about military (squads, commanders, fighting, training, equipment)

Explore the rest of the game!

If you want any help, comment or email me in my profile, I would be glad to help!

Find a multiyear walkthrough that will take you hours to just play the game according to how a manual tells you.

Why? It's like learning Ruby on Rails with Michael Hartl. You follow his instructions to learn more than just mechanics, but the Rails Way of doing things.

Same with Dwarf Fortress. You need to learn the DF way of doing things, the DF way of solving problems. Easiest way to learn it is to follow deep instruction for a while.

I cannot find the exact tutorial I followed a while ago (and I'm not sure it's even valid for the latest versions) but this wiki ought to help start: http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Quickstart_gui...

Maybe a current DF player can link you to the best multi-year walkthrough :)

sounds less fun than just jumping in the game and winging it

I read Getting Started with Dwarf Fortress[1] to understand the game. DF is not intuitive at all and this book helped me wrap my head around DF.

[1]:http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920022565.do

I learned from YouTube user captnduck back in the day - they're great tutorials made all the more appealing by the guy's incredibly soothing Dutch accent.

Follow along with some youtube examples of how to start. There are a couple out there with good explanations of moving between the different modes.

Thanks, I assume just searching for Dwarf Fortress videos will lead me to a useful starting point?

The YouTube series by captnduck is noted for being particularly helpful and comprehensive. But I think seeing several people's playstyles is good once you figure out how to not starve.