The Pirates Settlement is the seventh Cultural Settlement in Forge of Empires and combines classic production management with a dice mini-game at the black market. Like Polynesia, there are no roads – you build compactly, produce goods, and can play the dice game 3 times a day for extra goods. The settlement unlocks through the research "Trading Patents" from the Colonial Age.
Overview
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Roads | None – buildings don't need a connection |
| Currency | Doubloons |
| Playthroughs | 12 (main building max) + Exalted afterwards |
| Goods | Fish, Spices, Rum, Cannons |
| Special feature | Black market dice game – 3 goods playable daily |
| Bottleneck | Building space (few pickaxes) |
Buildings & Production
Residential buildings (doubloons + population)
| Building | Size | Population | Doubloons / cycle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hammock Place | 2×2 | 18 | 129 / 5h |
| Small Shed | 3×3 | 62 | 543 / 10h |
| Barrack | 4×4 | 174 | 2,165 / 20h |
Residential buildings provide population and doubloons – but the doubloon production is low relative to the space (Hammock Place: ~26/h) compared to the diplomacy buildings (Small Cutter 150/h). In practice: only build as many residential buildings as you actually need for population – the rest goes to goods production and coin suppliers. Since there are no roads, placement is overall simpler than e.g. with the Vikings.
Goods buildings (all 5h base, 10h/20h possible)
| Building | Size | Produces | Build cost (doubloons/supplies/pirates) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fisher | 4×3 | Fish | 270 / 360 / 36 |
| Spice Market | 3×3 | Spices | 203 / 270 / 45 |
| Rum Distillery | 3×5 | Rum | 338 / 450 / 27 |
| Cannon Builder | 4×4 | Cannons | 360 / 480 / 24 |
Diplomacy & coin buildings (diplomacy + doubloons)
The piers only provide diplomacy. The three ships combine diplomacy and doubloon production on 5-minute to 20-hour cycles:
| Building | Size | Diplomacy | 5 min | 15 min | 1h | 5h | 10h | 20h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Pier | 1×1 | 8 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Small Cutter | 2×2 | 32 | 21 | 50 | 150 | 399 | 598 | 1,195 |
| Long Pier | 1×3 | 48 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Wide Pier | 3×1 | 48 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Red-Sailed Brig | 4×3 | 192 | 84 | 201 | 601 | 1,601 | 2,401 | 4,802 |
| Big Pier | 3×3 | 216 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Blackwater Galleon | 5×3 | 360 | 120 | 288 | 863 | 2,301 | 3,451 | 6,901 |
From 10 hours the doubloon production per hour drops significantly – in practice: prefer 1 hour, otherwise 5 hours.
Doubloons per hour comparison:
| Building | 1 hour | Space | Doubloons/space |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hammock Place | 25.8/h | 2×2 | 6.45 |
| Small Cutter | 150/h | 2×2 | 37.5 |
| Red-Sailed Brig | 601/h | 4×3 | 50.1 |
| Blackwater Galleon | 863/h | 5×3 | 57.5 |
Expansions
The settlement grows through 12 sectors:
| Sector | Fish | Spices | Rum | Cannons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 2 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 3 | 40 | 20 | 10 | 10 |
| 4 | 60 | 40 | 20 | 10 |
| 5 | 90 | 60 | 40 | 20 |
| 6 | 99 | 90 | 60 | 40 |
| 7 | 107 | 99 | 90 | 60 |
| 8 | 115 | 107 | 99 | 90 |
| 9 | 123 | 115 | 107 | 99 |
| 10 | 131 | 123 | 115 | 107 |
| 11 | 140 | 131 | 123 | 115 |
| 12 | 148 | 140 | 131 | 123 |
Tip: Always use the good with the lowest quantity for expansions – the production time stays the same, but you need fewer units.
Optimal flow
Phase 1: Start
- Build 2 Hammock Places + 4 Small Piers + 1 Fisher → the first 4 quests are done right away
- Remove the Small Piers → place 2 more Hammock Places + 1 more Fisher in their place
- After an hour start a 5h production for the fishers, overnight 10h
Phase 2: Cutters & Black Market (Day 1–3)
- Collect 10 Fish → unlock Small Cutters
- Remove 1 Fisher → place 2 Small Cutters
- From 35 Fish, the Black Market can be unlocked with Quest 6 – the dice game can significantly speed up the start depending on dice luck and goods offer
Phase 3: Mid phase & finish
From here it runs according to the well-known schema:
- Buy expansion → produce goods → unlock buildings → complete quest
- Briefly set up piers for unlocks (diplomacy), then remove them again
- Choose expansions with favorable obstacles – pickaxes are rare
- Gradually scale up to 4 goods buildings at once
TL;DR: Start with 2 hammocks + 4 piers + 1 fisher → set up cutters → unlock black market → then expansion/production/unlock in a loop. The dice luck factor makes every run different – logging in three times a day is enough.
Rewards
| Playthrough | Reward |
|---|---|
| 1 | Pirate Treasure Book, level 1 |
| 2–3 | Upgrade kit |
| 4 | Emissary Blackbeard (100 goods of previous era) |
| 5–8 | Upgrade kits |
| 9 | Emissary Anne Bonny (+ Town Hall slot) |
| 10–11 | Upgrade kits |
| 12 | Exalted Pirate Treasure Book (28 days) |
Pirate Treasure Book (main building)
At max level it provides good attack and defense values for the defense army (blue) and defense for the attack army (red), both also for QI, +150% supplies boost, coin production and random units.
Blackbeard's Hideout (secondary building, time challenge)
2×2 building with 5 levels. Fragments are awarded based on speed:
| Rank | Fragments |
|---|---|
| Gold (fastest completion) | 50 |
| Silver | 30 |
| Bronze | 20 |
As usual, the secondary building is negligible.
Emissaries & Slots
The settlement unlocks 2 emissaries. The slots are located in the Town Hall of your capital.
| Emissary | Daily bonus |
|---|---|
| Blackbeard | 100 goods of the previous era |
| Anne Bonny | 16 FP |
The black market (dice game)
Every 24 hours, 3 random goods are offered to you. You can play all three in a row and thus get up to 3 goods per day.
How it works:
- 5 dice, up to 3 rolls per round
- Yahtzee-like combinations: pairs, straights, full house, 4/5 of a kind
- Rolled dice can be held; the rest are rolled again
Tips for a smooth run
- Unlock the Spice Market early. It opens access to the black market and significantly speeds up goods collection.
- Use pickaxes sparingly. They are limited and come primarily as quest rewards. Only clear impediments that block your planned expansion.
- Avoid overproduction. With an eye on unlocks and quests, only produce what is needed for the next goal.