Forge of Empires Care Event Board Strategy for Maximum Rewards

To maximize rewards during the Forge of Empires Care Event, use your spawner currency exclusively to unlock pieces that carry key components rather than combining blank tiles. Pair completed key halves, clear full boards whenever low-tier targets remain to collect the completion bonus, and hoard boosters and keys for Baron Alaric Ironsoul’s Rival Challenges.

How to Prioritize Merge Board Pieces

The Care Event minigame uses a merge grid where pieces range from tier 1 to tier 4 across multiple colors. Certain pieces hold key parts—either a top or bottom half—which combine to form completed keys spent in the reward shop.

Follow these merge rules to preserve event currency and board space:

• Target locked key halves: Check the board for locked pieces holding key components. Spawn free pieces only to build the exact tier and color required to unlock those specific tiles.
• Do not merge free blank pieces: Combining two unlocked pieces that lack key parts consumes board currency without generating key equity. Only merge blank pieces when the resulting higher tier directly unlocks an adjacent locked piece.
• Combine matching key halves immediately: Once both matching halves of a key are unlocked and at the same tier, merge them to bank the full key and free up grid space.
• Maintain open space: Keep at least three to four grid spaces empty at all times. Filling the board forces you into suboptimal merges to accommodate random spawner drops.

When to Clear or Reset the Board

Manual resets cost increasing amounts of event currency unless the board is completely cleared of locked pieces. A full board clear awards a lump-sum payout of progress keys and provides a free new board. You also receive one free reset daily.

Booster Usage Rules

Boosters bypass board bottlenecks, but they are scarce. Avoid using them during casual daily clears.

• Color-shift and upgrade boosters: Save these exclusively for high-tier bottleneck pieces. If you hold an unlocked tier-3 piece with a key half but the board only contains locked pieces of a different color, use a conversion booster to create the match instead of fishing through dozens of spawner drops.
• Blast boosters: Use clearing boosters only on isolated, high-tier locked pieces that would otherwise require multiple spawner cycles to build. Do not waste blast tools on low-tier clutter.

Spending Keys: Daily Specials vs. Grand Prize Progress

Completed keys open reward chests that advance your grand prize progress line and offer rotating Daily Specials. How you spend them depends on your primary event target:

• Targeting Daily Specials: Save your keys until your desired Daily Special building or selection kit appears. When active, open chests that offer the highest percentage drop chance per key spent in that specific color.
• Targeting Grand Prize upgrades: Focus strictly on the progress-to-key ratio. Different chests award varying amounts of grand prize progress points relative to their key cost. Choose chests that require the fewest total keys per progress point, ignoring the secondary contents.

Preparing for Baron Alaric Ironsoul's Rival Challenge

The Rival Challenge introduces short-window questlines that award exclusive upgrade kits for the grand prize building. These tasks require rapid board clears, specific merges, and chest openings.

Prepare your inventory and board before the Rival arrives:

1. Bank completed keys: Avoid opening chests during the days leading up to an announced Rival window. Accumulate keys so you can satisfy chest-opening tasks instantly.
2. Hold ready key merges: If your active board contains pieces ready to merge into completed keys, leave them untouched until a Rival quest requires merging keys or creating specific tiers.
3. Save boosters for quest demands: Rival quests frequently mandate booster usage. Keeping your earned boosters in reserve ensures you can clear these requirements without spending diamonds.
4. Halt unprompted spawns: Only spend board currency when an active Rival quest demands board progress, piece generation, or board resets.