As a gamer who has played Forge of Empires extensively over the past 5 years, the most common question I get from new players is: "Is Forge of Empires really free, or do you inevitably have to spend money?"
It‘s a fair question to ask about such a popular strategy game that constantly offers incentives to purchase in-app premium currency. Based on my experience achieving a 4 million power empire without spending a dime, I can tell you Forge of Empires is absolutely playable for free, but you have to be strategic and patient.
Let me walk you through everything I‘ve learned about progressing for free in Forge of Empires, the pros and cons, whether it‘s worth it, and how to avoid overspending. I‘ve got you covered, my friend!
An Overview of Forge of Empires Gameplay
In case you‘re not familiar with Forge of Empires, here‘s a quick rundown on gameplay:
You start with an empty plot of land set in the Stone Age. Over many months and years, your goal is to build up an empire across eras, including the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Early Middle Ages, High Middle Ages, Colonial Age, Industrial Age, Progressive Era, Modern Era, Postmodern Era, Contemporary Era, Tomorrow Era, Future Era, Arctic Future, and Oceanic Future (whew!).
Core gameplay revolves around constructing buildings, optimizing production chains, researching technologies, recruiting armies, trading goods with other players, completing quests, and carefully planning your empire‘s expansion.
Everything happens in real-time, so buildings, troops, and research take seconds, minutes, or even hours to complete. You can speed up progress by using premium diamonds purchased with real money.
In 2020 alone, Forge of Empires generated over $250 million in revenue, which gives you an idea of how popular it is. Part of the appeal is getting to slowly watch your empire grow over months and years. Let‘s look at the key pros and cons.
Pros of Slowly Building Your Empire Over Time
I‘ve easily spent over 1,000 hours playing Forge of Empires over the years, so what keeps bringing me back?
Satisfaction of growth: Starting with an empty lot and gradually expanding a thriving empire across eras is tremendously satisfying. Seeing your city slowly transform and unlock new technologies feels like genuine progress.
Strategic resource management: There‘s compelling strategy in balancing production chains, optimizing layouts, and managing resources. Trading effectively is key.
Interaction with others: Being able to visit other player empires, trade goods, and join a guild adds an enriching social element.
Tons of depth: With over 80 eras, 1000+ buildings, technologies to research, and regular events, there‘s enough content to hold your interest for years.
Premium currency rewards: Even as a free player, you periodically earn small amounts of premium diamonds through gameplay that can help speed things up.
Though it takes patience and planning, I‘ve found the core loop of strategic management and steady empire growth in Forge of Empires to be immensely enjoyable over the long-term. The gameplay holds up.
Potential Downsides to Keep in Mind
However, Forge of Empires isn‘t perfect. After playing for years, these are some of the frustrations I‘ve experienced:
Repetitive gameplay: The loop of construction, research, resource management does get repetitive after you‘ve played for months or years. New content helps, but core loop stays mostly the same.
Aggressive monetization: The game constantly pushes special premium currency bundles, subscription plans, and limited-time offers. It can feel overly aggressive.
Timers encourage spending: Buildings taking hours or days to complete incentivizes spending diamonds to finish them instantly. This can be frustrating.
Pay-to-win elements: Spending real money provides big advantages, especially when competing in Guild Expeditions. Free players are limited.
Very slow progression: Advancing completely free takes an enormous amount of patience. Months easily turn into years. If you‘re not patient, you‘ll feel constantly pressured to spend.
The monetization and intentionally slow pace to encourage spending can definitely be annoying at times. But focusing on the satisfying parts of growth and strategy has kept me engaged.
Is Progressing as a Free Player Feasible?
Absolutely! I‘ve played for years without spending money. Here are my best tips:
Carefully plan out expansions – Construction strategy is key. Never build faster than you can supply.
Use diamonds wisely – Save free diamonds for critical researches or buildings. Resist speeding up everything.
Take advantage of events/quests – Actively participate in events that give valuable rewards/resources.
Watch ad videos for free boosts – Opt into free boosts from ads, but disable if too intrusive.
Join a good guild – Having an active guild to trade with makes a huge difference.
Have patience – Progress is SLOW until your empire is more established. Enjoy the journey.
The reality is you will advance far slower than friends who spend money. But with smart play, you can enjoy everything Forge of Empires has to offer as a free player.
Finding the Right Guild for You as a Free Player
Joining an active, supportive guild dramatically improves the Forge of Empires experience and your ability to progress. Here are the guild types that tend to be best for non-spenders:
Social Focused: Look for guilds focused on community, socializing, and fun over hardcore competition. They‘ll likely be more welcoming to free players.
Event Focused: Guilds focused on cooperatively completing events are great, as everyone‘s participation is needed regardless of spending.
Small & Mid-Sized Guilds: Very large, competitive guilds often cater to big spenders. Smaller sized guilds tend to be more easygoing.
Casual Play Guilds: Look for keywords like "casual," "relaxed," "mature," etc. Hardcore competitive guilds pressure spending.
A guild with an active chat, trading, and members willing to share tips goes a long way. Ask about their policies on spending requirements before joining.
Estimated Progression Timeline as a Free Player
To set expectations, here‘s an approximate timeline of how long it takes to progress as a free player:
Stone Age to Early Middle Ages: 2-3 weeks
Early Middle Ages to Industrial Age: 2-3 months
Industrial Age to Progressive Era: 4-6 months
Progressive Era to Modern Era: 8-12 months
Modern Era to Future Era: 1-2+ years
As you advance, the amount of time it takes to reach each new era increases exponentially. The game slows progression by design to encourage spending. Reaching the Space Age eras completely free could take 5+ years.
The key is enjoying the journey and not obsessing over speed. Forge of Empires is meant to be played as a long-term hobby, not something to rush through.
Is Forge of Empires Ultimately Worth Playing for Free?
Forge of Empires is an extremely well-crafted empire building strategy game that you can play for free if you have the patience and self-control. The core loop of strategic resource management and steady empire growth remains engrossing over the long-term.
Just go in understanding the progression is intentionally very slow without spending money, and you‘ll need to embrace a slower, long-term mindset. Ignore the constant pressure to spend.
Join a good guild, strategically trade and boost resources, take advantage of events, and savor the feeling of progression. Could the aggressive monetization be toned down? Absolutely. But the gameplay itself remains addictive and rewarding.
So give Forge of Empires a try if you think you‘ll enjoy the core strategic gameplay loop. Just resist the temptation to speed everything up by spending early on. With the right expectations, it‘s an incredibly fun game that can be experienced completely for free.
Have questions on playing Forge of Empires without spending? Let me know in the comments! I‘m happy to offer advice from my years of experience.
