Forage

Foraging is one of the 6 labor puzzles in puzzle pirates its function is to provide a way to gather commodities to be sold or opened at a nearby island. This guide will explain to you how to score well and get your stat up. To make it easier on you here is a link to the Foraging - YPPedia it explains the basic movement and different types of pieces along with the goal of the puzzle so you have a basic understanding before reading this.

What should be done with special pieces Special pieces play a very big role in scoring some can be a pain in the ass and screw you up while others are a huge benefit and almost crucial to ultimate level scoring.

Machete - Clears all pieces to the left or to the right of the row. Left clicking will clear the row to the left, while right clicking clears the row to the right. This is helpful for taking care of a crate you get stuck very close to the bottom avoid clearing this unless absolutely necessary having it underneath a crate actually can be beneficial. Trying to keep one in a corner on the bottom of your board its helpful for certain clears this is explained later on.

Shovel - Clears all pieces below it until it reaches the bottom of the board. A forageable item will be ignored, so this piece can be useful for clearing crates or stuck baskets and chests. Remember it clears every piece above AND below the crate it doesnt just stop clearing once it hits the crate use the same rules with the machete.

Monkey - A monkey will appear, dancing around on the spot. This causes pieces in a 5x5 square around him to move and be replaced with new ones. Other special pieces that are nearby will be lost, but containers are unaffected. A real pain in the butt try to clear this one early but make sure none of your important special pieces are within its radius.

Earthquake - An earthquake strikes the board! This shakes the entire board, causing both tiles and crates to shift one place to the left or right. Clicking left shakes to the left and clicking right shakes to the right. If there are gaps underneath a container, these can be filled with pieces that move around during the quake. An amazing thing for getting crates unstuck and forming combos keep this if possible unless a crate spawns directly above this as this can create a clog at the bottom.

Ant - The ant will consume one tile each time pieces on the board are moved. It will always take away the tile directly in front of it, but it can be rotated to face a different direction. The number on the ant's back shows the remaining pieces the ant will eat before it dies. The ant will starve if it is unable to move because of a container, or if it reaches the sides or end of a board. It will consume other special pieces that are in its path. This is nothing but a pain has no use eats your special pieces and wastes valuable time get rid of it as soon as possible by aiming it for the nearest crate/wall its direction can be shifted the same way you shift pieces.

Scoring The goal of foraging is to clear all of the crates in the least amount of time and moves. The larger the crate the higher the score you get from it you can also multiply your score on each crate by the method of making combos (crates stacked on top of each other so when the bottom one is cleared all of the ones above it are cleared immediately after) Example of a basic combo: and simultaneous clears (crates being cleared simultaneously but not stacked). Example of a simultaneous clear and combo combined in one:

The best of these 2 is a combo, simultaneous clears from what i have seen only provide about half the score bonus. Combining a combo and a simultaneous clear creates an even better score multiplier as you may have guessed :P. Remember that when trying to make these combos that time and effectiveness have a huge affect on your scoring also I tend to not sit and wait around for earthquakes to appear so i can make combos as that will create a lower score then if I just cleared them right away however I do wait for at least 1 other crate to spawn before clearing as there is a possibility it can spawn on top of my other one and I always keep a machete ready on the bottom allowing for a simultaneous clear if it does not.

Basic tips when clearing crates The most important thing to remember when clearing crates is clear the rows beneath the crate starting from the outside in do not begin to start on a row if any blocks in any further outlying rows still exist this is how you get stuck and booch. Do not rush yourself yes this is a timed puzzle but if you do not think out a move properly it can end up not only costing you time but moves also as that is another part of scoring. Wait for a second chest and keep a machete ready at the bottom on either side if possible this allows for you to crate easy simultaneous clears. Keep track of the chests remaining to spawn you can do this by looking at the bananas on the left side of your puzzle screen as each crate is cleared a banana is filled (they fill starting at the bottom moving up to the top) once all of the bananas are filled your session is done so check that often so you are not waiting for a second crate only to realise you do not have another one that will be spawning. Use an earthquake to create combos if you have crates that spawn not directly above each other but side by side you can use an earthquake to create a combo just ensure that one is on a lower level then the other and one is touching a side wall, that is the direction you will be using the earthquake in. Foraging currently has a bug it affects the score displayed and can disorient you when you get an incredible yet your rank goes down the way it works is it takes your first score after having begun foraging and that score reflects on what the following duty reports show until you leave the puzzle and begin again so for example if i got an incred when I first began foraging and without leaving the puzzle I began another session even if i got a poor on the second session the DR displayed would be an excellent because of this to get a more accurate description of my foraging I exit after i complete every session. And to repeat what i have said multiple times speed and effectiveness are huge factors in this puzzle possibly even more then combos are, always have these in mind do not risk being stuck just so you can get a double its not worth it. By following these tips and practicing often you can easily achieve Grand-Master if not Ultimate.