Empires & Allies Doing a Solid Missions: Everything you need to know

Hey Empires & Allies players - Captain Krunsch, the old scallywag you first defeated way back at the start of the game is back, but he isn't back for revenge. He actually needs our help, and we can choose to give it to him by completing a series of limited edition missions, starting with one called "Doing a Solid." Captain Krunsch's men are stranded on an island, and they need supplies to survive and eventually escape. Of course, these goals being limited and all, your time frame for completing them is rather short: just six days remain as of this writing.

Making them even more interesting is their apparent relation to a current sale on Poison Gas III attacks taking place in the market (they're available for 21 Empire Points, but only for the next five days). Coincidence?! Let's find out!

Doing a Solid

Have 4 Mission Maps
Plant 12 Pineapples
Harvest 12 Pineapples

The Mission Maps are earned through individual gift requests sent to friends, while Pineapples take a full day to grow, and cost 576 coins each. While we're still growing our Pineapples, we've learned from players on the game's official forums that the reward for this mission is five Poison Gas III power-ups and 2,000 coins. A-ha! There's the connection between the Poison Gas sale and these missions, as they offer us a free alternative, rather than spending all of those Empire Points for the same items!

Just Desserts

Plant 10 Strawberries
Harvest 10 Strawberries

Strawberries cost just 37 coins to plant, and take just 15 minutes to grow, so you should be able to finish this one off rather quickly.

Sea Worthy

Build 4 Light Battleships
Place 4 Light Battleships
Destroy 12 Gunboats

A Light Battleship is available to build in your Shipyard once you've reached level 21. A single ship costs 2000 coins and 100 Oil to build. Just make sure you have enough space in your island's waters to place all four once they're built. Meanwhile, you'll be able to find the Gunboats easily by going back and replaying previously completed sections on the map.

Prepare to Repair

Have 4 Welding Kits
Collect 1000 Wood
Collect 1000 Oil

While you can produce 105 Wood at a time in your Lumber Mill, that particular contract takes a full day, so you would be better off selecting another contract that gives off less Wood upfront, but can be completed more often. The same can be said for the 1,000 Oil, as the max production in an Oil Well is 105 barrels in a full day, while other contracts are more worthwhile. Finally, the Welding Kits are available on the free gifts page, so feel free to ask your friends to send you some to finish this one off.

As usual, these missions are new, and are subject to change at any time. Should additional missions be added to this series, we'll make sure to let you know. For now though, you're left to decide whether or not to trust Captain Krunsch, but do so fast! Once these goals are gone, they'll likely never come back!

[Goals 2-4 Via CEGamers]

Were you surprised to see Captain Krunsch make a return to Empires & Allies? Do you think the goals he brings with him are too hard, or do you appreciate a challenge?

CityVille Mexican theme expands with Statue of Independence, Cantina and more

As promised, here we are again with news of more Mexican Independence items that have been added to CityVille's store. You know, I honestly thought that this would be a one-time release, but leave it to Zynga to release more items even after the holiday in question has passed (this holiday being the Mexican Independence celebration). There aren't as many items here as in the original release we told you about earlier this week, but there is a new crop here, if you happen to be into that sort of thing.

Statue of Independence (Decoration)

    * Costs: 36,000 coins
    * Payout Bonus: 12% to surrounding businesses and residences; bonus 12% to Mexican themed items


Cantina (Business)

    * Costs: 3,800 coins
    * Requires: 95 Goods
    * Supplies: 640 coins


Quince Anos Party (Decoration)

    * Costs: 12 City Cash
    * Payout Bonus: 12%; bonus 12% to Mexican themed items



Fine Arts Theater (Community Building)

    * Costs: 80 City Cash
    * Allows: 7500 citizens added to maximum population cap


Agave Crop

    * Costs: 5 City Cash per square
    * Harvest Time: Instant
    * Supplies: 450 Goods per square planted
    * First Star of Mastery: 3 Harvests


See? There aren't as many items in this release, but luckily, we're given plenty of time to purchase them either way. You'll have 12 days to do your shopping for these new items (the original section of this theme is down to a 10-day time limit), so just make sure to go shopping eventually before these items do actually expire.

What do you think of these newest CityVille Mexican-themed items? What sort of cultural or geographical theme would you like to see released next? Sound off in the comments.