Estate
Estate is a renewable Coin-gathering building for civilizations that use this structure. Settlers work at it to produce Coin, giving the economy an alternative when nearby deposits are depleted or unsafe. Estates take Wood and construction time, so the transition exchanges immediate military resources for a continuing source.
Recorded values
- Cost
- 600 Wood
- Available
- Fortress Age; Exploration Age (with the "Advanced Estate" card)
- Builder
- Settler and its counterparts, Estate Wagon, Homestead Wagon, Travois
- Function
- Infinite source of coin
- Structure
- 3,500 hit points · 12 line of sight · 3x4; 7.5x7.5 (placement obstruction) footprint
Function
Workers gather directly from the Estate, and eligible Market technologies such as Bookkeeping, Homesteading and Refineries can improve Coin collection. Equivalent systems may use a different building name or rules: Haciendas, Rice Paddies and other civilization-specific farms are not identical to a European Estate even when a technology affects more than one source.
Placement & timing
Transition to Estates when Mines are running low or a safe, renewable Coin line will support a long match. Build only as quickly as the Wood economy and defenses allow, since too many Estates can delay unit production. Protect the Settlers assigned to them and check which upgrades apply to the civilization.
Coin gathering and capacity
An Estate is an infinite Coin source available to many European, Native American and United States setups. It costs 600 Wood in the shared profile, takes 20 seconds to build and has 3,500 hit points. Up to ten Villagers can gather there, but crowding and unit collisions mean seven workers often use the building more efficiently. The written base rate is 0.5 Coin per second per Villager, below a mine’s 0.6 before technologies and cards. Settlers move around while working, so actual output may be lower than a tooltip suggests. Build Estates when mines are depleted, unsafe or too far away, and compare the investment with other ways to secure Coin. The building’s long-term value depends on how long workers can use it safely.
Age access and cost reductions
Most civilizations can build Estates in the Fortress Age. The Advanced Estate Home City card can reduce the cost and allow construction in the Exploration Age; Land Grab can further reduce the cost when sent in the appropriate order. The discount interaction depends on the two cards’ modifiers, so sending them in a different order can produce a smaller total reduction. This is a deck-specific economic plan, not a universal early building. An early Estate can establish Coin income before mines run out, but it consumes card slots and Wood that might be needed for Houses, military production or an Age-up. Use it when the economy can repay the building over the remaining match.
Upgrades and civilization differences
Estate technologies, Home City cards and Native technologies can increase Coin gathering. Their effects differ by civilization. Major Native civilizations may research fewer Market technologies, but some Farm and Estate upgrades apply across all gathering sources for that resource. Asian civilizations use Rice Paddies instead, combining Food or Coin production in one building with a gatherer limit. African civilizations use Fields, which can provide Food or Coin more slowly. Mexicans use Haciendas, which combine several economic and livestock functions. These structures should not be treated as identical merely because they can produce Coin. Check the relevant civilization and technology entries for exact availability and rates.
Choosing a safe Estate location
Estates need a substantial area and up to ten workers can gather from them, so location determines how much value the investment returns. Build within a protected economy near a Town Center or defensive units, and avoid placing several estates where one raid can idle every Coin gatherer. A Mine can be more efficient before it is depleted, while an Estate offers long-term capacity without relying on a specific resource deposit. Spread workers across available sites if congestion lowers their effective rate. If the opponent can reach the building, keep an escape route for the Villagers and protect the access path rather than defending only the structure itself.
Estate Wagon and packing
Some wagons and builders can place Estates, and the Camp Movements card can enable a packing ability in the listed setup. Packing makes an Estate more flexible on the map, but it interrupts gathering and requires safe time to relocate. Move the building only when the old site is no longer useful or a safer resource position is available. A wagon can speed up the placement plan, while ordinary Settlers remain available to build other structures. Check the civilization’s exact builder and pack access before planning around a mobile Estate.
Plan the Coin economy
An Estate is strongest when the player knows what its Coin will fund. A steady stream can support cavalry, artillery, mercenaries, upgrades or Age advancement, but the building has a delayed payback because workers must gather for time. Build one when the economy has enough Wood and workers to operate it, then add more if the match length and resource needs justify the expansion. If Food or Wood is the immediate bottleneck, an Estate may not solve the current problem. Compare its gatherers’ output with the cost and risk of using the Mine, and keep the worker allocation flexible as the army changes.
Estimate Coin return
At the listed base rate, seven workers nominally gather 3.5 Coin per second before upgrades, while ten show 5.0 in the simple tooltip calculation. Actual output can be lower because Settlers move around and collide; using fewer workers can improve pathing. Add upgrades only when they are available to the chosen civilization. Compare the Estate Wood cost with the time workers will gather there.
Choose between mines and an Estate
A mine begins with a higher listed rate and can be the better early source. An Estate is more reliable when deposits are depleted or contested and can keep Coin available late in the match. Move workers when a mine approaches exhaustion, but do not abandon a safe deposit too early. The building makes the most sense when enough workers can gather there safely for a long period.
Worker allocation and safe expansion
An Estate can accept ten gatherers, but assigning every available Villager to one site concentrates the economy and can create movement congestion. Spread workers across safe Estates when possible, keep the building within defensive reach and move them when the site becomes exposed. A steady Coin stream is valuable only while workers can continue gathering. Compare the Estate with a remaining mine and use the higher-value safe source first.
Protect the Coin gatherers
Keep Estate workers within reach of a Town Center or military escort, and move them if raids can reach the building.
Plan around the remaining mine
Use the Estate when the remaining mine is depleted, unsafe or too distant. Transfer workers gradually so Coin income does not stop while the new building is staffed.
Keep gathering safely
A reliable Coin site needs workers and a defended route.
Balance gatherers across sites
Split workers between safe Coin sources when one Estate becomes crowded or exposed, and bring them together only when the route is secure.
Infinite Coin source and construction cost
The Estate is a Fortress Age economic building and an infinite source of Coin. It costs 600 Wood, takes 20 seconds to build and has 3,500 hit points; up to ten workers may gather from it at once. Europeans, Native American civilizations and the United States can use Estates, with additional early access from the Advanced Estate Home City Card where available. Inca and Chile have a limit of ten in the recorded profile. The high Wood cost is exchanged for a reliable Coin source after nearby mines become scarce or unsafe. An Estate does not produce income on its own: assign gatherers and compare their travel time with accessible mines or other civilization-specific income. It can be built by Settlers and their counterparts, Estate Wagons, Homestead Wagons or Travois.
When to transition from mines
Estates are most useful when the game is likely to continue long enough for their construction and worker assignment to repay the Wood. Build one near the protected economy and move workers from exhausted or contested mines. Ten gatherers is the cap per building, so spreading workers across additional Estates may be necessary once the first reaches capacity. A forward Estate can secure a new income area, but its large footprint and 600-Wood cost make it a visible target for siege. Protect it with the army and avoid building several before the army can hold the region. Advanced Estate changes the timing by allowing earlier construction after the card; it does not remove the cost or the need to staff the building. Keep Estate mechanics distinct from the pre-Definitive Edition Plantation name and its version-specific balance values.