Why can't I place a well?

Turn on the underground water view and place it over a highlighted area. Keep homes within the well's blue circle; the exact river-edge placement rule is not confirmed yet. See well placement.

Where is the Scout Hut in the build menu?

Unlock its idea in the Expedition and Ideas panel first, then look under World Map at the far right of the build menu. See the Scout Hut guide.

How do I bring scouts back after finding Margaret?

Select the scouts on the world map, right-click the settlement, and choose Send Scouts, or use the expedition's send back arrow. Unpause if they do not move. See returning scouts.

How do I turn a tent into a Wooden Hut?

Buy the Wooden Hut improvement, have enough wooden planks, then select the tent's upward-triangle upgrade icon and click Accept. See the Wooden Hut upgrade.

How do I get past the Blackbark Ridge dog?

Take meat from a barrel in the scene and interact with the dog, then open the chest for five rifles. See the dog puzzle.

Where is the mole at the final quest stage?

Go to Deadman's Wash, find the large molehill, and use its popup interaction after the arrival cutscene. See the mole quest guide.

Wild West Pioneers guide: Quick Start, Expeditions, and Quest Help

Quick answer: Start by giving settlers shelter, water, and food, then check the wishes above occupied homes; nearby requested decorations help you reach the 60 satisfaction needed to attract new settlers. The most common early snags are placing a well outside underground water, looking for the Scout Hut before unlocking its idea, and trying to upgrade a tent without selecting its upgrade and accepting it.

Quick facts

Settlement goal: Reach 60 satisfaction to attract new settlers.
Water: Place wells over highlighted underground water and keep homes within the blue coverage circle.
First expedition: Unlock the Scout Hut idea, build and connect the hut, then send five people with 20 money and 20 canned goods to Deep Forest.
Housing upgrade: After Margaret returns, Glen and Margaret ask for a Wooden Hut; its housing improvement costs 40 cash in the walkthrough.

Quick start

Cover basic needs

Provide shelter, water, and food. Use the underground water view to place a well on highlighted ground, with homes inside its blue circle; then check each occupied home's wish and place the requested decoration nearby.

Prepare the first expedition

Unlock the Scout Hut in the Expedition and Ideas panel, make boards with a sawmill, build the hut, and connect it to the Town Hall by road. Supply five people, 20 money, and 20 canned goods before sending scouts to Deep Forest.

Bring Margaret home

Talk to Margaret among the people in Deep Forest, then return the scouts to the settlement to reunite her with Glen.

Upgrade a tent

When Glen and Margaret request better housing, buy the Wooden Hut improvement for 40 cash. With enough wooden planks, select a tent's upward-triangle upgrade icon and click Accept to build the Wooden Hut.

Build and improve the settlement

Where to Place Wells and How Their Range Works explains underground-water placement, the blue home-coverage circle, and water tanks.
How to Upgrade a Tent to a Wooden Hut shows how to buy the improvement and confirm the tent upgrade.
Where to Find and Open a Stone Quarry explains how clearing a medium rock with explosives exposes a stone deposit for the quarry project.
How to Get a Moonshine License points to in-game events that may offer a license for sale after production is shut down.
Where to Find the Gold Mines explains how scouts find the abandoned mine for a second settlement and describes the separate Sandstorm mountain clue.
How to Keep Settlers Happy explains basic needs, revealing home wishes, and placing requested decorations to reach 60 satisfaction.
How to Move or Delete Decorations shows the hover-and-DEL delete, then how to place a decoration again inside the requesting home's range.
How to Unlock the Food Shop covers the tech-tree unlock, staffing, warehouse access, and home coverage needed for daily meal delivery.
How to Move Goods Between Warehouses explains automatic goods sharing through roads to the Town Hall and local warehouse coverage.

Send and recover expeditions

How to Unlock the Scout Hut covers its Ideas unlock, road connection, and the supplies for Margaret's search.
How to Bring Scouts Back to the Settlement explains the world-map return order and what to check if the expedition stays put.
How to Recruit the Explosive Expert and Remove Rocks covers Jamie's recruitment, the need for dynamite at the location, and selecting a removable rock.
How to Get Iron for Canned Food explains buying iron ore from the unlocked Shrubby Glade trader without sending scouts on another expedition.

Solve exploration puzzles

How to Distract the Dog at Blackbark Ridge shows where to get the meat that lets you reach the chest with five rifles.
How to Find and Interact With the Mole covers the large molehill in Deadman's Wash at the quest's final stage.
How to Complete Band of Ghosts explains when to send scouts to Deaf Woodland and what to try if the camp is empty.
How to Open the Rosewood Clearing Chest covers The Key to Money: the key from the miller at Armadillo Springs and what the chest holds.
Where to Find and Use the Shovel covers searching beside homes, collecting the marked tool, and reported demo workarounds when digging remains blocked.

Complete resident requests

Where to Find Finn's House shows how to identify the house for his flower request by checking which flower placement updates the quest.
How to Send 30 Cattle for the Native Quest explains the dispatch icon above Logistics, reported automatic repeat deliveries, and fixes for cattle-counting issues.

Troubleshoot stalled progress

How to Get Past the Tutorial Choice Popup explains how to hold an option until its selection bar fills.
Why Migrations Bring No New Settlers covers the happiness and population checks, reporting a stalled timer, and restarting for temporary recovery.
How to Restore a Warehouse Connection shows how reassigning one worker at the nearest warehouse can restore a building's connection.
What to Do When You Can't Talk to the Priest describes a reported workaround for the Dustwind Flats priest interaction by exiting the current location and switching to another one.
What to Do When Builders Stop Working covers player-reported recovery through saving and reloading, restarting, or using an earlier save for a matching quest-related stoppage.
How to Save Progress in the Demo explains the ESC-menu Save and Load controls and how to check that progress survives exiting the demo.

Find purchased extras

Where to Find the Official Cookbook After Purchase points to the Wild West Pioneers - Official Cookbook folder inside the game's installation directory.