How do you play?

[ThatOneGuy]

When I got my friend into Stardew Valley, the next time I saw him he told me he spent an entire year just making money. He would wake up, water his crops, and go back to bed. I found this very interesting since I play as if I have limited time. I'm currently at the end of Fall of Year 1 and am happily married to Penny, have plenty of money, have 5 out of 7 Stardrops, and have finished the Fish Tank, Vault, and Boiler Room, and am very close to finishing the Crafts Room and Pantry. So how do you play? What skills do you focus on? Do you play knowing you have unlimited time or play like me? I'm genuinely interested.

Edit: I also haven't befriended anyone except Penny (because I love her) and Linus (for Wild Bait and Sashimi). I don't even pay attention to birthdays. I do have one or two hearts with most of them, but I think that's just because I got a perfect Luau with a Gold Quality Sturgeon.

 

[Prismatic Junimo]

I tend to spend the first year and most of the second focusing on getting my farm together, getting the resources I need for better automation (I never manage to finish that by year two, but I'm in a good place at that point to continue improving, rather than laying down the basics still), and completing the community center. A little less intense than just getting money, but definitely less on the social side.

The only social stuff I really do is gifts on birthdays and festivals, at least that first year. Whenever the community center is finished, then I'll shift more of my focus to actually talking to everyone, giving gifts, triggering the heart scenes, etc. Once I get everyone as high as they'll go, then I'll ask someone to be my date and go from there. That's generally when I start focusing on the aesthetics of both my house and the farm too.

So I guess long story short, start fast, calm down into a leisurely pace when the 'basics' as I see them are done.

 

[Salamander]

When I got my friend into Stardew Valley, the next time I saw him he told me he spent an entire year just making money. He would wake up, water his crops, and go back to bed.

I introduced Stardew to my friend after only playing it for a short while myself, and she did the same thing! I was like :0, because I also played it as if I had limited time.
My first (and main) farm had a slow start because I was new to the game, but I tried to pack as much as I could into a single day. I spent a lot of time mining and farming. I was making a good amount of money by the end of year one, but didn't get married until the start of year three.
I just started my second game not too long ago and I've focused more on relationships rather than my farm, and it shows.
It's interesting hearing about people's different play styles! Thank you for sharing!

 

[Quillmagic]

I played in a way that I really strategized the best and most efficient ways to do things in Year 1. I had made it my goal to complete the Community Center before Y3 began, in time for Grandpa's evaluation. (It doesn't affect the final decision a lot, but it was a goal) and I never gave gifts to people unless 1. It was their birthday or 2. They stayed inside their rooms or houses all the time so it was hard to socialize with them (like Elliott and Sebastian) I did a bunch of little immersive things, and basically dropped the whole "efficient" thing by the time I had completed the community center. In fact, I waited to marry Sebastian until winter, in a romantic spot, just so I could see all of his dating dialogue! *inhale* So, yeah, that's how I played the game.

 

[imnvs]

I make sure to get the Greenhouse in Fall Year 1 always.

In a solo game the Aquarium is the last Community Center thing completed almost every time. In a multiplayer game with the wife, she completes the Aquarium long before I can complete everything else.

And I do not get the "get up, water crops, go to bed" thing. Really, you're wasting so much of the time available to you. I mean, I rarely go to bed before midnight. Watering your crops isn't the only way to make money.

I work to get a mix of animals, and a mix of crops so that over the first 2 years I can complete most goals... and maybe in year 3 I have to work to do Monoculture and Polyculture, but you know what? That's NBD, really. I have a steady supply of varying cheese and mayonnaise products, not to mention the wool/cloth, feet, feathers.

I work to get a few sheds for processing crops into wines/juices and jellies/pickles in my kegs/preserve jars. I usually start with one that is half and half, but then I get a second and split it into one shed with kegs and another with jars. If I end up getting a backlog I'll build a third that is half&half again, clear things out. That is, of course, in addition to the shed that has my furnaces, kilns, recyclers, wood chippers, worm bins, seed makers, looms, workbench and chests full of materials for the workbench. That's the first shed I build, and my initial kegs and preserve jars usually start in there, but before I have too many I'm building a second shed for those.

In year 1 I'm not super social, but as I'm running around I make sure to pause and say, "Hi!" to people. It's in year 2 that I start making a concerted effort to make friends. I've usually picked out the person I will marry before even starting a save, so if things work out that I make friends quickly with that person I'll try to then date and marry that person ASAP. Otherwise, they're the first target of my efforts in year 2. (Funny, in the 3 saves of 4 where I've gotten married, the one I married quickest was Elliot... who is notoriously difficult to find and befriend in every save for both me and the wife (who has 2 solo saves of her own).)

 

[iridium quality]

I like to get the Bus before Fall Year 1. Greenhouse, I like before Winter Year 1 but that usually doesn't happen, sadly.

I categorize my days also! Here are the categories I use:

• Mining Days - This is when I go to the mines and work my way down all day. If I've already reached the bottom, I just gather materials all day.
• Fishing Days - This is when I go fishing all day! Usually, it's for a bundle, but if I've completed all the fishing bundles I can I fish in the Mountain Lake. If you didn't know, it's the most profitable fishing spot.
• Foraging Days - This is when I scour the entire map for forageables, occasionally giving them as gifts along the way.
• Socializing Days - This is when I have collected a bunch of loved gifts or Joja Colas for Sam. I go around giving out gifts and generally socializing with everyone. This is usually on the weekends or on Friday because most of the town is at the saloon those days.

That's basically it. I play to have fun, but I do like to be productive also. I usually playthrough 3-5 days every IRL day I play. I play around 4 days each week, so I would say I play through two weeks every IRL week.

 

[ISSsloth]

I play a couple times a month and try to get along with every one, prioritizing the roleplay aspect of the game. Somedays I grab stuff to gift and just wander around, very rarely I'll attempt the mines or clear the quarry and I like fishing and foraging.

 

[Magically Clueless]

i'm not a very efficient player all things considered, despite my very robust playtime (i hit 1,000 hours recently! woo!) but i do try to complete everything the game has to offer. i hate wasting my day-- i always try to do something until nighttime, even if it's me wandering around just looking for forage or cleaning up some space. currently, i'm trying to make money, but i do that by watering my crops and taking care of my animals, going to the cavern when it's rainy, stuff like that. i'm slowly making skull cavern more of a habit for me, especially since i'm trying to hunt for prismatic shards. it's been slow but steady!

 

[goboking]

My playstyle is a hybrid between regimented and immersive. I do certain tasks on specific days; mining in the mountains on Wednesdays, Foraging in the forest on Thursdays, socializing in town on Fridays, etc. Additionally, I do inefficient, silly things for immersion's sake, such as eating a daily meal or changing outfits based on my activity.

 

[VakuurBairn]

I play all over the place. Usually I spend a couple days a week focussed on a task be it mining or fishing or farming but I also make sure I spend a day or two gifting and befriending as many towns folk as possible or have resources for. It's basically experiencing much of the game features as possible so I'm never bored on any specific task. I traditionally finish the community center shortly into year two and as soon as the green house is finished I stop farming almost entirely (with exception to key crops for gifting and more CC stuff or just crap loads of hay) and shift into an extremely profitable micro brewery operation (about 30k+ every other day) that involves year round hops in said GH and a shed filled with as many fermenting barrels as possible. I also maintain a profitable aged wine and cheese from a sustained goat pop. Everything else after that becomes skull cave runs and befriending everyone and destroying the corporate fascist

 

[starbrite]

I kinda do this realistic roleplay kind of thing? I think about what would make my farmer the happiest and successful. I buy the most profitable crops at the start of the season and blow all my money on them. Then as the game goes on I turn them into jams or beers or other artisan goods. I then really like animals, so I focus a lot on farm animals :P Then I turn their products into cheeses or mayonnaises for the most money. At some point I reach so much money I just plant the crops I personally like, some cash crops, and then a lot of blueberries/etc for jams.

While doing that I also focus on relationships with the town people, especially the bachelors since I want to marry in the game. :P I take my time with them though since I want to read all their dialogues and like really "get to know them" so it's almost year two and I haven't married yet. Doesn't make sense for my farmer to just hop into a marriage so soon :P. So it's like an immersive farm building/decorating and social simulator for me I guess. I spend my whole day balancing between planting/harvesting crops, taking care of the animals, making artisan goods, and then filling in the rest of the time talking to NPCs. Then my farmer has a hobby for fishing so that completes the day :P There's no set schedule for what I do on what day, just depends on what needs harvesting/milking/etc.

 

[Lew Zealand]

Early Game (Spring-Fall Y1)
Sunday, Monday

Low-Med Luck: Give Gifts/Forage​

High Luck: Mine/Combat​

Tuesday-Saturday

Low Luck: Farm, Forage (Give Gifts if skipped on Su/Mo)​

Med Luck: Fish (Give Gifts if skipped on Su/Mo)​

High Luck: Mine/Combat​

Mid game (Winter Y1 ~ Summer Y2)
Sunday, Monday

Low-Med Luck: Give Gifts/Forage, eventually tire of this and get Married​

High Luck: Mine/Combat​

Tuesday-Saturday

Low Luck: Forage, make & plant Winter Seeds, plan & org Farm expansion for Spring, plan missing Community Center bits​

Med Luck: Fish​

High Luck: Mine/Combat​

Late game (~Fall Y2+)
Finish Greenhouse crop plan, start Ponds, check Grandpa list (finally be nice to the Cat and Spouse), reorg Farm & machines for Ancient Fruit flood & Desert Obelisk

There are variations, but these are the bones of every Farm I've done.