Stardew Valley never really tells you when you’re done — which is both a blessing and a curse. While there’s always another season to prep for and another shed to build, at some point, even the most dedicated players might need a reason to check back in on Pelican Town. So let’s say your farm’s paid off, every villager’s at 10 hearts, and your Community Center’s stuffed to the brim: How do you bring back the same sense of wonder to a new Stardew Valley run when you already know which crops turn a profit and which villagers to date?
Let’s add some whimsy, here. What if your spouse was determined by fate? What if your farmhouse decor was dictated by a randomized face…or your entire economy ran on eggs before you ever touched a watering can? Tackle these Stardew Valley challenges to find out…if you dare.
At a glance: Hit an aggressive gold target — 10 million, or less, if that feels too daunting — before your first winter's out.
Ten million gold? In one year? In this economy? You’ve got your work cut out for you. Taking on this challenge will mean you’re optimizing kegs, casks, and crop timing harder than any previous, more casual run of yours has ever demanded. (Even a maxed-out greenhouse full of ancient fruit wine won’t get you to this goal without basically perfect scheduling.) See how close you get…and if you don’t quite make it to ten million, there’s always the next run.
At a glance: Earn all 21 points on Grandpa's Year 3 evaluation ahead of schedule. (Or get as close as you can.)
Grandpa’s evaluation in Stardew Valley tracks the money you’ve earned, the skills you’ve leveled, your Community Center progress, and your general social standing. Most players don’t come close to a perfect 21 by the time this eval gets triggered at the start of Year 3. Beating it early means not playing favorites with skills or NPCs and juggling all of your quests and finances very, very strategically. Think you’re up to the task? (Including completing every single museum collection?) Best of luck to you and your endeavors.
At a glance: Choose a single tool for the entire run — watering can, pickaxe, whatever — and treat every other one as if it doesn't exist.
Start simple: No milk pails, no shears, no fishing rod — unless it’s the one tool you’ve decided is your go-to for the whole run. (You’ll find out very quickly just how much of Stardew Valley is optional.) Then, go further, and see if you can find exploits or workarounds: Bombs, say, instead of a pickaxe to clear rocks. Or does a borrowed rod at a festival fishing contest count? Your call, we’re not watching.
At a glance: Never spend a single coin at Pierre's, forcing you toward JojaMart, foraging, or whatever else you can scrounge up.
While we’re big fans of shopping local, making other decisions your norm in Stardew Valley ups the difficulty considerably. Cutting off Pierre (so sorry, Pierre!) means routing every single seed purchase, tool upgrade, and sprinkler order through JojaMart or other, less predictable methods. Sprinklers, seasonal seeds, and fertilizer will all be much harder to come by, and you'll likely lean on foraging and the traveling cart's limited stock far more than you're used to.
At a glance: No farming of any kind until every animal building you can afford is full.
Skip the standard your-crops-fund-your-livestock order of operations. Instead, scrounge your gold to bankroll a full coop and barn before you till a single plot of dirt. Your early funding will have to come entirely from foraging, fishing, and whatever wild resources you can wrangle before your first coop has even paid for itself. Any subsequent runs you do after this one are going to feel so, so easy.
At a glance: No meat, no fish. No intentional killing in the mines either.
Cutting meat and fish from your diet and/or your entire economy removes a big chunk of your food- and gift-giving options. If you’re able to extend the rule to no killing in the mines (intentional killing, anyway), you’ll find that combat becomes far more stressful than routine. Most versions of this run do allow for self-defense, since swinging a scythe when a slime corners you isn’t really hunting. But the real stress will still, likely, come from attempting to fund your entire farm while plant-based.
At a glance: Reframe the whole game as survival after a catastrophe.
