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Stardew Valley Guidebook
This handy farmer's almanac covers farming, crafting, foraging, combat, fishing and mining; it also includes detailed information of the residents of Stardew Valley, so you can truly make the most of your wonderful new life on the farm.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2016
46 people are currently reading
917 people want to read
About the author
Kari Fry
9 books29 followersRaised on Nintendo Power magazines and video game instruction manuals, Kari has been obsessed with video games and their supplemental art since she was in 2nd grade. Her hobbies include travelling to Japan, cooking, painting, enjoying JRPGs, and telling every bird that she loves them.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
November 28, 2020
[11/28/2020 - My edition of this book is a bit behind the times now, so I've been supplementing with Stardew Valley Wiki info. Still, with the help of this book I've finally cooked every meal, and I'm two villagers away from befriending all the villagers. After that, I may see if I can catch all the fish and maybe even accomplish all the monster slaying goals (iffy, since I loathe the Skull Cavern). Stardew Valley is my comfort game, and it still works for me after hundreds of hours. That said, I wouldn't mind it if the developer stopped adding new content and, say, created another game with set in the same world with the same gameplay mechanisms but in a different town with different characters and stories. ::sigh::]
Stardew Valley Guidebook is the official guidebook for Stardew Valley, a massively addictive game in which your player character quits their soul-sucking corporate job and moves to the rural cabin their grandfather left them.
There is no one right thing to do in Stardew Valley. At minimum, you need to keep track of your energy levels (and, in certain situations, your health points), but beyond that it's up to you. You can go fishing, get to know villagers, make friends or possibly find romance, grow crops, raise farm animals, or battle in the mines. The game started off as single player, but there's now an open beta for multiplayer, and a multiplayer update will be pushed out to everyone on August 1st. I haven't personally played multiplayer, and I don't know that this will change once the update is pushed out - the few posts I've read about it make it sound a bit stressful.
At the moment I have three farms in Stardew Valley: my first one, which is about 3 in-game years old, my second one, which is about 2 in-game years old, and my newest one, which I've had going for a couple in-game seasons. I started the newest one in honor of getting this book.
Prior to buying this, I relied a lot on the Stardew Valley Wiki . However, I found it annoying to jump in and out of the game to check things, or use my phone to search the wiki. Having a physical guidebook around seemed like a nice idea.
I hadn't originally planned to read this cover-to-cover, but it turned out to be a nice way to get a feel for its organization. To my surprise, the guidebook accomplished a few things for me that the wiki never did: I learned about events, characters, and areas of the game that I had never even thought to search the wiki for. I don't think I've ever been to the Winter Night Market, for example. I also had no idea about the existence of the Secret Notes. (Edit: I've since learned that at least some of this stuff is part of the beta, which I haven't been participating in. I assume these aspects will be available to everyone after the August update.)
The parts of this guidebook that I've used most often:
- The seasonal calendars, in order to keep track of upcoming birthdays more easily
- Character likes and dislikes
- Prices of items or upgrades (so I know what I need to have on me before I make the trek to the shops)
- Where and when to find particular kinds of fish
- Which mine levels are the best places to find certain kinds of gems
- How to trigger certain cut scenes
I've also learned lots of little things that should help me get more out of certain events and items.
Although I was a little disappointed, at first, that the illustrations were drawings rather than art directly from the game (except in the Appendix), I came to really like them. They capture the feel of the game well. Design-wise, I also really liked the color-coding on the edges of the pages. If you look at the sides of the book, you can easily figure out by the colors where you have to flip to in order to check the locations of fish (blue) or people's likes and dislikes (purple with white corners) or the seasonal calendars (green).
For the most part, I felt that this was an excellent and useful guide. There were, however, two things that could have used improvement. First, although many other items are pictured with their prices in small text somewhere nearby them, the section on upgradable farm tools only says what those tools can do, not what it costs to upgrade them. It took me a bit to figure out that their upgrade prices were listed elsewhere (on both the Blacksmith page and the Blacksmith shops section of the Appendix). This is a pretty nitpicky complaint, though.
Second, the book doesn't include characters' schedules. I consider this to be a pretty major omission. The closest thing you get is, on their likes and dislikes charts, a brief list of a few of the places they hang out. However, these lists are incomplete and don't go into the level of detail that, say, the charts in the Stardew Valley Wiki do. The Appendix would have been the perfect place for something like this.
All in all, this is a great guidebook if you'd like tips and charts designed to make certain aspects of the game go a little more smoothly. Although it technically spoils some game events (when certain areas of the game appear, for example), it doesn't spoil any character stories and certainly doesn't detract from any of the fun of getting to know the town and its inhabitants. Highly recommended for fans of Stardew Valley.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
Stardew Valley Guidebook is the official guidebook for Stardew Valley, a massively addictive game in which your player character quits their soul-sucking corporate job and moves to the rural cabin their grandfather left them.
There is no one right thing to do in Stardew Valley. At minimum, you need to keep track of your energy levels (and, in certain situations, your health points), but beyond that it's up to you. You can go fishing, get to know villagers, make friends or possibly find romance, grow crops, raise farm animals, or battle in the mines. The game started off as single player, but there's now an open beta for multiplayer, and a multiplayer update will be pushed out to everyone on August 1st. I haven't personally played multiplayer, and I don't know that this will change once the update is pushed out - the few posts I've read about it make it sound a bit stressful.
At the moment I have three farms in Stardew Valley: my first one, which is about 3 in-game years old, my second one, which is about 2 in-game years old, and my newest one, which I've had going for a couple in-game seasons. I started the newest one in honor of getting this book.
Prior to buying this, I relied a lot on the Stardew Valley Wiki . However, I found it annoying to jump in and out of the game to check things, or use my phone to search the wiki. Having a physical guidebook around seemed like a nice idea.
I hadn't originally planned to read this cover-to-cover, but it turned out to be a nice way to get a feel for its organization. To my surprise, the guidebook accomplished a few things for me that the wiki never did: I learned about events, characters, and areas of the game that I had never even thought to search the wiki for. I don't think I've ever been to the Winter Night Market, for example. I also had no idea about the existence of the Secret Notes. (Edit: I've since learned that at least some of this stuff is part of the beta, which I haven't been participating in. I assume these aspects will be available to everyone after the August update.)
The parts of this guidebook that I've used most often:
- The seasonal calendars, in order to keep track of upcoming birthdays more easily
- Character likes and dislikes
- Prices of items or upgrades (so I know what I need to have on me before I make the trek to the shops)
- Where and when to find particular kinds of fish
- Which mine levels are the best places to find certain kinds of gems
- How to trigger certain cut scenes
I've also learned lots of little things that should help me get more out of certain events and items.
Although I was a little disappointed, at first, that the illustrations were drawings rather than art directly from the game (except in the Appendix), I came to really like them. They capture the feel of the game well. Design-wise, I also really liked the color-coding on the edges of the pages. If you look at the sides of the book, you can easily figure out by the colors where you have to flip to in order to check the locations of fish (blue) or people's likes and dislikes (purple with white corners) or the seasonal calendars (green).
For the most part, I felt that this was an excellent and useful guide. There were, however, two things that could have used improvement. First, although many other items are pictured with their prices in small text somewhere nearby them, the section on upgradable farm tools only says what those tools can do, not what it costs to upgrade them. It took me a bit to figure out that their upgrade prices were listed elsewhere (on both the Blacksmith page and the Blacksmith shops section of the Appendix). This is a pretty nitpicky complaint, though.
Second, the book doesn't include characters' schedules. I consider this to be a pretty major omission. The closest thing you get is, on their likes and dislikes charts, a brief list of a few of the places they hang out. However, these lists are incomplete and don't go into the level of detail that, say, the charts in the Stardew Valley Wiki do. The Appendix would have been the perfect place for something like this.
All in all, this is a great guidebook if you'd like tips and charts designed to make certain aspects of the game go a little more smoothly. Although it technically spoils some game events (when certain areas of the game appear, for example), it doesn't spoil any character stories and certainly doesn't detract from any of the fun of getting to know the town and its inhabitants. Highly recommended for fans of Stardew Valley.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
July 16, 2022
Note: THANK YA ELSA(person who got me the book)
Good guide. Lots of useful information, but exremley limited spoilers, very nice for both new players who need some info about what to do in the game as well as very useful for much more experienced players who would like a hint on some of the harder aspects of the game. It especially helps those who are looking for the next project after the community center. It is very good at telling you as much info as possible with as few spoilers as possible as well.
Example: It tells you how to start the cutsenes with the npcs but doesnt tell you what happens.
It really gives you the fun job of figuring out the mysterious things and tells you tips on how to do some technical stuff and leads you to the next step in the game up to a spot i will never achieve myself (too hard for me 😜)
Very good guide. 11/10
Good guide. Lots of useful information, but exremley limited spoilers, very nice for both new players who need some info about what to do in the game as well as very useful for much more experienced players who would like a hint on some of the harder aspects of the game. It especially helps those who are looking for the next project after the community center. It is very good at telling you as much info as possible with as few spoilers as possible as well.
Example: It tells you how to start the cutsenes with the npcs but doesnt tell you what happens.
It really gives you the fun job of figuring out the mysterious things and tells you tips on how to do some technical stuff and leads you to the next step in the game up to a spot i will never achieve myself (too hard for me 😜)
Very good guide. 11/10
December 12, 2018
THIS BOOK IS SO DAMN GORGEOUS THAT I CANNOT GET OVER IT.
This Stardew Valley Guidebook was SO worth the wait and is even better than I had imagined it would be. I literally received it this morning in the post from the States as a late birthday present so it was such a lovely surprise when I opened it to find my long awaited guidebook AND the super cute Junimo colouring book courtesy of my partner and 2 best friends <3
I have the 2nd edition, hardback, which includes the new info for SV Multiplayer and several updates to the book.
The book itself is really nicely made and super high quality and the cover wrap comes off to reveal a SV Residents poster with each resident and their favourite things. The way the book laid out has made every single page look stunning with really nice illustrations of everything stardew valley, nice maps, colour coded pages and easy to read text.
There are 8 chapters which include getting started, people and places, farm life, crafting and cooking, fishing, mining and adventuring, community involvement and advanced goals, and an appendix & farmers almanac. Everything you've ever wanted to know about Stardew Valley including Junimo bundles, secret items, and an easy to read breakdown of every single item in the game is included in these pages.
Honestly so worth the money and is definitely going to be proudly displayed on my bookshelf <3
Check out my blog for more reviews!
This Stardew Valley Guidebook was SO worth the wait and is even better than I had imagined it would be. I literally received it this morning in the post from the States as a late birthday present so it was such a lovely surprise when I opened it to find my long awaited guidebook AND the super cute Junimo colouring book courtesy of my partner and 2 best friends <3
I have the 2nd edition, hardback, which includes the new info for SV Multiplayer and several updates to the book.
The book itself is really nicely made and super high quality and the cover wrap comes off to reveal a SV Residents poster with each resident and their favourite things. The way the book laid out has made every single page look stunning with really nice illustrations of everything stardew valley, nice maps, colour coded pages and easy to read text.
There are 8 chapters which include getting started, people and places, farm life, crafting and cooking, fishing, mining and adventuring, community involvement and advanced goals, and an appendix & farmers almanac. Everything you've ever wanted to know about Stardew Valley including Junimo bundles, secret items, and an easy to read breakdown of every single item in the game is included in these pages.
Honestly so worth the money and is definitely going to be proudly displayed on my bookshelf <3
Check out my blog for more reviews!
October 20, 2017
Kari Fry: turning video game guides into art one sleeper hit at a time.
September 28, 2019
My SO got me the 2nd edition of the Stardew Valley Guidebook as an anniversary gift, and let me tell you... I love it! While I wouldn't say that any Stardew Valley player necessarily needs a guidebook, it's super helpful to have on hand. I have 200+ hours into the game and I still find myself browsing the Wiki from time to time ("What were the ingredients to build a Slime Hutch, again?").
Yes, this guidebook probably has all the same information as the Wiki - but it's packaged as such a cute reference guide! It's got beautiful artwork on every page, the information is really easy to find, and for those of us who like to plan out our achievements - whether it's tracking progress for the Community Center bundles or Museum donations - there are handy dandy checklists ready to be ticked off one by one. The 2nd edition also includes additional information about multiplayer mode, which actually gave me some ideas for how I want to play co-op with my friends.
Overall, this is a great guidebook. I'm super happy with it and I know it's going to be by my side every time I load up the game from now on. If you love Stardew Valley, I highly recommend getting this book as a reference guide or even just as a fun piece of fan paraphernalia :).
Yes, this guidebook probably has all the same information as the Wiki - but it's packaged as such a cute reference guide! It's got beautiful artwork on every page, the information is really easy to find, and for those of us who like to plan out our achievements - whether it's tracking progress for the Community Center bundles or Museum donations - there are handy dandy checklists ready to be ticked off one by one. The 2nd edition also includes additional information about multiplayer mode, which actually gave me some ideas for how I want to play co-op with my friends.
Overall, this is a great guidebook. I'm super happy with it and I know it's going to be by my side every time I load up the game from now on. If you love Stardew Valley, I highly recommend getting this book as a reference guide or even just as a fun piece of fan paraphernalia :).
May 24, 2018
If you're a fan of Stardew Valley then this guidebook is a must-read :)
October 27, 2023
Incredible. Will be using the next time I start a new save file.
August 27, 2025
Alles, was ein Stardew-Valley-Guide braucht
August 1, 2025
Incredibly useful with absolutly stunning artwork on every page, this bible is a must have for new and old players alike
March 3, 2018
Absolutely beautiful. Every single page is a work of art; even the binding is beautiful (and sturdy!).
It isn't just beautiful though, it's very, very useful. Even though I beat the game before I bought this book, I learned new things reading it.
Get this book if you are a fan of Stardew Valley - you need it!!!
It isn't just beautiful though, it's very, very useful. Even though I beat the game before I bought this book, I learned new things reading it.
Get this book if you are a fan of Stardew Valley - you need it!!!
December 17, 2016
This guide to Stardew Valley is so pretty and full of useful game information. I've been playing it since the release date and I still learnt some of the secrets I hadn't come across yet.
The illustrations are lovely and it's just a beautiful looking book!
The illustrations are lovely and it's just a beautiful looking book!
February 13, 2017
I am completely addicted to the Stardew Valley game, which Chris introduced me to a couple weeks ago, and that is definitely affecting my review. :) The book has very nice illustrations and lots of tips for success in the game. I loved it!
January 7, 2019
This was so helpful while playing! I got so many tips for things I already knew about, and stuff I hadn't even discovered! Definitely worth getting if you're a fan of the game.
January 13, 2019
Lovely! *____*
January 16, 2021
Brilliant book on the same level as the indie game. 10 out of 5 stars. No, make that a galaxy! I feel generous.
February 3, 2023
One of my favorite games of all time, and someone went and wrote a book for it. The illustrations are all adorable, and the information is laid out in a way that would greatly benefit new players of the game. I love all the flavor text in the book that makes it so all the information isn't just robotic and repetitive. Someone with a lot of love for this game took their time to write and draw this perfect little book.
September 21, 2021
yes I am a gamer
defcon-3
December 22, 2017If I could hold the immense love I have for reading and Stardew Valley (or just gaming in general) in my hands, this book would be it.
January 27, 2020
Absolutely gorgeous and such a helpful book! I’ve referred to this guidebook numerous times—especially when it comes to completing the community center. Highly recommend!!
January 19, 2021
I actually have the 2nd edition, which is now also out-of-date, but I'm not really reading it for the info anyway. I have played this game...a lot. A lot, a lot, a lot. And somehow I never got around to reading this guidebook when we first got it, but now I'm feeling inspired, thanks to my fabulous new beach farm (not included in this book)!
And, obviously I was gonna rate this 5 stars! Adorable art, and great overviews of tons of information, plus I learned some things I didn't know about the game even after playing it for 300-ish hours!
And, obviously I was gonna rate this 5 stars! Adorable art, and great overviews of tons of information, plus I learned some things I didn't know about the game even after playing it for 300-ish hours!
September 1, 2021
Absolutely beautiful guide. I do wish the final almanac section were printed in text large enough to read. Otherwise, completely charmed.
June 21, 2019
This book is beautiful and full of important information for the game. I'm so glad I bought it and have already referenced it more times than I can count in less than a week.
May 12, 2018
This book is a greatly illustrated Guide to the game "Stardew Valley" which is available on almost any device or computer you have except for Phones and Pads.
The book is a great "manual" for playing the "highly" addictive, seemingly simplistic, strategy game that only costs $15 without a manual. The online Wiki and plenty of YouTube videos provide the help you'll need the successfully play it. It is a "social" research kind of game. This book collects together so much of the information you'll want and need to "play" the game successfully in one location.
The book is a great "manual" for playing the "highly" addictive, seemingly simplistic, strategy game that only costs $15 without a manual. The online Wiki and plenty of YouTube videos provide the help you'll need the successfully play it. It is a "social" research kind of game. This book collects together so much of the information you'll want and need to "play" the game successfully in one location.
July 24, 2017
This is chock full of amazing drawings of everything and everyone from the game, as well as information about everything. It's going to be so helpful for playing the game and looking up sell prices and stuff as I'm playing.
January 19, 2017
I didn't read it cover to cover, but it helped when I needed a quick source to look up requirements for certain achievements.
May 18, 2018
Beautiful artwork! It's informative but doesn't spoil anything.
January 26, 2019
Addicted this game! Need this book. Have seen pictures and it looks like a beautifully put together book.
January 30, 2019
Lovely and incredibly helpful. Wish it had character schedules but perfect otherwise.
May 5, 2019
Not only is the information incredibly useful, the artwork is gorgeous and it smells lovely. 10/10 would sniff again.
June 27, 2023
If you love Stardew Valley, I cannot recommend this guide enough. Not only is the book aesthetically beautiful, with its matte and glossy dust jacket and hard cover in a pretty blue with embossing and silver foil, but the content is invaluable as a companion to the game. I could not get over the hundreds of adorable custom illustrations alongside tons of charts and guides for every element in the game. Despite having 100?+ hours in the game, I read this cover to cover and had a great time. It lovingly explains everything you need to know but doesn't take away from the magic of the game, nor does it spoil too much. I picked up some new ideas and reinforced best practices, yet there is still tons to do in order to actually connect the dots of everything I read. I'm torn between displaying this in my home and using the hell out of it as I track my progress to 100% completion. I'll still use the online Wiki (especially for the really in-depth stuff), but I love being able to easily make notes and flip back and forth. Super happy with the book!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews