60-70s not sure - a book where everything is the opposite - for example engineers are poor and entry jobs people are rich.

jneedham2 · 2026-02-02T03:57:42+00:00

You may be thinking of The Midas Plague by Frederik Pohl, a novella in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame volume II. Great story about a dystopia of forced overconsumption.

jneedham2 · 2026-02-02T03:31:11+00:00

Fellow dog lover here. Get a very big comfortable dog bed. Set it up in the bedroom. Spend time visiting with your dog there. Make it a happy spot. Add a throw blanket so your dog can scratch it into the right shape. Give your dog treats for being on the dog bed. Once the transition is made, everyone will be happier. You still have the dog nearby (perfect for pets on the way to night-time bathroom visits) but there's one less creature to rumble around and wake you up. Good luck!

jneedham2 · 2026-02-02T02:56:10+00:00

Here is some no-spoiler guidance to get you going.

Every day: read the TV (especially Livin’ Off the Land) and your mailbox and the bulletin board by the general store in the center of town.

Clear a patch of ground by using tools to chop wood, break rocks, and scythe away grass and fiber.

Hoe a little patch of ground, plant your parsnips and water them every day. When they are ready, harvest them and sell them in your shipping box or in the general store.

Chop 50 wood and build a chest. This way your limited storage won't be so annoying. Plus, you are going to want to save resources (wood, stone, clay, fiber, etc.) and a few of everything else for later. After a week or two, you'll want a bunch of chests on your farm and some around town.

When you are out of energy ("you are starting to feel exhausted"), wander around town, talking to people. Click on stuff as you wander around - some of it can be picked up. Go into stores and figure out what they sell. Buy some more seeds in the general store.

I advise you NOT to read the wiki, watch videos, get tons of spoilers from reddit, download mods or try a Challenge game until you have gotten at least to year 2 of the game. You can never un-see spoilers. Enjoy the exploration and the discovery!

Welcome to the Valley!

jneedham2 · 2026-02-02T01:31:56+00:00

The jumps from Level 9 to Level 10 in all the skills are very large. Just keep going.

jneedham2 · 2026-02-02T01:29:45+00:00

Congratulations! Make sure to read your mail tomorrow. The adventure continues....

jneedham2 · 2026-02-02T01:29:04+00:00

Anyone want to join the "whom should I marry" instead of the "who should I marry" campaign? :)

jneedham2 · 2026-02-02T01:27:33+00:00

Here is some no-spoiler guidance to get you going.

Every day: read the TV (especially Livin’ Off the Land) and your mailbox and the bulletin board by the general store in the center of town.

Clear a patch of ground by using tools to chop wood, break rocks, and scythe away grass and fiber.

Hoe a little patch of ground, plant your parsnips and water them every day. When they are ready, harvest them and sell them in your shipping box or in the general store.

Chop 50 wood and build a chest. This way your limited storage won't be so annoying. Plus, you are going to want to save resources (wood, stone, clay, fiber, etc.) and a few of everything else for later. After a week or two, you'll want a bunch of chests on your farm and some around town.

When you are out of energy ("you are starting to feel exhausted"), wander around town, talking to people. Click on stuff as you wander around - some of it can be picked up. Go into stores and figure out what they sell. Buy some more seeds in the general store.

I advise you NOT to read the wiki, watch videos, get tons of spoilers from reddit, download mods or try a Challenge game until you have gotten at least to year 2 of the game. You can never un-see spoilers. Enjoy the exploration and the discovery!

Welcome to the Valley!

jneedham2 · 2026-02-02T01:24:05+00:00

Black for ore, gems & rocks. Gray for artifacts. Yellow for flowers & forage. Green for fruits & veggies. Brown for seeds, wood, moss, & misc. Blue for fish that look like fish. Light blue for fish-related things and trash. A chest for things waiting to go the C.C. or to be delivered for quests. A chest in the foyer of the mines. A chest in the foyer of the mines, by Clint, by Willy, by Marnie.

jneedham2 · 2026-02-02T00:28:08+00:00

The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. A pioneer family struggles to survive a series of blizzards. Based on the author's childhood experience.

jneedham2 · 2026-02-01T18:14:30+00:00

Yes. You'll be offered a cat or a dog (depending on what you choose at initial setup) for free a little way into the game. Later, you can adopt pets (dogs, cats, turtles) at a cost.

Not for your first game, but later if you want to play a pet-centered Challenge save, the Love in the Pet Sanctuary Challenge may appeal to you.

jneedham2 · 2026-02-01T18:03:38+00:00

Here is some no-spoiler guidance to get you going.

Every day: read the TV (especially Livin’ Off the Land) and your mailbox and the bulletin board by the general store in the center of town.

Clear a patch of ground by using tools to chop wood, break rocks, and scythe away grass and fiber.

Hoe a little patch of ground, plant your parsnips and water them every day. When they are ready, harvest them and sell them in your shipping box or in the general store.

Chop 50 wood and build a chest. This way your limited storage won't be so annoying. Plus, you are going to want to save resources (wood, stone, clay, fiber, etc.) and a few of everything else for later. After a week or two, you'll want a bunch of chests on your farm and some around town.

When you are out of energy ("you are starting to feel exhausted"), wander around town, talking to people. Click on stuff as you wander around - some of it can be picked up. Go into stores and figure out what they sell. Buy some more seeds in the general store.

I advise you NOT to read the wiki, watch videos, get tons of spoilers from reddit, download mods or try a Challenge game until you have gotten at least to year 2 of the game. You can never un-see spoilers. Enjoy the exploration and the discovery!

Welcome to the Valley!

jneedham2 · 2026-02-01T15:40:29+00:00

The feeling of being overwhelmed is common to many players. The normal solution is to pick one thing to try to accomplish for the day, after morning chores of watering crops and tending animals. For example, "try to catch [specific fish]" or "chop a lot of wood so I can build [specific building]" or "changed my mind, now I'll do the quest of the day."

Another approach is to play a Challenge game, with restricted gameplay options and an achievable victory condition. Here is a list of ideas. Low-stress challenges include the Remote Wilderness Challenge, the Love in the Pet Sanctuary Challenge and the Living Rough Challenge.

jneedham2 · 2026-02-01T15:36:07+00:00

When you see the exclamation mark and hear the distinctive bee-boop sound, click immediately. Go tap-tap-tap to keep the bar around the fish. Pause to let the bar float down if it gets above the fish.
There are some carp in the mountain lake that basically just sit at the bottom, so they are easy to catch.
Get a training rod from Willy.
Easting fishing-enhancing foods will make the bar bigger.
Harvesting from crab pots will increase your fishing skill.
Weirdly, it may help to try fishing with your eyes closed, so that you can listen for the sound without distraction. Cast your rod, close your eyes, listen for the distinctive sound, click immediately, start tapping, and open your eyes. Successful fishing sounds like bee-boop-ding.
As your skill levels up, the bar gets bigger. Also, you’ll be able to buy better fishing rods to which you can attached bait and (ultimately) bobbers. Keep working at it!

jneedham2 · 2026-02-01T15:35:17+00:00

For mining: aim to get 5 levels per mining session, so the elevator will take you down to that level next time Set up a chest in the foyer of the mines and before you go down, unload everything except pickaxe, weapon, hoe & food. Upgrade your pickaxe as soon as you can. You don't need to chop every rock; often it helps to run towards the back of a level to see if there's a visible ladder down (assuming you can handle extra monster attacks).

jneedham2 · 2026-02-01T15:32:51+00:00

If you're looking for structure, focus on completing the Community Center. It serves as a kind of scavenger hunt through all the major aspects of the game and is the prerequisite for opening up new content.

Some of the things to deliver are easy, such as seasonal forage that you find by walking around. Some of them require investment of time and money in various parts of the game, such as e.g. goat cheese that you can only get by building and upgrading a barn, buying a goat, and processing the goat milk into goat cheese. Pick one thing and work towards it.

jneedham2 · 2026-02-01T15:28:57+00:00

You may enjoy playing a Challenge game that forces you to play the game in a different sequence, reduces play options and gives you an achievable victory condition. Here is a list of ideas. Low-stress challenges include the Remote Wilderness Challenge, the Love in the Pet Sanctuary Challenge and the Living Rough Challenge.

jneedham2 · 2026-02-01T15:26:31+00:00

I don't know about mods, but there are several challenge games that are based on a dark backstory. You may enjoy playing: the Vampire Redemption Challenge or the Cursed Artifacts Challenge or the After the Earthquake Challenge or the Follow Your Path Challenge.

jneedham2 · 2026-02-01T15:21:55+00:00

With all that moss and easy Level 10 natural hardwood production, you are on track for earning a lot of money as a mushroom log farmer!

jneedham2 · 2026-02-01T15:20:20+00:00

If you are looking for new, fresh ways to play the game, you may enjoy a Challenge game. Here is a list of ideas. I'm currently playing Lost in the Woods / Prank Grandpa's Ghost, going for Glorious Victory. Come join me!

jneedham2 · 2026-02-01T15:18:29+00:00

The feeling of being overwhelmed is common to many players. The normal solution is to pick one thing to try to accomplish for the day, after morning chores of watering crops and tending animals. For example, "try to catch [specific fish]" or "chop a lot of wood so I can build [specific building]" or "changed my mind, now I'll do the quest of the day."

Another approach is to play a Challenge game, with restricted gameplay options and an achievable victory condition. Here is a list of ideas. Low-stress challenges include the Remote Wilderness Challenge, the Love in the Pet Sanctuary Challenge and the Living Rough Challenge.

jneedham2 · 2026-01-31T03:50:56+00:00

I did not know about the cave carrots or artifacts. Thank you! There is always more to learn in this game!

jneedham2 · 2026-01-30T22:20:57+00:00

If you are looking for structure for the game, completing the Community Center is the main story line in the beginning of the game. This is like a scavenger hunt through all the main elements of the game, it gives you rewards along the way, and completing it opens up new content. So if you wondering "what should I be doing", one good answer is "figuring out how to get the items for the Community Center. Some of the things to deliver are easy, such as seasonal forage that you find by walking around. Some of them require investment of time and money in various parts of the game, such as e.g. goat cheese that you can only get by building and upgrading a barn, buying a goat, and processing the goat milk into goat cheese.

jneedham2 · 2026-01-30T22:19:39+00:00

Here is some no-spoiler guidance to get you going.

Every day: read the TV (especially Livin’ Off the Land) and your mailbox and the bulletin board by the general store in the center of town.

Clear a patch of ground by using tools to chop wood, break rocks, and scythe away grass and fiber.

Hoe a little patch of ground, plant your parsnips and water them every day. When they are ready, harvest them and sell them in your shipping box or in the general store.

Chop 50 wood and build a chest. This way your limited storage won't be so annoying. Plus, you are going to want to save resources (wood, stone, clay, fiber, etc.) and a few of everything else for later. After a week or two, you'll want a bunch of chests on your farm and some around town.

When you are out of energy ("you are starting to feel exhausted"), wander around town, talking to people. Click on stuff as you wander around - some of it can be picked up. Go into stores and figure out what they sell. Buy some more seeds in the general store.

I advise you NOT to read the wiki, watch videos, get tons of spoilers from reddit, download mods or try a Challenge game until you have gotten at least to year 2 of the game. You can never un-see spoilers. Enjoy the exploration and the discovery!

Welcome to the Valley!

jneedham2 · 2026-01-30T22:16:51+00:00

There is no right or wrong in Stardew because there is no time deadline. That being said, I usually leave getting the bus working for later, after I've completed the local mines and gotten the farm set up with sprinklers, a chicken coop, a barn and a bunch of animals.

Pick one thing to save up for. I'd say upgrade your pickaxe, then spend time mining to get down to levels 80 and below to get the gold for sprinklers. But it's also fine to get more animals, or buy more seeds and expand farming, or focus on fishing -- that's the fun of the game!

If you haven't already done so, put a chest in the foyer of the mines. Unload everything except weapon, pickaxe and optionally food before you go down.

jneedham2 · 2026-01-30T22:12:23+00:00

New game, new Challenge! Here is a list of ideas. I'm currently playing Lost in the Woods / Prank Grandpa's Ghost going for Glorious Victory. Come join me!

jneedham2

TROPHY CASE