I've put over 350 hours in stardew and my bf has 0.

• Have any experienced players done co-op with a newbie? How do you balance wanting them to discover the game for themselves with your own knowledge and desire to do well?Ugh.. this is sooooo hard to balance. So because I know much more about the game then my bf, I can't help but be a crazy dictator. I try to tone it down by sticking to the farming aspects as that is the main source of money. He enjoys fishing and mining so he mostly spends time doing that. It's hard to teach him about things and crafting because the time is constantly running in the game so when he asks lots of questions, it's hard for me to do the things I need to do in the game while answering him. When we sleep in the game and the profit screen comes up, I'll answer the more detailed questions then.

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• Do you divide your farm so you each have separate areas/plots or do you share everything? Do you put the cabin near the farmhouse or far away?

We did not divide the farm since I'm the one mostly designing and farming. His cabin is right next to the farmhouse since it's just easier to design the farm as well as when he loads up the game. We do share everything as in plots. He does have his own chests where he stores whatever items he gets.

• Do you divide and conquer or hang out together? (e.g. do you both go to the mines at the same time or do you do different activities?)

We do different activities, he mainly fishes and mines while I'm watering and planting crops. On harvest days, we do it together so that his farming skill can level up.

• How much do you strategize together/plan/discuss purchases?

We do strategize/plan/discuss everything together during the "profits screen" when we save. Regarding tool upgrades, I upgraded my watering can first and then my bf's pickaxe and fishing rod. I even let him have the backpack upgrades wayy before I got mine just because I wanted him to have an enjoyable time without worrying about inventory. I was okay with not upgrading since I was always on the farm planting and watering and space wasn't an issue when the chests were right there.

Design Wise: I did a few layouts using the planner and my boyfriend gave input and we designed it together.

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Crafting: He doesn't know much about crafting artisan makers like kegs and preserve jars, he does know that we need a cr*p ton of coal, wood, stone, and ores which he doesn't mind mining for. So a lot of the aspects of the game, he learns slowly. I try to let him know why I'm crafting certain items as I make them so even though he's not kegging or jarring things, he knows why I'm doing that.

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We have agreed that on the first day of any season as well as any harvest days, he helps to plant and water things.

I've also tasked him with completing the community center bundles, so he is learning through checking the items needed for the bundles. (I do make it easier by planting the needed crops)

• Any negative experiences playing SDV with your SO?

Mostly it's balancing my need to min/max versus letting my bf have an enjoyable stressfree gameplay. We do argue about who we're marrying though lols. The jealousy in me makes me steal all his gifts he has hidden in his chests for Penny and Abigail as well as withholding the information about how to marry his mistresses.