Stardew Valley's Most Relaxing Chores

A surplus of chores sounds like a nightmare for a video game, but it's precisely what makes cozy games so addictive. Chores form an important part of the cozy gameplay loop and have a presence in most farming sims. Sure, doing chores in a video game sounds boring and frustrating, but there's something so satisfying about completing tasks and creating efficient systems to maximize output.

This is an area where Stardew Valley thrives. It has a lot of chores for you to get through, and its chores are one of the many reasons it's still so beloved even ten years after its release. As you start doing them, you'll realize that these tasks evolve from tedious to meditative and rewarding.

10 Daily Crop Watering

Provide Nourishment for the Earth

Watering crops by hand is essential, especially in the early days of beginning a new Stardew Valley playthrough. This is the second I do when I wake up in the morning after taking care of my animals and, to be honest, I keep at least some of my crops out of the range of sprinklers even when I acquire them, just so I have something to water in the morning.

This may sound strange, but the ritual of watering crops combines calming repetition with sound effects and the combination is both meditative and addictive. Watching the crops grow because of my actions is fulfilling, and it's one of the most wholesome parts of playing a farming sim.

9 Collecting Stone

Repetition Can be Meditative

Crafting items and expanding your farm requires a lot of resources. One of the most abundant yet essential resources in Stardew Valley is stone, which is used for everything from expanding your house to creating pathways and staircases.

Sometimes it's good just to go out and specifically stock up on stone to put into storage, rather than only collecting it as it's required. I usually do this, but I didn't quite understand how relaxing collecting stone could be until I got the noticeboard request from Robin requesting 1,000 stone in one week. I hit the first five levels of the mines, and the gameplay loop of breaking rocks is pretty close to meditation.

8 Harvest Timing

Patience Brings Rewards

The planting and harvesting cycle is one of the core mechanics in Stardew Valley. Growing crops, especially on your first playthrough, requires trusting the process. Some crops will take several weeks to grow and still need to be watered every single day.

It's a great feeling when you do get to harvest time and see those fields of vegetables and flowers fully-grown. You can either sell them immediately for money, but processing them into other ingredients greatly increases their value. I like to sell my low-tier crops immediately and process my gold and iridium value crops into artisan goods.

7 Earnings Summary

A Visual Tally of Your Achievements

Going to sleep gives you a summary of how much money you earned that day. Getting a summary of all you achieved that day is one of the most validating parts of Stardew Valley, and is largely responsible for the "just one more day" loop that many of us get stuck in.

While this isn't necessarily a chore, it is a nice visual representation of the outcome of all the work you've done, and is especially great when you finally hit the monetary goal you've been working towards. It's also great when you sell a lot of things you've spent a lot of time working on, like aged artisanal products. That number rolling higher and higher is the reward for a lot of work.

6 Processing Artisan Goods

Time Makes Everything Better

You could sell your crops just after harvesting them as raw goods, but they gain value if you process them further into artisanal goods. Processing goods requires specialized equipment such as a keg, preserves jar, or cask, as well as a lot of time.

Creating artisanal goods is a comforting process specifically because it takes a lot of time before they're ready. I created an aged cheese and wine farm, and the entire process from sowing to collecting the completed goods from storage was deeply rewarding. My finished products were of high value both monetarily and by Stardew Valley's NPCs, and it takes a lot of long-term planning to get the end product.

5 Foraging By Season

Go Out Into Nature

Each season brings new foraging harvestables in new locations. Foraging forms a valuable part of my Stardew Valley routine that becomes a relaxing habit, and I specifically select my route on my way to the town or mines based on the foraging. The locations for each foraging location change with each season, which means that the route depends on what's in season.

Doing this every day means it becomes a ritual over time. Unlike some other cozy games, foraging is a skill in Stardew Valley, and going out to find wild food and getting XP for it is its own reward.

Everything is Suddenly Easier

Nothing is quite as satisfying as getting your new tool after giving it to Clint for a few days. Getting a tool upgrade means rocks are easier to crush, trees are easier to fell, and crops can be watered in groups rather than one by one.

The jump between tool upgrades is a big one, especially when upgrading to tools that can break tree stumps and big rocks. New paths open, and valuable new resources suddenly become available. I always make sure I have enough ore and ingots in storage, even if I can't afford tool upgrades, because getting them as soon as they're available is essential.

3 Mine Progression

The Race to the Bottom

There are two different mine systems in Stardew Valley, both with their own rewards. Progressing through the mines can feel like a chore, but it only takes a couple of floors to get into rhythm. Before you know it, you're clearing ten mine levels in a day and, once you get to the bottom, you can use the elevator to mine on any floor you like.

Skull Cavern is a more difficult challenge, but the best moment there is figuring out the solution to getting to the bottom, which takes a little more than brute force. Like crushing rocks, navigating the Skull Cavern becomes meditative and all the more rewarding once you finally do reach the end.

2 Fishing

Overcome the Mini-Game

Fishing in Stardew Valley comes with a mini-game that you either love or hate. I found it to be incredibly frustrating in the beginning, and even the upgrades to the rod didn't relieve that. I decided the best way to overcome this was to go all in, and I began a new fishing save using the Riverlands farm map.

It took a while in this save, but the moment it clicked was magical. Fishing turned from a frustrating chore into something I could hyperfocus on and forget about everything else. Customizing your rod with the right bait and hooks to catch the fish you want is very satisfying, and nothing beats the feeling of finally catching a legendary fish.

1 Crafting and Decorating

Add New Decor and Building Options for Your Farm

Many players measure their success in Stardew Valley by creating their own milestones, and unlocking craftables is an indication of advancement. Upgrading your skills gives you blueprints for new craftables, so the more you know about a skill, the more you can do in that area. They're essential for creating artisanal products and more revenue streams, but it's also nice just having more options to play with.

Crafting requires gathering materials and upgrading your skills and relationships to unlock new blueprints. Expanding your fields of interest to gain access to these new craftables forces you to interact with different parts of the game. Crafting new items for your farm and placing them just right creates a custom farm and represents the totality of your work.