Is It Worth Winning The Egg Hunt In Stardew Valley?

Stardew Valley‘s Egg Hunt is actually a lot harder than it seems. Here’s how it works: every year, on the 13th day of Spring, players are invited to the Town Square between 9 AM and 2 PM. Once there, they can socialize and shop, hopefully making time to buy a few Strawberry Seeds, since they can’t be purchased anywhere else. Once they’re ready, they can speak with Mayor Lewis to begin the hunt. Players then have 50 seconds to collect as many small, colorful, definitely-not-Easter eggs. If they collect enough, they’ll win a prize.

It’s simple enough on the surface, but the eggs are small and well hidden. Couple that with the fact that players have to collect a total of nine in less than a minute, and more often than not, seasoned egg hunter Abigail will take home yet another title. Some players may wind up starting the day over and over again, in a desperate attempt to win the Egg Hunt – but is all that effort really worth it?

Stardew’s Egg Hunt Rewards

What Do You Get For Winning The Egg Hunt?

The first time a player wins an Egg Hunt in Stardew Valley, they’ll receive a Straw Hat, a cosmetic item that can only reliably be obtained from the Egg Festival. (It’s also possible to get a Straw Hat from Emily’s outfit services during the Desert Festival, but the odds are exceptionally low.) The Straw Hat is a fitting accessory for the farmer, but ultimately has no impact on anything but their appearance. Whether it’s worth it or not really depends on the individual player, and their desire for a Straw Hat.

If the farmer goes on to win the Egg Hunt in any subsequent years, they’ll just receive a Prize Ticket each time. (Note that in version 1.5 of Stardew Valley, the reward will instead be 1,000g.) Prize Tickets can be cashed in at the machine in Lewis’ house for a random item from an expansive loot table – everything from seeds to crafting machines to food to home decor is included. However, this is far from the only way to get a Prize Ticket, and the prizes players get from them are more often than not useless. Therefore, it’s a good idea to win the Egg Festival at least once, but don’t push it afterwards.

How To Win The Egg Hunt

The Ideal Egg-Collecting Route

Again, players will need to collect nine eggs to win the Egg Hunt; thankfully, Reddit user KittenOre plotted out a visual guide to easily collecting up to 14 (maybe even more, if the player is fast enough). In order to do so, players will first need to head north from the starting point, then circle back around Jodi and Sam’s house, down to the southwestern corner of town, up and around Haley and Emily’s, across town to the Mayor’s manor, and finally, down by the bridge to the beach.

The nine-egg requirement only applies to single-player games. With two players, six is the winning number; with three players, it’s five; with four or more players, it’s four.

Keep in mind that this design will only work in odd-numbered years, as the layout of eggs changes slightly in even-numbered years. In case the player has already missed out on winning the Egg Hunt in year one, an updated route for even-numbered years was posted on Reddit by zencatpurr. The route is a little different, but should help players gather nine eggs easily within the time limit.

But again, after the player has won the Egg Hunt at least once, there’s no harm in letting Abigail take home the prize. It doesn’t affect friendship like the Luau, or grant actually useful items like Spirit’s Eve, so players are free to simply skip it in later years. However, it’s always worth attending the Egg Festival in Stardew Valley, if only to buy more Strawberry Seeds.

Sources: KittenOre/Reddit, zencatpurr/Reddit