Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town Beginners FAQ 

FoMT Tips for Beginners
by KingFaq
email: [email protected]

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Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the game or my 
guide. Thank you.

Please feel free to email me with any questions about FoMT.


TABLE OF CONTENTS



Introduction
I.  Getting Off to a Good Start
II.  Spring and Fall Horse Races
III.  The Two Summer Festivals
IV.  New Year Counting Game
V.  Importance of Weather
VI.  Techniques and Strategies in Farming
VII.  How to Plan Your Field
VIII.  Strategies for Maximising Profits
IX.  Stamina, Fatigue and Power Berries  
X.  The Advantages of Attending Festivals
XI.  Missing Out on the Gold: Gold and Platinum Products
XII.  Acquiring Gold Lumber
XIII.  When you Wish upon a Star: Double Profit Day
XIV.  The Benefit of the Mythic Tools
XV.  Transforming Cursed Tools to Blessed with the Greatest of Ease
XVI.  Pre-empting Your Sprites
XVII.  Supporting Local Artisans
XVIII.  Rewards of Friendship with Townspeople
XIX.  All About Fishing
XX.   Fishing for Fabled Treasures
XXI.  Catching the River Kings
XXII.  Completing Your Shipment List
XXIII.  The Pumpkin Festival
XXIV.  All Purchase and Upgrade Information
XXV.  Thinking Ahead: The Art of Matchmaking
XXVI.  Playing with your Dog at the Beach
XXVII.  The Jewels of Truth
XXVIII.  The Vacation Cottage
XXIX.  Ultimate Mining Guide
XXX.  Death in Mineral Town: Cheating the Grim Reaper
XXXI.  Links to all FoMT Guides

This FAQS files contains information about farming, mining, fishing, cooking, 
other information about making money as well as tips about the weather and 
friendship.

At the end of the file are sections that give tips for gameplay after the 
first few seasons.  There are sections dealing with the Blessed, Cursed and 
Mythic Tools, the 'Shooting Star' event, Golden Lumber and weddings, among 
others.


I. Getting Off to a Good Start 


When you begin the game, you have a couple of priorities:

1.  Making money
2.  Making friends
3.  Improving energy levels

To make money at the very beginning of the game, you must make certain that 
you play the Counting Game with the Goddess five times each day through 5 
Spring.  Try to guess between 10-14 correctly, as then you will win relaxation 
tea leaves from her, worth 1000G when shipped.  There are more valuable 
prizes, but they require guessing correctly an enormous number of times.  10-
14 correct guesses is not too difficult.  If you do not have the patience to 
do this, however, simply make certain to make 2 correct guesses, no more, no 
less, and you can win grasses from the Harvest Goddess.  Accept any grass 
apart from Black Grass, as that is worth only 10G.  To make certain that you 
will win this game, save your game BEFORE you turn the television to the left 
channel.  Then, save again only if you win the prize you desire.  Save after 
every prize that you intend to keep.  Winning at least 2 bags of relaxation 
tea leaves on your first day in Mineral Town can make your life much easier.  

You need money at the very start of the game primarily for seeds and then, to 
buy at least one chicken.  Make certain that the first seeds you buy are 
Turnip seeds and cucumber seeds.  Turnip seeds only take 5 days to mature, 
which means that you will have money from that crop soon.  

Turnips are gifts that are loved by both Ellen and Carter, two individuals 
that you need to befriend as quickly as possible.  Friendship with Carter will 
give you access to a Secret Garden and friendship with Ellen will give you a 
Christmas stocking for the Yule event.   I have added a section for the Sock 
Event and Secret Garden at the end of this guide, although all information is 
found in my First Year Events Calendar.


First Year Events FAQ

Make certain that you do not ignore the woodcutter Gotz.  Giving him gifts 
every morning will prevent a very awkward situation from arising when you are 
ready to hire him to upgrade your farm.  This is described in detail in the 
section dealing with the Rewards of Friendship.

Cucumbers are necessary if you wish to gain a Blue Power Berry from the 
Kappa.  If you throw a cucumber into the Lake every day, he will give you a 
Blue Power Berry, which will combat fatigue from use of tools on the 11th 
day.  The sooner you can plant cucumbers, the sooner you will be able to 
harvest them.  

As far as farming is concerned, your best cash crops are Cabbage in Spring, 
Pineapples in Summer and Sweet Potatoes in Autumn, but you probably will not 
have enough money to plant Cabbage in Spring.  It takes 15 days to mature, and 
the seeds are expensive.  It is better to grow crops like Turnips, Cucumbers 
and Potatoes in your first year and wait until the second Spring to plant 
Cabbages.  

By Summer, however, you should have enough money (from the Spring Horse Races) 
to plant quite a few Pineapples.  Pineapples are the most valuable crop, worth 
500G each.   If you do plant Pineapples, try to plant them on the 1st day of 
Summer, as then you can obtain two crops from the seeds.  They take 21 days to 
mature, but a second harvest can be had after 5 more days.  Pineapple seeds, 
like Cabbages, are purchased from Won, so you can buy them in advance.  

Sweet Potatoes are not as valuable as Pineapples, but one bag of seeds 
provides many harvests, as they ripen in 6 days, with a new crop every 2 
days!  Plant them on the 1st day of Autumn for maximum profit.  (As they are 
purchased at the Supermarket, you will not be able to buy the seeds until Fall 
begins.)

Buy a Chicken as soon as possible.  Eggs when of regular quality are worth 
only 50G when shipped, but they make fabulous gifts.  There are few 
individuals in Mineral Town that do not like eggs, and for many of the 
eligible, eggs are a favourite.  Ann, Popuri and Karen all love eggs.  Mary 
and Elli like them well enough to accept them happily as a gift.  Ellen and 
Carter both love eggs.  As mentioned previously, you need to befriend both.   
You can make Spa Eggs by throwing ordinary eggs into the Hot Spa.  One of 
Karen's and Ann's most favourite gifts is a Spa Egg.  The Doctor loves them as 
well.  Spa eggs are worth more when shipped than regular eggs, as they are 
worth 80G each.  It is worth the trouble at the start of the game to take your 
eggs to the Hot Spring and make them into Spa Eggs if you intend to ship 
them.  I would suggest that you use all eggs as gifts, however.

Befriend every one in Mineral Town.  As I stated previously, most individuals 
like eggs and almost every one will accept a flower happily.  Please see 
the 'Likes and Dislikes Taste Tests' guide I have published for every one's 
likes and dislikes.  If you befriend every one, you will obtain special 
recipes from many individuals,  and there are other rewards.  For example, by 
befriending the owners of homes and businesses, you will be allowed to enter 
during hours when otherwise doors would be locked.   With respect to the 
Supermarket, for example, this will give you a chance to shop both earlier and 
later.   Obviously, befriending the eligible girls in Mineral Town will 
increase their affection and give you the opportunity to experience 
their 'heart events' and 'rival heart events'.

I have published a separate guide to all the events and situations that occur 
in Mineral Town in the first year, a Complete 1st Year Calendar.   It includes 
tips for planting, upgrading your house and tools, as well as the dates of all 
festivals and birthdays.  It is very useful to keep a Calendar like this.  
There are so many different aspects to life in Mineral Town that even if you 
are very familiar with the game, you may forget an important event or action 
that needs to be performed at a certain season, day or time.   A more detailed 
guide to the first year in Mineral Town can be found in the First Year Journal 
FAQS, which is the day to day journal of one of my characters, Aloysius, in 
FoMT.  The journal is intended to be used with the Calendar.  

Here are the links to the First Year Events Calendar and First Year Journal:


FoMT First Year Events Calendar FAQS 


FoMT First Year Journal FAQS 

Power Berries are useful to improve your Stamina and resistance to Fatigue.  
By throwing an offering (a flower is best) each day into the Spring where the 
Harvest Goddess lives, you will receive a Blue Power Berry from her on the 
11th day.  By digging in your field, you will find another Power Berry.  By 
throwing a cucumber into the Lake each day, you will receive a Blue Power 
Berry from the Kappa on the 11th day.  Red Power Berries improve your 
Stamina.  Blue Power Berries decrease your Fatigue, which means that you can 
use your tools longer.  There is a separate section dealing with all Power 
Berries that can be obtained in the game.

It is important to gather all the items that can be found in the wilds, as 
they not only are worth money when shipped but can be used as gifts.  Mary, 
for example, loves grasses.  Saibara, Barley, Mary, Karen, and the Mayor love 
bamboo shoots.   Most individuals will accept flowers as gifts and most of the 
girls love them.  Karen loves all flowers, as do Ellen, Gotz, Barley, Sasha, 
Manna and Lillia.  Popuri and Elli love only some varieties of flowers, but 
will accept all of them as gifts.  Flowers are the least valuable gift that 
you can give and when you need money from shippable items, it is good to use 
flowers for your gifts instead of more valuable items.  All grasses, apart 
from Black Grass, are worth at least 100G each.  You need this income at the 
start of the game.  

A note about gathering and harvesting: At the very start of the game, when you 
are desperate for money, you probably will want to gather items from the wilds 
as early as possible in the day, so as to be able to ship them before 5.00 
p.m. when Zack arrives and have more cash in your pocket.  As the game 
progresses, however, there are a couple of things to consider when deciding 
how to use your time to the greatest advantage.  If you do not gather an item 
that is found in the wild, it will be gone at the end of the day.  Another one 
like it will take its place the next morning, as long as there is no change in 
Season.  However, you will have lost a day's profit from every item that you 
failed to collect the day before.  With respect to your crops, however, once 
ready for harvest, they will remain fresh until you harvest them, unless there 
is a change in season, in which case they will wither and die on the vine.  

If you are desperate for money, collect the items growing in the wilds first, 
as you will lose the profit completely if you fail to gather them.  If you are 
not desperate for cash, harvest your crops first.   The reasons for this are 
as follows: 

If it is a crop that bears more than one harvest, by picking the fruit or 
vegetable, the next harvest cycle will begin.  Moreover, if you have hired 
Sprites to water your crops, they will be able to water the plant as soon as 
you harvest the first fruit/vegetable from it.  This results in a quicker 2nd 
harvest from that plant.  Harvesting
your crops late in the day will delay the second harvest, as the Sprites 
probably will not water the plants then until the next day.  Obviously if you 
have hired Sprites to harvest your crops, you will not have this problem and 
will be able to concentrate on gathering the items in the wilds.

If it is a crop that gives only a single harvest, by harvesting the crop early 
in the day, you will be able to plant a new crop immediately.  Again, planting 
a crop early in the day means that any Sprites you have hired to water the 
plant will do so immediately where crops that are planted at night will not 
receive water (unless you water them yourself) until the following day.

Here is a tip that is useful at the beginning of the game when you do not have 
a refrigerator:  Do not harvest one plot (9 spaces)  of cucumbers and turnips 
immediately after they ripen.  Harvest them one by one only as needed to give 
as gifts.  This way, you will be able to 'store' cucumbers and turnips in your 
field and not have to carry them about in your rucksack.  Do this only with a 
single plot (9 spaces) for each crop.  The rest can be harvested immediately 
for profit.   Having a ripe cucumber every day for the Kappa is vital in your 
first Spring, and it is worth the loss of profit.  In fact, you will need a 
total of 11 cucumbers for the Kappa alone, so it would be wise to make certain 
that sufficient cucumbers will be available to pick as needed.

A quick note about the products that your animals give:  If you have animals 
that give you better than the minimum quality of product but you do not have 
the Makers yet, you may wish to store the product in your refrigerator or 
shelf until you have the appropriate Maker, if you do not need cash 
desperately.   When I first get medium milk, medium wool and good (medium) 
eggs, I try to store them until I have the appropriate maker.  I usually do 
not have to wait long and the value of cheese, yarn and mayonnaise is far 
greater than that of milk, wool and eggs.

You will find lumber scattered about the wilds of Mineral Town.  With your 
first axe, you will be able only to chop the small branches, but if you 
upgrade your Axe to copper, you will be able to chop the large stumps as well, 
although it will require that you chop each repeatedly (6 times each).  Lumber 
is critical in this game, as it is required for any house or farm upgrades.  
If you do not upgrade your house once, you will not be able to buy a 
Refrigerator or Shelf.  If you do not upgrade your house twice, you will not 
be able to marry.  If you do not upgrade your barn, you will not be able to 
buy a Cheese Maker or Yarn Maker.  If you do not upgrade your henhouse, you 
will not be able to buy a Mayonnaise Maker.    Although this is not a critical 
item, if you wish to have Ellen knit you a stocking for Yule, you must give 
her a ball of yarn in the Winter.  You will have to have your barn upgraded by 
then so that you will be able to make yarn from your Sheep's wool.  

A quick note about your livestock: Although Wool and Yarn are more valuable 
than Milk and Cheese, a Sheep can be sheared only once each week, but a Cow 
can be milked every day.  You will make far more of a profit by keeping Cows 
than Sheep.  Have at least one Sheep eligible to enter and win the Sheep 
Festival every year so that you can obtain P and X Yarn, but keep more Cows 
than Sheep on your farm to maximise your profits.  
For example, if you have 3 cows that produce P milk, and make that into P 
Cheese each day, you will earn 2250G per day from this source, which is 15750G 
per week in profit.  If you have 3 Sheep that produce P Wool and make that 
into P Yarn, you will earn 4500 per week from that source.   There is an 
enormous difference between the two amounts as you can see.

Apart from farming and gathering, you can make money in Mineral Town by 
fishing and mining. 

Each small fish is worth 50G.  Acquire the fishing rod as soon as possible by 
visiting Zack in his house at the Beach.  You will not be able to catch 
anything larger until you upgrade your fishing rod but when you do have a much 
better rod, you can catch Large Fish worth 200G each and with a very special 
fishing Rod, you can catch Fossils of FIsh worth 5000G each and Pirate 
Treasures worth 10000 each.  (The last two cannot be caught in your first 
year, however.  See my Advanced Tips section at the end of this file for more 
information on the Cursed, Blessed and Mythic Tools.)

As far as mining is concerned, please see my Complete Mining FAQS file for all 
information.  Here is the link:


FoMT Ultimate Mining FAQS 

 Suffice it to say here that you need ores in order to upgrade your tools, so 
you will have to mine for them.  When you go mining, take an empty rucksack 
and empty basket and fill them both.  If you are playing your game in both 
slots, save in both slots when you enter the mine.  Do not save again!  Wait 
until you find the stairs to the next floor, but do not save now.  Instead, 
reload the game in Slot 1, go immediately to the spot where the stairs are and 
dig, uncovering the stairs.  Now save your game in both slots.  Playing in 
Slot 1, go down the stairs to the next floor.  If you find that you are not 
surrounded by stones, save your game instantly only in Slot 1.  Now find the 
stairs, but without saving again.  When you find the stairs, reload, uncover 
them instantly by digging with the hoe, and then save your game in both 
slots.  Keep playing in this fashion.  The reason for saving the game in both 
slots is because the location of the stairs is always random.  Sometimes you 
will not find any stairs at all on a particular floor.  In such a case, you 
will be able to reload your game in Slot 2 and then, when you go down the 
stairs to a new floor, save in Slot 1 only, overwriting the floor that had no 
stairs.  Again, though, this is covered extensively in my Mining FAQS file.  
When you mine for ore or gems, play in the same way by finding the stones with 
the good ore or gems first without saving, then reload and smash only those 
stones that have good ore or gems in them.  It means that you will do a lot of 
reloading and saving, but what this means in effect is that you will conserve 
your energy.  On your very first trip to the mine, you ought to be able to go 
to Level 10 to obtain orichalc and adamantite.    By the way, black grass is 
found in the mines by digging with your hoe, and this grass will restore your 
energy.   Find black grass in the same way as you find the stairs, and store 
it in your rucksack until your energy fails or until you have filled your 
basket and need the space in your rucksack for more ore or gems.  Then eat it.

When Winter arrives, you will be able to mine in the Winter Mine, which is in 
the centre of the Lake (frozen in winter).  First, however, go behind the 
Winter Mine for a Red Power Berry.  Then go to the 19th floor of the Winter 
Mine for another Power Berry.  In Winter, you can find one more Red Power 
Berry if you have a Mystrille Fishing Rod.  Fish from the Beach in Winter and 
you will 'catch' one on your hook.

If you upgrade all of your tools by the Winter season of your first year, you 
will be able to find the Cursed Tools in the Winter Mine.  When you have found 
all the Cursed Tools and transformed them into the Blessed Tools, you will be 
able to find Mythic Stones in the Spring Mine.  Mythic Stones are worth 20000G 
each.  They are necessary to transform your Blessed Tools into the Mythic 
Tools, the most powerful tools in MFoMT.  By upgrading your tools as quickly 
as possible, you will be able to have the Mythic Tools by the middle of Spring 
of your second year.

Tool upgrades require a certain amount of experience and experience ordinarily 
takes time.  A way to gain experience without consuming your time is 
to 'practice' using the tool either inside your home or inside the Spring 
Mine.  It will use energy, however, so when you turn blue, you need to be able 
to use the Hot Spa or your own bath in order to restore your energy.  In the 
beginning of the game, you will not have your own bathroom, so the best place 
to 'practice' using a tool is the Spring Mine, as time will not pass if you 
stay on the ground level of the mine.   'Practicing' with your tool there 
gives you easy access to the Hot Spa every time you turn blue.  You can use 
grasses, honey or (once you have the Mixer), vegetable juice or lattes to 
restore some energy as well.  I have written more about this in my First Year 
Calendar FAQS and more about the Blessed, Cursed and Mythic Tools in my Mining 
FAQS.

There are four Festivals that can increase your income radically in your first 
year.  The first is the Spring Horse Race.

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II. Spring and Fall Horse Races:  


Although the results of the races can be random, I have discovered that the 
same horse appears always to win the first race.  It is the No.3 horse 
usually, and the odds tend to be consistent as well.  For maximum benefit from 
this event, make certain that you have purchased the basket and that you TAKE 
IT WITH YOU TO THE RACES.  If you have the largest rucksack, so much the 
better...  Make certain you have money for betting as well.  Ideally, you 
should have at least 5000G. but do what you can with the money you have.  If 
you go with the specific intention of making as much money as possible, do 
a 'dry run' first to see what the odds are on the first and third races and to 
see who wins them.   Do not save your game; instead, return and relive the 
event, but this time, bet 99 if possible on the horse in the first race that 
is going to win.  The second race can be tricky; quite often, a different 
horse wins it each time you play through the event.  The third race, if your 
horse is running in it, will be your best bet, but in the first year, that is 
not possible, so bet it only if the odds are good for the horse that won it 
during your 'dry run'.    After the races have ended, go to Thomas and 
exchange your medals for prizes.  I suggest that you do NOT get the Power 
Berry, even if you have enough medals for it.  Get that in the Fall, when the 
Fall Racing Event is held.  Instead, buy only brooches, for 18 medals each.  
They will sell for 2000G each when shipped.  That is why you bring your 
basket.  If you have managed to collect enough medals, you can fill your 
basket with 30 brooches and fill your pockets as well.  If you still have 
medals, buy one last brooch to carry home, leaving your basket behind at the 
Square.  It will be quite safe there!
Put everything in the shipping bin and then return to collect your basket when 
you go to collect the four grasses at the beach.

N.B.  When you first race your own horse, leave the basket next to the table 
where bets are made.  DO NOT KEEP IT ON YOUR HEAD!  If you win that race, your 
horse will be given a Crown and you will be given a Power Berry.  If you are 
holding anything, however, including your basket, you will not obtain the 
Power Berry!

Here are all the items that can be acquired at the Races by exchanging medals:

Jewel of Truth:  1000 medals
Power Berry:  900 medals
Dress:  250 medals
Perfume: 150 medals
Facial Pack:  42 medals
Skin Lotion:  35 medals
Sunblock:  30 medals
Necklace:  20 medals
Broach: 18 medals
Diamond: 14 medals
Truffle:  10 medals
Adamantite:  4 medals

The Dress will not be offered, however, until you acquire the Jewel of Truth 
for 1000 medals.   There is no need to do this immediately, as the Jewels of 
Truth have no value individuals but will only become the Gem of Truth when all 
9 have been acquired.


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III. The Two Summer Festivals:  
 

Both the Beach Tournament and the Fireworks Festival take place at the Beach.  
What this means is that, provided you bring an empty basket and empty rucksack 
and equip your fishing pole, you can fish to your heart's content, filling 
both basket and rucksack with fish without losing any stamina or acquiring any 
fatigue.  In the case of the Beach Tournament, you can do this AFTER you do 
the Frisbee Contest, to make certain that you have won it before doing any 
fishing.  In the case of the Fireworks Event, however, you must do your 
fishing BEFORE you invite any girl to watch fireworks with you as, once you 
do, you will have no freedom of action again before going to bed.  Remember: 
as with the Horse Racing, you actually can carry 9 items as well as filling 
your basket, if you do not mind returning for your basket later.  The citizens 
of Mineral Town are very honest and even when I have left a basket crammed 
full of brooches in Rose Square, no one ever has stolen a single piece of 
jewelry from the basket!  A brooch sells for 2000G and a large fish sells for 
200G so carrying 9 rather than 8 home with you and retrieving the basket later 
may be worth your while.

If you toss too much rubbish back into the Sea, you will lose significant 
affection with your wife, your son, the Sprites and all the Townspeople.  
Filling a basket and rucksack with Large Fish should be possible without 
catching much rubbish but if you attempt to fill basket and rucksack with 
Pirate's Treasures, you are bound to catch quite a lot of rubbish along the 
way.  In my experience, the average loss of affection when filling basket and 
rucksack with Pirate's Treasures at a single summer event was 3 hearts.

There are a few other tips that may prove useful when you play FoMT:


When you first come to Mineral Town, even if you are not particularly fond of 
mass media, you must recognise the importance of your television.  First of 
all, it gives a weather report every day of the year.  I will deal with the 
weather separately, but it is vital to know the next day's weather before you 
write in your diary!  The weather forecast station is the Northern Station 
(Up) on your control pad.

The television will offer a Television Shopping Network on Saturdays.  Try not 
to forget to watch this every Saturday and to buy the item that is offered, no 
matter how useless it may appear.  You will be obliged to buy almost every 
item if you wish to purchase the Big Bed, which is a prerequisite to 
marriage.  The sooner you begin to buy the items offered, the sooner you will 
be able to propose marriage to a girl and be accepted.  It is possible to 
marry a girl before the end of the first year only if you start to buy the 
items from the Shopping Channel immediately.   If you buy all items that the 
Shopping Network offers, upgrading your house twice so as to be able to do so, 
you should be able to propose to and be accepted by any girl on 17 Winter, 
when the Big Bed is delivered.  Only one item will be offered on the Shopping 
Network each week.  

On the other hand, if you are not in a rush to get married, buy the items at 
your leisure.   Bear in mind the fact, however, that the last item offered 
will be a Power Berry that will act to increase your Stamina, so even if you 
are in no hurry to marry, you will benefit personally by buying all items 
offered as soon as possible.  The Television Shopping Network is the Western 
Station (Left) on your control pad.   

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IV. New Year Counting Game:


I have dealt with this briefly above, but here is more information about the 
game:
This is a special game that the Harvest Goddess will play with you via your 
television.  It appears on the same channel as the Shopping Network, the 
Western Station (Left) on your control pad.  This can be a bit tricky, 
however, so do not be fooled by the appearance of a special New Year show on 
that channel.  The uninitiated may be led to believe that there is no Counting 
Game, but this is not the case.  Keep clicking on the control until the 
Counting Game appears.  It should be possible to play five times each day from 
the 1st through the 5th day of Spring.  If you would like to have the best 
chance of winning, write in your diary after each successful game, but reload 
without saving after each totally unsuccessful game.  That way you will be 
able to play as many times as you need, but only the good games will be 
recorded.  Some people might consider this cheating, but it is so sad when 
your very first guess is incorrect and you win nothing!

N.B.  In your very first Spring, when you have only three slots in your 
pockets and neither fridge nor shelf, it is best if you win only the following 
prizes in the Counting Game as they are the only prizes that can be shipped:
For 2 correct answers, you win some kind of Grass.  Only the black grass is 
NOT worth winning, as its value is very low, only 10G.  All the other grasses 
are worth at least 100G.  Try not to guess more than two correctly if you want 
the grass.
For 10-13 correct answers, you win relaxation tea leaves, worth 1000G.  That 
can make a BIG difference in your first few days on the farm!  Try not to 
guess more than 14 correctly or you will win another prize that cannot be 
shipped...
This is advice that will not be particularly useful after your first year, as 
you then will be able to save rice cakes, buckwheat flour and accessories such 
as sunblock in your fridge.  Your first year, though, it is rather sad when 
you are forced to consume rice cake after rice cake simply because you have no 
place to put them.  That is why I suggest winning only the items that can be 
shipped.  There are other valuable items that you can win, such as Pirate's 
Treasures, but the number of times that you have to guess correctly are 
astronomically high, so I suggest the grasses and the relaxation tea leaves as 
your goal.

If you want to be in control of the weather, always write in your diary before 
you go to sleep at night.  As soon as you awaken, go to the television and 
look at the forecast for the next day.  If it is not what you want, go back to 
the previous night and go to sleep once more.  Do not write in your diary if 
you do not like the weather forecast!  Keep doing this until you get the 
weather that you need and then save immediately.

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V. Importance of Weather


Here are some important aspects of weather:

A dust storm, typhoon or snowstorm will prevent you from leaving the house at 
all.  These events are to be avoided at all costs.  I never found a single 
positive aspect for any of them.  There is absolutely no point in allowing 
these storms to occur.  The worst aspect of the storm is that your animals 
will not be fed and therefore probably will be unhappy.  When an animal 
becomes unhappy, it is the first step towards sickness.  Another good thing 
about writing in your diary before going to bed is that you can look at the 
status of your animals the next morning BEFORE you write in your diary.  If 
any of them have become sick, go back to the previous night and keep doing so 
until you find that your animal has awakened healthy again.  This can be done 
in the case of death as well... I will not allow any of my animals to die.  If 
you are conscientious about this, and never write in your diary in the morning 
before you have determined both the weather for the next day and the current 
status of all of your animals, you will prevent much unhappiness and tragedy 
on your farm.

Another important aspect of the weather is that most of the townspeople, 
including the girls, will go out only in fine weather.  When it rains or 
snows, they will stay at home for the most part.  Most, but not all of 
the 'event' scenes with girls occur outside of their homes and therefore on 
sunny days.  There are exceptions, of course, but if you are hoping to trigger 
a certain event, make certain that the next day's weather will be fine, unless 
the event calls for rain.

There is one day in the year when you definitely want rain.  That is the day 
of the Sprites' Tea Party.  The Tea Party is not only fun, but it will leave 
you with a bag of relaxation tea leaves that you can ship for 1000G.  This is 
a desirable windfall, especially in your first year at the farm.  What I 
always do in Spring, once I have received the invitation to the Tea Party (and 
by the way, look in your postbox every day in Spring until you receive this!) 
is to choose a day, usually a Thursday, which is a day when few 'events' 
occur, and then prepare for the Tea Party by doing the following on the day 
before the tea party target date:

1.  I look at the television weather forecast first thing in the morning and 
make certain that it calls for rain the next day;
2.  If a Sprite is working for me, I let him finish the day's work and then 
dismiss him.  This will ensure that he will be at the Sprite Hut on the day of 
the Tea Party.  By the way, it is vital to realise that EVERY Sprite has to be 
home on the day of the Tea Party or there will be no party!
3.  On the day of the proposed Tea Party, I make certain that I feed all cows, 
sheep and chickens, of course, as there is no Sprite on the farm;  I do not 
have to water my crops, however, as it is raining.  That is the purpose of 
choosing a rainy day.
4.  I do all my chores and give whatever gifts I intend to give for the day, 
as the Tea Party will not end until 6.00 in the evening.  Although you can go 
to it any time after 10. in the morning, it is a waste of valuable work hours 
if you go too early.  So do whatever you need to do before you present 
yourself at the Sprite Hut.
5.  I stop at the Market and buy 7 boxes of flour before going to the Sprite 
Hut.  This is strictly an optional step but I was taught to take a gift 
whenever I visit any one.  
6.  I give all the Sprites their flour, then hire any Sprites that I need for 
the next day or week.  THIS IS VITAL!!!  Once you show the Sprites the 
invitation, you lose control of the situation completely and cannot hire any 
one nor give flour to any one.  So give your flour and hire your Sprites 
BEFORE you show them the invitation.
7.  Show your invitation to any of the Sprites...  Then the Tea Party will 
begin.

At 6.00 p.m. you will find yourself outside the Sprite Hut with a bag of 
relaxation tea leaves on your head.  The door will slam behind you and you 
will not be able to return to the Hut until the next day.  That is why it is 
so important to hire the Sprites before the Tea Party begins.

Here are some of the events that require a sunny day:
Most of the 'heart events' and 'rival heart events' require good weather.  
There are a couple of events that actually require rain or snow, however.  The 
photograph event with Cliff that occurs in the Square in Winter will only take 
place when it is snowing.  There are heart events with Cliff that require rain 
or snow as well.

Anna's Cooking Class:  You must go to Anna's house after 11.00 and before 1.00 
on Saturday morning.  You have to find Manna there, and she will tell you what 
a good cook Anna is.  The next week, at the same time, you will trigger the 
first cooking class.  From that time forward, her Cooking Classes will take 
place between 11. and 1. on Saturday mornings, but only if the weather is 
fine!  You must have  all kitchen appliances before she will offer the Class.  
Each Saturday then, she will teach you how to make a special dessert.   That 
is all she will teach you.  

For transcripts of Anna's classes as well as the Complete Recipe Book, please 
see:


FoMT Complete Recipe Cookbook FAQS 

In both FoMT and MFoMT,  experiencing an event or purchasing a specific item 
often is a pre-requisite to another.  It is important to upgrade your house as 
soon as possible if you wish to buy a refrigerator or shelf.  With a 
refrigerator, you will be able to store edible items.  With a shelf, you will 
be able to store all other items, including the 'treasures' given to you by 
bachelors in their 'blue heart events'.    You need to upgrade your house a 
second time, so that you will be able to buy the Big Bed which is a pre-
requisite to marriage.  
You need to buy every item that the Shopping Channel offers, however 
unimportant it may seem, so that you will be offered the next item.  Without a 
kitchen, you will be unable to cook, but even when you have the Kitchen 
itself, you will need to buy all kitchen accessories in order to create 
recipes.  'Cooked' food can be superior to raw ingredients not only in the 
amount of Stamina and Resistance to Fatigue that it provides, but as gifts for 
certain individuals as well.  

If you do not upgrade your barn, you will not be able to buy a Cheese Maker or 
a Yarn Maker.  If you do not have the Yarn Maker, you will not be able to give 
Ellen a ball of yarn in the Winter so that she can knit you a stocking for the 
Yule event.  If you do not upgrade your henhouse, you will not be able to buy 
a Mayonnaise Maker.  Every upgrade has a purpose and the sooner you can order 
them, the better.  One of the best upgrades, in my opinion, is the bathroom, 
but it requires the 2nd house extension.  With your own bathroom, you will no 
longer need to visit the Hot Spa to restore your energy.  You can do it at 
home.  This is particularly useful late at night, or if you wish to 'practice' 
using a tool in order to gain enough experience to upgrade it.  

Almost every item that you can find or buy in Mineral Town has a purpose.   
Even the common 'weed' that you find in your field is something that should be 
stored for use in the recipe to make 'relaxation tea leaves'.  That recipe 
requires 7 different kinds of grasses and 1 weed!  There is an event that you 
will experience every Winter beginning in your 2 year when Thomas will come to 
your farm at 6.00 a.m. on 2 Winter requesting a random item.  If you cannot 
find that item in the Winter season, but have saved it in your refrigerator or 
shelf, he will give you a piece of Golden Lumber in return.  Do not dismiss 
any item, therefore, however worthless it may appear at first glance.  N.B.  
If you save your game before you leave the house at 6.00 a.m. on 2 Winter, and 
Thomas requests either an item that you do not have or cannot find or one that 
is very valuable, simply reload without saving until he requests an item, like 
black grass, that you are able and willing to give him.   Black grass is worth 
only 10G and can be found easily in both mines.  It is better to give Thomas 
black grass than to be forced to give up a Golden Egg!

Looking in your postbox can be important.   Your invitation to the Sprite Tea 
Party will appear in your postbox, and there are other significant items that 
come through the post as well.  You will receive announcements about new 
products available at the Supermarket and Forge, including the Blue Feather.  
You will receive New Year cards and Birthday cards each year and other 
communications and surprises.  Experiencing events in FoMT will provide you 
with important or interesting information about the individuals in Mineral 
Town.  Events will occur only on certain days and at certain times.  They may 
not occur in certain seasons.  By looking at the Calendar FAQS,  you will be 
able to see when an event can be triggered.  In most cases, the sooner you 
experience an event, the better.  Some events cannot be experienced before the 
2nd year.  There are quite a few events that cannot be experienced before the 
4th year and a few that can only be experienced once you reach your 5th year.  
FoMT is a game that requires time, patience and energy, but the rewards are 
satisfying.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

The following sections contain tips that are helpful after you have played the 
game for a couple of seasons, and
include information with respect to  P and X products, Gold Lumber, Cursed, 
Blessed and Mythic Tools, the 'Shooting Star' Event,  Pirate's Treasure and 
Fossils of Fish, 'rival heart' events,  and sundry other bits and pieces of 
information.

Back to Top


VI. Techniques and Strategies in Farming


As the game progresses, your needs and aims will change where crops are 
concerned.  At the very start of the game, your reasons for planting certain 
crops are twofold:  to make money and to make friends.  As stated previously, 
turnips are a wonderful gift for Carter, Ellen, Saibara and Barley, and 
cucumbers are a necessity if you wish to gain a Blue Power Berry from the 
Kappa.  As the game progresses, however, your planting strategies will become 
more complex.  

There are three basic purposes for planting a specific crops:

1.  to make money
2.  to be able to purchase a new type of seed at the Supermarket
3.  to have the raw ingredients to complete recipes for your Cookbook

As you can see, making money from your crops is an important aim but not the 
only aim.  

Here are planting strategies for each season:

Spring:  

In your first Spring, you can purchase seeds for Turnips, Cucumbers, and 
Potatoes from the Supermarket and seeds for Cabbages from Won.  The most 
expensive seeds are the Cabbage Seeds.  In the first year, it is probably best 
to plant only Turnips, Cucumbers and Potatoes.  

The prices of Spring crop seeds are as follows:

Turnips: 120G
Potatoes: 150G
Cucumbers: 200G
Strawberries: 150G
Cabbage (from Won): 500G

The Planting Schedule for Spring Crops is: 
Turnips take 5 days to ripen, with no new crop; Potatoes take 8 days to ripen, 
with no new crop; Strawberries take 9 days to ripen, with a new crop after 2 
more days; Cucumbers take 10 days to ripen, with a new crop after 5 more days; 
Cabbages take 15 days to ripen, with no new crop.

If you ship a total of 100 Turnips, 100 Potatoes and 100 Cucumbers you will be 
able to buy strawberry seeds at the Supermarket.  Although the Supermarket 
will send you a notice when you have completed this requirement, the moment 
the 100th vegetable enters the Shipping Bin, the strawberry seeds will be 
available at the Supermarket.  So if you look in your Shipping Memo, you may 
be able to buy Strawberry Seeds the same day that you complete the 
requirement, without waiting for the announcement to arrive.  For the purpose 
of completing your Cookbook, if nothing else, you will want to be able to grow 
all the special seasonal fruits and vegetables.  It should be a priority, 
therefore, to ship 100 of each of the Spring crops.

Once you have strawberry seeds, your priorities will change.  You probably 
will be in your second year, and you should not be as desperate for money as 
you were in your first year.  Now your priorities will be: to stock your 
larder with every fruit and vegetable so as to be able to cook any and all 
recipes and to make the most profit from your crops each season.    In the 
Spring, the Crop that yields the greatest profit is Cabbages, selling for 250G 
each.  They do take 15 days to ripen.  Ideally, then, you ought to be able to 
harvest them on the 15th day of Spring and immediately plant more Cabbage 
seeds for a second harvest.  I do not do this, however, simply because seeds 
are not guaranteed to grow uniformly.  You may find that some of the Cabbages 
are not ready to harvest when you reach the last day of Spring.  I prefer, 
therefore, to plant Potatoes as my second harvest in the plots that held the 
first harvest of Cabbages.  When the potatoes ripen after 10 days, I plant 
Turnips.  Cabbages, Potatoes and Turnips all have one thing in common: they 
are crops that yield a single harvest.  That means in effect that you will 
have to plant again once you harvest the crop.  The other two Spring crops, 
Cucumbers and Strawberries, bear multiple harvests.  Plant them on the 1st day 
of Spring and then continue to harvest them throughout the season.

Summer:

In your first Summer, you can purchase seeds for Tomatoes, Onions and Corn 
from the Supermarket and Pineapple seeds from Won.  Pineapple seeds are the 
most expensive but yield the highest price at 500G each.  If you have enough 
money to purchase pineapple seeds, then do so, but make certain to plant them 
on 1 Summer as they can be harvested twice: once after 21 days and again after 
5 more days.  As far as the single harvest crops are concerned, you only have 
one in the Summer season: Onions.  To reach your goal of shipping 100 Onions, 
100 Corn and 100 Tomatoes, therefore, you will have to plant 100 onions!  As 
far as the tomatoes and corn are concerned, you need not plant as many, as 
they will yield multiple harvests.

The prices of Summer crop seeds are:

Onions: 150G
Tomatoes:  200G
Corn: 300G
Pumpkins: 500G
Pineapples (from Won): 1000G

The Planting Schedule for Summer Crops is:
Onions take 8 days to ripen with no new crop; Tomatoes take 10 days to ripen, 
with a new crop after 3 more days;  Corn takes 15 days to ripen with a new 
crop after 3 more days; Pumpkins take 15 days to ripen, with no new crop; 
Pineapples take 21 days to ripen, with a new crop after 5 more days.  You must 
have shipped a total of 100 Onions, 100 Tomatoes, and 100 Corn in order to be 
able to purchase Pumpkin Seeds from Supermarket.

I have written more about Pineapples in the introductory section.

Autumn:

In your first Autumn, you can purchase seeds for Aubergines (Eggplant), 
Carrots and Sweet Potatoes from the Supermarket and Green Pepper seeds from 
Won.  Although sweet potatoes are not the most valuable crop, the turnover 
rate is fantastic, so Sweet Potatoes will make more profit for you than any 
other crop as long as you keep harvesting them without delay.  The only single 
harvest crop in Autumn is Carrots, so you will have to plant 100 carrots if 
you wish to be able to purchase Spinach seeds at the Supermarket.

The prices of Autumn crop seeds are:

Aubergine (Eggplant): 120G
Sweet Potatoes: 300G
Carrots: 300G
Spinach: 200G
Green Peppers: 150G
Blue/Red Magic Flowers/Grass: 600G

The Planting Schedule for Fall Crops is:  

Sweet Potatoes take 6 days to ripen, with a new crop after 2 more days; 
Spinach takes 6 days to ripen, with no new crop;  Carrots take 8 days to 
ripen, with no new crop; Green Peppers take 8 days to ripen, with a new crop 
after 2 more days; Aubergines (Eggplants) take 10 days to ripen, with a new 
crop after 3 more days; Magic Grass takes 10 days to ripen, with no new crop; 
(only the Red Magic Grass flowers can be shipped for 200G each, but as they 
can be shipped, I have listed them under crops rather than flowers).  You  
must have shipped a total of 100 Sweet Potatoes, 100 Carrots, and 100 
Aubergines (Eggplant) in order to be able to purchase Spinach Seeds from the 
Supermarket.  That means that you will have to plant 100 Carrots as they are a 
single harvest crop.

By the end of Autumn of your second year, you easily can have 99 of each 
vegetable and fruit in your refrigerator to use as gifts and raw ingredients 
in recipes.  From this point forward, you need only grow whatever crops you 
need to replenish your stores and to make maximum profit each season.

Grass can be planted in every season but Winter.  It does not need to be 
replanted, even after the Winter season.  Unlike other crops, use of your 
scythe or sickle will not remove the grass from the plot, but will simply cut 
it for use as fodder.  If you wish to remove the grass entirely and plant some 
other crop in its stead, you must use your hoe, and it can only be done 
directly after the grass has been cut.  Once it begins to grow again, your hoe 
will not be able to affect it.

Tips with respect to watering and harvesting crops as well as Sprite labour 
management will be found in the introductory section.

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VII.  How to Plan your Field


When planning how to plant seeds for crops and grass, you need to have a goal 
in mind.  If you ever plan to put your animals outside, you will need a pen 
for your livestock (cows and sheep) and one for your chickens.  The cows and 
sheeps need only a slightly larger pen than the chickens.  Here is how I 
organise the two pens:

I plan two plots of land for the cows and sheep (two squares of 9 each side by 
side) and centre it where the barn door is. That means that you need 5 empty 
spaces widthwise counting from the edge: two of the spaces are for the stones 
that you will use to make the pen. Count 8 spaces total lengthwise (2 for the 
outside stones and 6 for the two plots of grass inside your pen). If your pen 
is centred properly, you will be able to remove the centre stone (at the edge 
of the pen) and then push your animals directly into the pen in the morning, 
returning the stone to its place when the animals are inside.  The outer 
stones will be at the very edge of your field and your pen will be longer than 
it is wide.  Use two bags of grass seeds to grow grass inside the pen. 

I construct the same sort of pen for the chickens, except that you need only 
one plot of land for them (1 square of 9). You do not need to remove any 
stones when you put the chickens inside, because you will have to carry them.  
If you place the chicken pen at the very left edge of your land, where it is 
closest to the henhouse door, that will give you the least amount of work, 
travelling back and forth from the henhouse with each bird.  Grow grass inside 
(1 bag of grass seeds). Your livestock pen, therefore,  will use 5 stones for 
the width and 8 stones for the length.  Your chicken pen will be 5 x 5.

A note of warning:  Your Cows and Sheep will eat only fully ripened grass 
(grass that can be harvested), so if you leave them outside overnight and your 
grass is not fully ripened, they will be unhappy!  Make certain that you plant 
enough grass to feed them and that it is ripe before you leave them out 
overnight. If you bring them back inside the barn at night, make certain that 
they either had ripened grass to eat outside during the day or that fodder has 
been left for each one in a stall. (The Sprites will not leave fodder for 
animals that are outside during the day.) 

With respect to crops, there are two popular formations.  You can hoe the plot 
in a horseshoe formation that makes it possible for you to water each seed, or 
you can hoe all nine squares of the plot and fill each space with seeds.  The 
seed in the middle will not be accessible to you, but if you hire Sprites to 
water your crops, it will not matter.  They can reach every square.  You 
should be able to hire your first Sprite, Bold, on 5 Spring, if you remember 
to give him a bag of flour on his birthday, which is 4 Spring.  You therefore 
ought to be able to use all nine squares of a plot for your crops.
Even if a seed is not watered every day, it will not die immediately.  It 
simply will not begin to grow until it is watered.  I think it better to use 
every seed (because when you throw seeds on a horseshoe formation, the ninth 
seed is wasted) even if the middle seed is neglected for a day or two until 
you can hire a Sprite to water your crops.

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VIII. Strategies for Maximising Profits


When making decisions on how best to utilise your time and energy, as well as 
which crops to plant at any given time, knowing the values of all the items 
that you can ship or sell is vital.  Here is a link to my MFoMT Item Values 
FAQS, giving the value of every item that either can be shipped with Zack or 
sold to Won:


All Item Values FAQS 

Back to Top


IX.  Stamina, Fatigue and Power Berries


The library is there for a reason!  There are some marvelous resources 
available, from lists of the values of every crop to hints and tips for 
health, animal husbandry and fishing.

There is a book about Stamina and Fatigue on the second floor.  It states that:
Stamina: is necessary for using items equipped.  Amount of Stamina used 
depends on kind and level of Igem used.  
To restore Stamina:
   Sleep
   Enter Hot Spring
(More time sleeping or in Hot Spring will increase rejuvenation.)
   Eat food
(Rejuvenation depends on kind of food eaten.  Some foods will deplete Stamina.)
   Put flowers in Vase
(Some flowers won't have an effect.)
Just handling objects will not deplete Stamina.

Fatigue
If you use items outside on rainy days, work until nighttime, or continue 
working when you don't have any Stamina, your Fatigue will increase.  If you 
become too Fatigued, you will faint and wind up at the Clinic, so be careful.
To lower Fatigue:
   Sleep
   Enter Hot Spring
(More time sleeping or in Hot Spring will increase rejuvenation.)
   Eat food
(Rejuvenation depends on kind of food eaten.  Some foods will deplete Stamina.)
   Put flowers in Vase
(Some flowers won't have an effect.)
   Throw wood on the fireplace.
(Only in Winter - in other seasons Fatigue will increase.)

Apart from this useful guide, there is a way to increase your Stamina 
Resistance and Fatigue Recovery permanently by obtaining Power Berries.  Red 
Power Berries increase your Stamina Resistance.  Blue Power Berries increase 
your Fatigue Recovery.  There are 10 Red Power Berries and 1 Blue Power Berry 
that can be obtained in the game.

Here is how and where they are obtained:

Red Power Berries (which increase Stamina):

In your first year:

1.  Give a gift to the Harvest Goddess each day by throwing a flower or fruit 
into the Spring; on the 11th day, she will give you a Red Power Berry.

2.  Dig in your field with your hoe.  You will find a Red Power Berry.

3.  Go behind the Winter Mine to find a Red Power Berry.

4.  Dig with your hoe on Floor 19 of the Winter Mine for a Red Power Berry.

5.  Exchange 900 medals for a Red Power Berry at the Horse Races.  (I suggest 
waiting until the Fall Horse Races to do this.  You will need the money gained 
from exchanging medals for 39 brooches at the Spring Horse Races in your first 
year.)

6.  Upgrade your Fishing Rod to mystrille level and fish from the Beach in 
Winter to 'catch' a Red Power Berry.

7.  Dig on the 100th floor of the Spring Mine with your hoe to find a Red 
Power Berry.

In your second year:

8.  Win the Horse Race with your adult horse to gain a Red Power Berry.

9.  Win the Frisbee Contest at the Beach Tournament to gain a Red Power Berry.

10.  Order a Red Power Berry from the Shopping Network for 10,000G after 
buying all other items offered by the Shopping Network.  (The earliest you can 
do this is Saturday, 6 Spring in your second year.)

Blue Power Berry (increases resistance to Fatigue, caused by using your tools):

In your first year:

1.  Give a cucumber to the Kappa each day by throwing it into the Lake; on the 
11th day, he will give you a Blue Power Berry

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X.  The Advantages of Attending Festivals


It would be a mistake to think that attending Festivals is a waste of time.   
The Animal Competitions all bring useful rewards, from Power Berries 
to 'crowns' for the animals that will allow them to produce a better quality 
of product.  Many of the Festivals, such as the Fireworks Festival, the Full 
Moon Festival and Starry Night Festival, will advance your romance with the 
eligible girls in the town.  The two Festivals in Rose Square at the New Year, 
provided you bring an empty rucksack, will give you 9 buckwheat flours and 9 
rice cakes respectively.  These can be used in Recipes.

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XI.  Missing out on the Gold:  Gold and Platinum Products



The products that your animals produce depend upon the length of time and 
degree of affection (often linked!) that they have for you.  The first product 
that they produce will be Small, and then it will progress to Medium and 
finally to Large.  If you want to see them produce something finer, you have 
to do the following:

1.  Enter your animal in the appropriate contest; if she wins, she will begin 
to produce 'Gold' milk, wool or eggs, provided that she is producing Large at 
the time of the contest.  If she is not producing at that level, you will have 
to wait until she goes through the other stages leading to Gold.

2.  Put your animal outside in a pen for the day, but make certain to bring 
her back inside at night.*  This will result in a gain of affection (hearts) 
and, after 30 days of being outside or a certain number of hours, your animal 
will be able to produce the highest level of product which is 'Platinum' or P 
after entering and winning the appropriate contest.   (This is the same 
contest that results in the production of a Gold product.)   Again, you have 
to go through the stages of Small, Medium and Large before your animal will 
produce a P product.

N.B.  If your animal has been outside for 30 days BEFORE she wins the contest, 
she never will produce the Gold product.  This may or may not matter to you.  
It matters only if you wish to fill your Recipe Book completely as, in order 
to make an 'X' egg, an 'X' Mile, or an 'X' cheese in your Kitchen, you must 
have all grades of that product, including Gold.  Obtaining X products 
naturally from your animals is a 1 in 255 chance when your animals give P 
products, but the actual recipes for X products that need to go into your 
Recipe book require ALL grades of that product.

If you wish to obtain an X Product from a P product producing animal, save 
your game before performing the action required (milking, shearing) and then 
reload if the product is not  an X product.  It is important to note that X 
Wool is mis-labelled as P Wool, but it is easy to spot the difference 
immediately as P Wool is white and X Wool is a beautiful rich pink hue.

*Wild dogs can threaten and harm your animals if you leave them outside after 
the bell rings at 8.00 p.m.  If your dog is trained to do so, he will 
challenge the wild dogs and hold them at bay, but I always prefer to take my 
animals back inside each evening, unless they are young and have little 
affection for me .  Although the wild dogs do not appear every night, they 
will appear sooner or later.  A wild dog is surprisingly small but very fierce 
with a very large bark and bite!  My primary reason for keeping the animals 
inside at night is not the wild dog threat, but in order to be able to beat 
the Sprite I have hired to care for them to the products that they give the 
next morning.  If it is an animal that is fairly young, however, giving only a 
small product, I will leave it outside overnight, only making certain that my 
dog is outside and that the weather will be fine the next day.

You can train your dog by practicing Frisbee with it at the Beach.  This may 
result in the discovery of various 'treasures' as well, as your dog will stop 
abruptly and dig in the sand on occasion, finding nothing or items that vary 
from rubbish to ores and gems.  I have heard that it is possible for your dog 
to find Pirate's Treasure in this way, but the odds of doing so are 
astronomical.    (I suspect that the individual who claims to have found 
Pirate's Treasure used a code in order to do so.)  The most common 'valuable' 
items appear to be agates and gold, which really are not that valuable.  

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XII.  Acquiring Gold Lumber



At 6.00 a.m. on 2 Winter in your second year, Thomas will come to your house 
with a strange request.  Rather irresponsibly, he became involved in a 
boasting contest with the Mayor of a neighbouring village and he needs a 
particular item from you in order to prove its superiority.  The item is 
chosen at random and will be different every time the occasion arises.  If you 
happen to have the item stored in your fridge or shelves, or if it is 
something that can be found in the wilds at this season, you will be 
rewarded.  Thomas will return at 7.00 to collect the item requested and in 
gratitude, will give you a piece of Gold Lumber.  This event occurs annually, 
beginning in your second year in Mineral Town.

If you save your game BEFORE you leave the house that morning, and you do not 
have the item that Thomas needs, simply go back and reload your game until the 
item he requests matches an item that you either possess or can obtain by 
evening.

Thomas will continue to make his irresponsible bets and will return to your 
house on the 2nd day of Winter each year to solicit your help.  If you attempt 
to build a fence on your property using Golden Lumber, you will incur the 
anger of all the townspeople, losing one heart's worth of affection from every 
one, as well as experiencing a rather hilarious scene the next day.  Thomas 
actually does warn you against the use of Golden Lumber when he gives it to 
you.  


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XIII.  When you Wish upon a Star: Double Profit Day




Every five years, if you go to the Peak on the 10th day of Fall on a clear 
night, after 6.00 p.m and before 
11.00 p.m., you will see shooting stars falling across the sky.    This occurs 
in your fifth year, your tenth year, and so on.

'Wow, shooting stars!  I'll wish for...'  

Healthy animals; 
Befriend townspeople; 
Shipping for a high price.'  

If after five years in Mineral Town you do not have healthy animals or do not 
have an excellent relationship with all the townspeople, you are in trouble!  
So wish for the third, which is 'shipping for a high price'.

'I hope my wish comes true.'  

The next day, 11 Fall is DOUBLE PROFIT DAY.  To wish for profits means that 
everything one ships the next day before 5.00 p.m. will sell for double its 
usual value.  

You can prepare for this day well in advance by storing items that have the 
highest value, such as P eggs, P mayonnaise, P milk, P cheese, P wool, P yarn, 
relaxation tea leaves, jewelry, pink diamonds, alexandrite, mythic stones, 
pirate treasure and fossils of fish.    Any X products that you have are worth 
saving for this event as well.  If you do not need money desperately, it is 
far better to store all valuable items until this day arrives.  

If, after you have sold all valuable items, harvested all crops, collected all 
grasses and wild produce for the day, you find that it is not yet 5.00 p.m., 
there is another source of income on this day: chocolate.

Go to the supermarket and buy 99 chocolates each time.  Ship them for double 
their value which will be 200G on this day alone.  Do this until you run out 
of time...

My Item Values Guide may be useful when deciding which items to store in 
preparation for Double Profit Day:


All Item Values FAQS 


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XIV. The Benefits of the Mythic Tools


The Mythic Tools use more energy than others, but there are some cases where 
they actually are preferable.

With the Mythic Hammer, you will be able to smash all boulders on Mother's 
Hill near the Lake with a single blow.  That clears a path to a secret fishing 
spot, which may or may not be of value.   Gaining access to the path, however, 
has one definite advantage:  In the Autumn, you will find another truffle 
there.

With the Mythic Fishing Rod, you have a much better chance of catching 
Pirate's Treasure in Summer and Fossil of Fish in the Autumn.  These are very 
valuable items that are caught when fishing at the Beach.

With the Mythic Axe, you will be able to chop all wood in your field with a 
single blow.  This is of limited value, as you probably will have cleared your 
field completely of wood long before you acquire the Mythic Axe.  It will chop 
ALL branches and stumps throughout the forest and mountain areas in a single 
blow, but this is to be avoided as it will anger Gotz immensely.  

With the Mythic Sickle, you will be able to clear your field of all dead crops 
and weeds at the end of each season much faster than you could with any other 
sickle.

N.B.  When you give a Blessed Tool to Saibara to upgrade to a Mythic Tool, do 
not forget that you still retain a comparable Mystrille Tool!  I once 
foolishly forgot that I could have gone to the mine with my Mystrille Hammer 
during the two days that my Blessed Hammer was in the shop being upgraded to 
Mythic level.

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XV. Transforming Cursed Tools to Blessed with the Greatest of Ease



I have dealt with this issue somewhat in my Events Calendar, but here are my 
solutions to the Cursed Tool problem:

To lift the Curse from the Cursed Fishing Pole and the Cursed Axe, each must 
be used 255 times.  That will sap your energy if you try to do it in an 
ordinary situation.  TAKE THEM BOTH TO THE NEXT FESTIVAL!
Take both Cursed Fishing Rod and Cursed Axe to the next Festival and then 
equip and use each 255 times in succession.  You can transform both tools from 
Cursed to Blessed in a single Festival!

I cannot imagine being able to gain the Cursed Tools before the Winter of your 
first year.  That is the soonest I ever have been able to do it, so the first 
festival was the Noodle Festival on 30 Winter.  I went home with a Blessed 
Fishing Rod, a Blessed Axe and 9 buckwheat flours that night.

Carter is in the Confessional on Mondays after 1.00 in the afternoon and is in 
the Confessional on all rainy afternoons.  Take your Cursed Hoe and your 
Cursed Watering Can to the Confessional on the first possible afternoon and 
make certain that you have 20,000G.  By equipping one of those Cursed Tools 
and entering the Confessional 10 times for that tool, it will be transformed 
into a Blessed tool.  Perform the same process with the other Cursed tool and 
you will leave the Church with a Blessed Hoe and a Blessed Watering Can.

The most difficult transformations are with respect to the Cursed Hammer and 
the Cursed Sickle.  These must be equipped for 10 days each before the curse 
will be lifted on the morning of the 11th day.  The horrible part of it is 
that once you have equipped one of these tools, you cannot unequip it for any 
reason, or you will have to start the process over again.  That means that you 
cannot milk your cows, shear your sheep or plant any seeds or fish for 10 
days.  Make certain that you have hired a Sprite to milk your cows and shear 
your sheep during this period or you will lose quite a bit of income.  I 
equipped the Cursed Sickle near the end of a season, so that it actually was 
of some use in scything dead crops and cutting grass.  I equipped the Cursed 
Hammer at the end of winter, though, because I was eager to obtain the Blessed 
Hammer.  I was able to mine each day in the Winter Mine, but I could not go 
underground at all obviously.  Instead, I would simply re-enter the mine when 
I had exhausted all gems on that floor.

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XVI.  Pre-empting Your Sprites



You can have it all, as long as you remember that it is the 'early worm who 
catches the worm'.  In other words, you can hire a Sprite to care for the 
animals and still manage to milk your own cows and shear your own sheep as 
long as you nip into the barn before the Sprite does.  If you go into the barn 
at 6.00, you will manage it.  The benefit of doing this is, of course, the 
fact that you will be able to make Cheese from the Milk and Yarn from the 
Wool.  Why hire the Sprite at all?  Well, filling each stall with fodder can 
become a bit tedious after awhile...
If you go into the henhouse before 7.30 a.m., you usually can beat the Sprite 
to that as well and make all of the eggs into Mayonnaise.    If a Sprite is 
a 'master' at his job, however, you will have to move extremely fast!

It is a bit more difficult if you hire a Sprite to harvest your crops and yet 
want to store some of the crops yourself.  I have been able to beat a Sprite 
to the Red Magic Grass when it was ready to harvest, but that is only because 
there were so few of the blooms.  It is best, however,  to hire a Sprite to 
harvest for a single day only if you wish to store a particular crop and make 
certain that the crop you wish to store will not be ready for harvest on that 
day.  Of course, if you have hired a Sprite for a week and discover that he 
will be working on a day that you wish to store the crops, you can dismiss him 
the night before that crop becomes ready to harvest.  Simply speak with the 
Sprite at the end of the day and instead of telling him to do more tomorrow, 
tell him that he has done enough.  

How fast and efficient the Sprite will be depends upon the degree of 
experience that he has with a particular chore.  In your first year, the 
Sprites still will be learning their jobs.  By the fourth year, they will be 
racing round the farm and you will be hard put to catch up with them.  

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XVII.  Supporting Local Artisans



I keep Orichalc in my shelf for the following purpose:  

Every other day or so, I go to Saibara with a piece of orichalc and order a 
necklace, a brooch, a pair of earrings or a bracelet for the sum of 1000G.  It 
takes him a day to make the jewelry.   Once you have given your wife one of 
each, or saved one of each in your shelf for special occasion gifts, you are 
at liberty to sell any others for a nice profit.  Each of these items of 
jewelry can be shipped for 2000G.  If you have been ordering jewelry for some 
time from Saibara and saving it in your shelf, you can ship all of it on the 
day after the Shooting Star wish for 4000G.   Not a bad way to support your  
local artisan and help yourself at the same time.

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XXVIII. Rewards of Friendship with Townspeople


I dealt with this topic a little in the first section of this guide, but will 
deal some specific issues here, including the importance of friendship with 
Gotz, Ellen and Carter.

Gotz is the woodcutter and he is the only individual with the capacity to 
upgrade your house, barn and henhouse.  Without the first upgrade to your 
house, you will not be able to buy a refrigerator or kitchen.  Without the 
second upgrade, you will not be able to order a Kitchen or kitchen 
accessories, and you will not be able to order the Big Bed, which is a pre-
requisite to marriage.  Without a barn upgrade, you will not be able to order 
a Cheese Maker or Yarn Maker from Saibara, and will be restricted to a total 
of 8 rather than 16 Cows and Sheep.  Without a henhouse upgrade, you will not 
be able to order a Mayonnaise Maker from Saibara, and will be restricted to 4 
rather than 8 chickens.  It is imperative to befriend Gotz, therefore, if you 
wish to improve the quality of your life or farm!

Gotz leaves his house each morning except Sundays, in every kind of weather 
(apart from typhoons and snowstorms) and walks to the Lake to search for 
lumber.  The most convenient opportunity for you to meet him in order to give 
him a gift is at 7.00 a.m. on the road between his house and the Spring.  Even 
if you give him nothing more than a simple flower, you will gain his 
friendship and the sooner that you begin to give him gifts, the better.  
Ignore Gotz at your peril!  His personal history is a tragic one, having lost 
his wife and family on the mountain.  If you do not cheer him with gifts, 
there is a danger that he will lose his urge to build and will enter 
a 'slump'.  Once he goes into a state of depression, he may not come out of it 
for a couple of seasons.  By giving him gifts every day from the start of the 
game, you will ensure his cooperation with your building needs.  Make certain 
that you remember to give him a gift on his birthday, which is 2 Fall. 
By giving Gotz a flower when you go to gather grasses and other items from the 
Forest and Spring, you will further your own interests as well as making a 
lonely man happy.

Ellen is housebound, having lost the use of her legs through a crippling 
illness.  She loves turnips, eggs and flowers.  It is easy to stop at Ellen's 
house on your way to the Supermarket to give her a gift almost every day.  By 
doing so, you will gain her friendship and if you go to her house on any day 
in Winter before 11.00 a.m. and give her a ball of yarn, you will experience 
an event.  Ellen will knit you a Yule stocking 'with lightning speed'.  The 
event ends at your farm at 6.00 p.m. the same evening and from that day 
forward, the sock will hang from its hook on the wall, ready to be filled on 
Yule night.

Carter is pastor of Mineral Town.  He loves turnips and eggs, and is grateful 
when any one agrees to listen to his sermons.  By stopping at the Church any 
morning between 9.30 a.m. and 1.00 p.m., giving him a gift and listening to 
his sermons, you will gain his friendship.  By Autumn of your first year, you 
should be able to open the locked door at the back of the church, gaining 
access to a Secret Garden that contains valuable truffles and mushrooms.  
There is an event with respect to this Secret Garden that can be experienced 
on Monday evening in Autumn, but even if you miss the event, if you are 
friends with Carter, you will find that the door now is unlocked.

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XXIX.  All About Fishing


Do not underestimate the value of fishing in this game.  Especially at the 
start of the game, when funds are limited, fishing can provide much needed 
additional income.  

Here are the values of all items that can be 'caught' using a fishing rod:

Small Fish: 50G  
Medium Fish: 120G  
Large Fish: 200G  

Fossil of Fish 5000G 
Pirate Treasure 10,000G  

'Message in a Bottle'/ 'How to Make Ketchup' : (Cannot be sold in FoMT)
Red Power Berry (no monetary value, but great value in terms of Stamina)

If you do not upgrade your fishing rod, however, you only will catch small 
fish.  Upgrade your fishing rod as quickly as possible to the Mystrille 
level.  With a Mystrille fishing rod, you can catch small, medium and large 
fish as well as the Power Berry (fishing from the Beach or Pier in Winter).  
When all your tools are upgraded to Mystrille, you will be able to find the 
Cursed Tools, transform them into the Blessed Tools and finally, acquire the 
Mythic Tools.  With the Mythic Tools, you will have no trouble catching 
Pirates' Treasure, Fossils of Fish and the River Kings/King Fish provided all 
other requirements are met.  Pirates' Treasure can be caught only in Summer 
and Fossils of Fish can be 'caught' only in Autumn.  The River Kings/King Fish 
have their own special requirements.  I have devoted a special section of this 
FAQS to the King Fish.  Every new item or species of fish 'caught' will give 
you Fishing Points.

Some fish are found in all sizes: small, medium and large.  The size you catch 
depends upon the Level of your fishing rod.  Other fish are found only in 
Large Size.  For these, you need a Level 4-Level 7 Fishing Rod.  Most fish can 
be found only in certain Seasons of the Year, fishing from certain 
locations.   I have included lists of all fish that can be found in Mineral 
Town as well as information with respect to Seasons and locations when they 
can be caught.  The first list divides the fish into the categories of 
freshwater and saltwater and gives the locations and seasons where they can be 
found.  The second list sorts the fish according to the Level of fishing rod 
required in order to catch them:


Fishing Seasons and Locations:

Freshwater Fish:

Bitterling:  All Seasons
Black Bass: All Seasons except Winter: all Freshwater locations
Bluegill:  All Seasons except Winter: all Freshwater locations
Brown Hakeling:  All Seasons except Autumn: Downstream
Cherry Salmon:  Summer, Autumn:  Lake and Upstream
Crucian Carp:  All Seasons, Goddess Spring and Lake
Fat Minnow:  All Seasons: Lake and Upstream
Golden Carp:  Fall, Winter: Goddess Spring and Downstream
L. Salmon:  Spring, Autumn:  Upstream
Lake Smelt:  Winter only:  Goddess Spring and Downstream
Mountain Trout:  All Seasons except Autumn:  Upstream
Roach:  Spring, Autumn:  Downstream
Salmon:  Summer, Autumn: Downstream
Silver Carp:  All Seasons except Winter:  Goddess Spring and Downstream
Snakehead: Summer, Autumn:  Goddess Spring and Downstream
Whitefish: All Seasons: Goddess Spring and Downstream

Large Freshwater Fish: (Require Level 4 - Level 7 Fishing Rod)

Bighead: All Seasons:  Downstream
Eel:  Summer, Autumn: Downstream
Rainbow Trout:  All Seasons: Lake and Upstream


Saltwater Fish:
(All fishing must be done at Beach and Pier to catch these)

Blowfish: Winter only
Cod:  Winter only
Filefish: Winter only 
Fluke:  Autumn, Winter
Greenling:  Spring, Winter
Herring:  All Seasons except Autumn
Lionfish:  All Seasons
Mackerel:  Autumn, Winter 
Needlefish: Spring only
Pigfish:  Spring, Summer
Rockfish:  Spring, Autumn
Rock Trout:  Spring, Winter
Sandfish:  Spring, Winter
Sardine:  All Seasons
Saury Pike:  Autumn only
Scad:  All Seasons except Winter

Large Saltwater Fish: (Require Level 4 - Level 7 Fishing Rod)

Dorado:  All Seasons except Winter
Flounder:  All Seasons
Kelp Bass:  Autumn, Winter 
Ocean Sunfish: All Seasons
Red Snapper:  All Seasons except Winter
Sp. Mackerel:  Spring, Winter
Tuna:  All Seasons
Yellowtail:  Summer, Winter

The following list sorts all fish according to the Level of fishing rod 
required in order to catch them:

Fishing in the Sea, from the Beach or Pier:

Level 1:  Herring, Sandfish
Level 2: Rockfish, Lionfish, Filefish
Level 3: Rock Trout, Scad, Pigfish, Needlefish, Saury Pike, Greenling
Level 4: Fluke, Kelp Bass, Mackerel, Cod, Blowfish, Black Bass
Level 5: Tuna, Ocean Sunfish, Bonito, Dorado, Red Snapper, Sp. Mackerel, 
Flounder, Yellowtail

Fishing Downstream, from your farm or other farms in South Mineral Town:

Level 1: Lake Smelt, Bitterling, Golden Carp, Roach, Brown Hakeling, Bluegill
Level 2:  Whitefish, Silver Carp
Level 4: Salmon, Black Bass
Level 5: Snakehead

Fishing at the H. Goddess' Spring:

Level 1: Lake Smelt, Golden Carp, Bluegill
Level 2: Whitefish, Silver Carp
Level 4: Crucian Carp, Black Bass
Level 5: Snakehead

Fishing Upstream on the Mountain:

Level 1: Fat Minnow, Cherry Salmon, Bluegill
Level 2:  L. Salmon
Level 4: Black Bass
Level 5: Rainbow Trout

Fishing at the Lake:

Level 1: Fat Minnow, Cherry Salmon, Bluegill
Level 4: Crucian Carp, Black Bass
Level 5: Rainbow Trout

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XX.  Fishing for Fabled Treasures

In Summer, fishing at the Beach with Cursed, Blessed or Mythic Fishing Rod, 
you can catch Pirate Treasures worth 10000G each.  In Autumn with the same 
level of Fishing Rod, you can catch Fossils of Fish for 5000G each.  By saving 
your game before you cast your rod, and then only saving again if you catch 
the treasure of the season, you can fill your rucksack with Pirate Treasure or 
Fossils of Fish a couple of times each day of the appropriate season.   One 
actually can catch about 20 Pirate Treasures or Fossils of Fish in a day if 
you are willing to fish until about 2.30 a.m., but it can become tedious very 
quickly.  There are a couple of facts worth noting with respect to fishing.  
Seasons change at midnight, and if you are fishing on the last day of Summer, 
you will catch Fossils of Fish after midnight.  If it is the last day of Fall, 
you will not catch any fabled treasures after midnight.  Unlike crops, which 
can be harvested up to the moment you go to bed on the last day of a season, 
the season ends for fishing at midnight.

It is possible to take an empty basket and empty rucksack to both Summer 
events and fill them entirely with Pirate Treasures, but you will lose 
affection with your wife, your son, all Harvest Sprites and all townspeople if 
you do this.  I have found that you will lose at least 3 hearts with every 
one, unless you are extremely lucky and catch very little rubbish along the 
way, for of course you will be obliged to 'litter' by chucking all rubbish 
that you catch back into the sea.   

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XXI.  Catching the River Kings



Having the Mythic Fishing Rod makes it easier to catch the fabled 'River 
Kings'.  You will not be able to keep these fish or ship them, but catching 
them is a pre-requisite for marriage to the Harvest Goddess.

There are different requirements for catching each River King:

The Jp. Huchen is found Downstream (fishing from the bridge on the south 
border of your farm) or from any other location nearby, such as the Poultry 
Farm.  You must have the Recipes for Sushi, Sashimi and Grilled Fish in your 
Cookbook or the fish will not appear.  

The Monkfish is found in the Sea (fish from the Beach or Pier). You can only 
catch it between 10.00 p.m. and 8.00 a.m. in the Winter and Spring seasons. 

The Carp is found in the Lake on the Mountain. You must have caught and 
shipped at least 200 fish or it will not appear. You may find it in every 
season but Winter, when the Lake is frozen. 

The Catfish is found in the Hot Spa. I have never been able to catch it until 
I have caught the Monkfish, the Jp. Huchen and the Carp, but it may be 
possible to catch it before those fish. 

The Squid is another saltwater fish, caught from the Pier or Beach in Spring, 
Summer or Fall. You must throw a small fish in the water before fishing for 
the Squid or it will not appear. 

The Coelacanth is found in the Lake on the 9th floor of the Winter Mine. You 
cannot catch it until you have caught the other five River Kings.


XXII.  Completing Your Shipment List:


Shipping at least one of every possible item that can be shipped is one of the 
requirements for marriage to the Harvest Goddess.  For the purpose of 
completing this list, note that chocolate is the only product purchased from 
the Supermarket that can be shipped.  As it can be shipped, you must ship at 
least one bar of chocolate in order to fulfil the requirement.  Won's 'special 
apples', although worth no more than ordinary apples, are items that can be 
shipped as well.  If you wish to marry the Kappa then, you must ship one of 
each variety of 'special apple' as well as shipping an ordinary apple.  You 
need to buy one of each variety of special apple as well as one more special 
apple (any variety will do) to complete your Cookbook as well.  There are 
recipes for making each of the three special apples in your Cookbook.  By 
combining two of the special apples with an ordinary apple, you will make the 
third variety of 'special apple'.  If you wish to complete your Cookbook, 
therefore, you must buy all three 'special apples'.

Here is a complete list of all shippable items in the order in which they 
appear in the Shipment list in your Memo:

Turnip
Potato
Cucumber
Cabbage
Strawberry
Tomato
Corn
Onion
Pineapple
Pumpkin
Eggplant (Aubergine)
Carrot
Sweet Potato
Green Pepper
Spinach
Regular Quality Egg
Good Quality Egg
High Quality Egg
Golden Egg
P (Platinum) Egg
X Egg
Spa-Boiled Egg
Mayonnaise (S)
Mayonnaise (M)
Mayonnaise (L)
Mayonnaise (G)
Mayonnaise (P)
Mayonnaise (X)
Milk (S)
Milk (M)
Milk (L)
Milk (G)
Milk (P)
Milk (X)
Cheese (S)
Cheese (M)
Cheese (L)
Cheese (G)
Cheese (P)
Cheese (X)
Apple
SUGDW Apple
HMSGB Apple
AEPFE Apple
Honey
Bamboo Shoot
Wild Grapes
Mushroom
Poisonouse Mushroom
Truffle
Blue Grass
Green Grass
Red Grass
Yellow Grass
Orange Grass
Purple Grass
Indigo Grass
Black Grass
White Grass
Chocolate
Relax Tea Leaves
Small Fish
Medium Fish
Large Fish
Pirate Treasure
Fossil of Fish
Red Magic Flower
Wool (S)
Wool (M)
Wool (L)
Wool (G)
Wool (P)
Wool (X)
Yarn (S)
Yarn (M)
Yarn (L)
Yarn (G)
Yarn (P)
Yarn (X)
Bracelet
Necklace
Earrings
Brooch
Junk Ore
Copper
Silver
Gold 
Mystrille
Orichalc
Adamantite
Mythic Stone
Pink Diamond
Alexandrite
Moonstone
Sand Rose
Diamond
Emerald
Ruby
Topaz
Peridot
Fluorite
Agate
Amethyst

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XXIII.  The Pumpkin Festival


The Pumpkin Festival is held on 30 Fall each year.  Although you can grow 
pumpkins in your fields during the Summer Season once you have shipped 100 
tomatoes, onions and corn each, pumpkins do not appear to be used in the 
Pumpkin Festival.  There is no carving of jack-o-lanterns but children do 
visit your farm asking for sweets.  Oddly enough, they do so in the morning 
rather than the evening or night, and you will have visits from 
three 'children' rather than two:  May, Stu and Popuri.  Popuri will arrive 
last at your farm and complain that it is unfair for only children to be able 
to ask for sweets.  She then will demand some from you.  The visits will be 
scheduled as follows:

        6.30 a.m. May visits your farm for sweets
        8.30 a.m. Stu visits your farm for sweets
        10.30 a.m. Popuri visits your farm for sweets, claiming special 
dispensations

If you do not have a kitchen or do not wish to cook, you can give each 'child' 
a bar of chocolate.  If you wish to do more, you can bake 'chocolate cookies' 
or 'chocolate cake' and give that instead.  In the same way, on the occasion 
of the Spring Thanksgiving Festival, when boys give the girls they 
like 'Chocolate Cookies', you can give any girl a bar of chocolate if you do 
not have a fully equipped kitchen yet.

If you are not married, that will be the extent of the Pumpkin Festival 
celebrations.  If you are married and have a child, however, there will be 
further celebrations later in the day.  If you enter your house from 12.00 
noon - 6.00 p.m., you will find that your wife has organised a party for you, 
and you will have to go to bed straightway afterwards, complaining bitterly of 
the cavities that you can sense from all the sweets forced upon you!  So 
beware if you have not completed all your chores and do not enter your house 
AT ALL during those hours on Pumpkin Festival Day if you wish to avoid 
the 'celebrations'.

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XXIV.  All Purchase and Upgrade Information


I am adding this section for quick reference.  These are lists of items that 
can be purchased or ordered from the Supermarket, Won's Stall, Yodel's Farm, 
the Poultry Farm, Saibara the Blacksmith and Gotz the Woodcutter.

Jeff's Supermarket:

Food items:

Dumpling Powder (also known as Muffin Mix and Rice Flour): 100G
Chocolate: 100G
Oil: 50G
Flour: 50G
Curry Powder: 100G
Rice Ball: 100G
Bread: 100G

All seed prices can be found in the Techniques and Strategies in Farming 
section of this FAQS.

Apart from food items and seeds, you can purchase:

Small Rucksack: 3000G
Large Rucksack: 5000G  (This will be available only after you purchase the 
small rucksack.)

Basket:  5000G  (This will be available only after you purchase the small 
rucksack.)

Gift-wrap service:  100G

Blue Feather:  1000G  (This will only be available when at least one bachelor 
reaches the required heart level)

Mineral Town Clinic

Bodigizer: 500G
Bodigizer XL: 1000G
Turbojolt: 1000G
Turbojolt XL: 2000G

N.B.  Bodigizer restores Stamina and Turbojolt recuperates from the effects of 
Fatigue.  It is not necessary to pay these prices for the medicines, however, 
as you can make them in your own kitchen!

Yodel's Farm:

Fodder:  20G
Bell:   500G
Cow:  5000G
Sheep: 4000G
Cow Miracle Potion: 3000G
Sheep Miracle Potion: 3000G
Animal Medicine: 1000G

You can sell livestock here as well:

Champion Cow:  7000G
Cow:  4000G
Champion Sheep: 5000G
Sheep: 3000G

The only time sale of livestock is suggested is when an animal has exceeded 
its life expectancy of 4 years.  It is better to sell the animal than to allow 
it to be taken by the Grim Reaper.
Lillia's Poultry Farm:

Chicken Feed:  10G
Animal Medicine: 1000G
Chicken:  1500G

You can sell chickens here as well:

Champion Chicken: 2000G
Chicken: 500G

The only time the sale of a chicken is advised is when she has exceeded her 
life expectancy of 3 years.  It is better to sell the chicken than to allow it 
to die.

Saibara's Forge:

Saibara upgrades all tools and he sells farming implements and jewelry as well.

Tool upgrades:

Copper:  1000G and a piece of copper ore
Silver:  1000G and a piece of silver ore
Gold:  1000G and a piece of gold ore
Mystrille:  1000G and a piece of mystrille ore
Mythic:  50,000G and a Mythic Stone

Farming implements:
Brush:  800G
Milker:  2000G
Clippers: 1800G

Makers:

Mayonnaise Maker:  2000G and a piece of Adamantite
Cheese Maker: 2000G and a piece of Adamantite
Yarn Maker: 2000G and a piece of Adamantite

All jewelry:  1000G and a piece of Orichalc

Gotz the Woodcutter:

Lumber: 50G for one piece
Golden Lumber: 100,000G for one piece 
1st house extension:  3000G and 200 lumber
2nd house extension: 10,000G and 700 lumber
Chicken coop upgrade: 5000G and 420 lumber
Barn upgrade: 6800G and 500 lumber
Bathroom: 30,000G and 580 lumber
New window: 25,000G and 300 lumber
New doghouse: 20,000G and 500 lumber
New postbox: 10,000G and 200 lumber
Vacation home/Cottage: 100,000,000G and 999 wood

Won's Stall at Zack's House

Items:

Ball: 100G
Frisbee: 5000G
Jewel of Truth: 50,000G

Seeds: 

Cabbage Seeds: 500G  
Pineapple Seeds: 1000G
Green Pepper Seeds: 150G
Moon Drop Seeds: 500G
Pink Cat Seeds: 300G
Magic Red Seeds: 600G
Toy Flower Seeds: 400G

Won's Door-to-Door Sales:

SUGDW Apple: 5000G
HMSGB Apple: 5000G
AEPFE Apple: 5000G

Vase: 5000G

Won will come to your door twice each year to sell his 'special' apples.  They 
actually are worth no more than an ordinary apple (shipping value: 50G) but 
you will need to purchase at least one of each in order to complete your 
Cookbook.  The Vase is an entirely different matter.  It is extremely useful.  
By placing flowers in it, you can restore your Stamina or recuperate Fatigue, 
depending upon the variety of flower used.   

There are two 'restaurants' in Mineral Town, Doug's Inn and Kai's Beach Cafe.  
During the day, Doug sells food items but at night, he sells only beverages.  
Kai's Beach Cafe is open only during Summer.  None of the food purchased in 
restaurants is 'take-out' or available for delivery.  It must be consumed on 
the premises.  For this reason, I am not listing the items with their prices 
here.  The amount of energy provided by these items is a topic that is 
included in the Riddle Book but the prices of these 'cooked items' are not a 
subject for the Riddle Book questions.

Shopping Network:

This is a television programme aired on Saturdays.  By using the telephone at 
the Inn for 10G, you may purchase each item when it is offered.  You must 
purchase all items offered before the Big Bed or the Power Berry will be 
offered.  You must have the 1st house extension before the Refrigerator or 
Shelf or Kitchen will be offered and the 2nd house extension before the Big 
Bed will be offered.  The Power Berry will not be offered until you have 
purchased EVERY other item offered by the Shopping Network.

All prices and first dates that items can be offered by the Network are given 
in my FoMT First Year Events Calendar FAQS at:


First Year Events FAQ

Here are the prices and the order in which the items are offered for quick 
reference:

Clock: 2000G
Mirror: 1000G
Refrigerator: 2500G
Shelf: 2500G
Kitchen: 4000G
Mixer: 1200G
Whisk: 500G
Rolling Pin: 750G
Oven: 2500G
Seasoning Set: 2500G
Knife: 1500G
Frying Pan: 1200G
Pot: 1000G
Big Bed: 10,000G
Carpet: 5000G
Power Berry: 10,000G

You should be able to purchase all items apart from the Power Berry in your 
first year.  If you have purchased all other items, the Power Berry will be 
the last item offered and will be available on the first Saturday of your 
second year after the New Year Festival.

All items that can be won by playing the New Year Counting Game are as follows:

1 correct guess:  Nothing
2 correct guesses: a random type of grass
3-9 correct guesses: rice cake or buckwheat flour
10-14 correct guesses: Relaxation Tea Leaves
15-19 correct guesses: Sunblock
20-24 correct guesses: Skin Lotion
25-29 correct guesses: Facial Pack
30-39 correct guesses: Perfume
40-49 correct guesses: Dress
50-59 correct guesses: Golden Lumber
60-69 correct guesses: Fossil of Fish
70-79 correct guesses: Pirates' Treasure
80-89 correct guesses: Recipe for Ketchup
90-99 correct guesses: Recipe for French Fries
100 or more correct guesses: Book

For the shipping values of all items in Mineral Town, please refer to:


Items Listing and Values FAQ

Back to Top


XXV.  Thinking Ahead: The Art of Matchmaking



When you reach your fourth year and presumably, are married with a son of your 
own, you may wish to see the other girls marry.  If so, it is good to think 
ahead if you intend to attend their weddings at the Church.  There are two 
considerations:

1.  If you trigger the last rival event at the end of Summer or any time 
except the very end of Autumn, the wedding will occur in the Fall season.  The 
door to the Secret Garden will be locked on the day of the wedding, which 
commences at 6.00 a.m. and ends at 11.50 p.m.  You therefore will lose the 
profits that the two truffles, the poisonous mushroom and the ordinary 
mushroom otherwise would bring.  Three or four weddings in Fall means a loss 
of 6-8 truffles!  It is not the end of the world, but if you can avoid it, why 
not do so?

By the way, 'rival heart' events are triggered, before or after your marriage, 
when the girl's heart has reached a certain level.  If her heart level exceeds 
the required level, you will not experience the 'rival heart' event until you 
lower her affection for you.  Marrying another girl does not lower the other 
girls' affection significantly.  You must experience ALL rival heart events in 
proper order.  If you have not experienced the first or 'black' rival heart 
event, you will not experience the second, third or fourth.    The fourth and 
last 'rival heart' events will not occur before your fourth year.    It may be 
that you have no choice but to trigger the event so that the wedding occurs in 
Fall, but if you do have the choice, avoid triggering it until the very end of 
Fall or in Winter.  There is only one marriage that is predicated upon 
another, and that is Karen's marriage, because Popuri has to be married to Kai 
before Karen's fourth 'rival heart' event can occur.

2.  Once you accept Carter's invitation at the Church to join the 
celebrations, your day effectively is ended.  You will go to bed immediately 
after the wedding.  Make certain, therefore, to complete all chores and all 
other acts planned for the day before you join the wedding party.  Unlike many 
of the 'events', a wedding allows you to enter and exit the Church at will, as 
long as you tell Carter that you still have work to do.

As a matter of fact, it is a good idea to go to all festivals at the very last 
possible moment, so as not to waste any of your day.  For the festivals that 
occur from 10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m., you can arrive at 5.50 p.m. and not miss 
anything.  Obviously, it is easier to do this if you have the Teleport Stone, 
as long as it is not a Festival that allows you to use a basket (eg. the horse 
races and beach festivals).   With respect to the Festivals that occur from 
6.00 p.m. to midnight, it is best to arrive at 11.40 or 11.50 p.m.

Back to Top




XXVI.  Playing with your Dog at the Beach



It is possible to practice playing Frisbee with your Dog at the Beach once he 
is fully grown.  Even if you do not practice with him, or purchase a Frisbee, 
you still can compete in the Beach Tournament each year on 1 Summer, but 
practicing with him on other days is fun and will train him to chase away the 
wild dogs that threaten your livestock periodically after 8.00 p.m.  You may 
practice at the Beach with your dog on any sunny day in Spring, Summer or 
Fall.  First buy a Frisbee from Won.  Then, with the Frisbee in your rucksack, 
carry your dog to the Beach and go to the Sign that is between Kai's Cafe and 
the Bench.  

Beach Rules
If you want to play frisbee with your dog, observe these rules:
Bring your own frisbee
Mature dogs only

Beach is open these times:
Sunny days only in Spring, Summer, and Fall.
6AM-5PM

Please play safely and have fun!

Play with frisbee?
Play
Don't play

If you choose to play with your dog, you will find yourself at the 
same 'course' as that used during the Beach Tournament.  Unlike the Beach 
Tournament, however, which allows only two tosses of the disk, the number of 
times you can toss the frisbee to your dog depends upon his degree of 
affection for you and his expertise at catching the disk.

The higher the heart level of your dog and the more he practices, the more 
times he will be willing to run after the frisbee.  If you begin practicing 
with him when he first becomes an adult, he may be willing to run after the 
frisbee only once or twice before becoming bored with the game.  As he 
improves, his heart level will rise, as well as his ability to catch the disk 
at greater distances.

Once in awhile, your dog will stop suddenly on his way to catch the frisbee 
and dig in the sand instead.  When this occurs, he usually will find nothing, 
but it is possible for him to find 'treasures' ranging from simple rubbish 
such as branches and empty cans, to gems, ores and even rare treasures like 
Pirate's Treasure.  The most frequently found items, apart from rubbish, are 
copper, silver, gold and agates.

Please note that if you do not have the Frisbee in your rucksack at the time, 
you will not see the prompt at the end that asks if you wish to play with your 
dog.

Back to Top



XXVII.  The Jewels of Truth


There are nine Jewels of Truth to be found in Mineral Town.  Individually, 
they are worthless, but when you have the complete set, they will be 
transformed into the Gem of Truth which can be used as a Tool to measure your 
Stamina and Fatigue levels.

Here is where the Jewels of Truth are to be found:

1.  On the roof of your Dog House.
2.  In the horse's water trough in your Stable.
3.  At the Horse Races, where you can exchange 1000 medals for it.
4.  Beneath a lamp post on the road between the Church and Rose Square.
5.  In the Library, on the second floor.  It is to be found in the southern 
row of bookcases, in the bookcase that is at the very far right.
6.  By playing the New Year show on the television in the Vacation Cottage
7.  Inside the Calendar at the Mountain Cottage
8.  Purchase from Won at his stall for 50,000G
9.  After you have found the other 8 Jewels of Truth, you will find the 9th in 
Thomas' Refrigerator!

To win the Jewel of Truth in the Vacation Cottage, you must win the New Year 
game show that airs only in the Vacation house.  The game actually is a maths 
quiz.  It is difficult only because the equation is shown for a split second 
only before it is replaced with the choice of answers.  It is almost 
impossible to read the equation in the time alloted to its display, and 
without being able to read it properly, it is almost impossible to answer 
correctly.  There are 10 questions and if you answer all of them correctly, 
you will win a Jewel of Truth as a prize.
The questions are random and sometimes the same question will be asked twice. 

N.B.  There is a vital error in the way that Natsume wrote the questions.  
The 'greater than' sign of > was given in many cases in place of the proper 
multiplication sign of x.  I have changed the improper > signs to the x 
multiplication sign in each equation.  It is too confusing otherwise.  Here 
are all the equations that are given during the show:


1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 - 1 + 1 =  (5)

1 x 1 - 1 x 1 + 1 x 1 + 1 =  ( 2)

1 + 1 x 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = ( 6)

1 x 1 - 1 + 1 + 1 x 1 + 1 =   (3)

1 x 1 + 1 x 1 + 1 - 1 + 1 =  (3)

1 x 1 x 1 x 1+ 1 x 1+ 1 =   (3)

1 - 1 x 1 - 1 + 1 x 1 + 1 =  (1)

1 x 1 x 1 + 1 + 1 x 1 + 1 =  (4)

If you answer even one question incorrectly, you will be told that: 'You 
missed them all!  Shouldn't you be studying instead?'

If you answer all 10 questions correctly, you will be given a Jewel of Truth.  
Once you win the Jewel of Truth, there is no point in winning the game again.  
If you do play again and answer all 10 questions correctly, you will be told:

'Congratulations!  You answered all the problems correctly!  I've already 
given you a Jewel of Truth, so no prize this time.'


Back to Top



XXVIII.  Vacation Cottage


If you own the Vacation House, you will find a new game available on every 
Saturday apart from any Saturday that falls during the 5 days of New Year 
celebrations.   It is the classic 'Rock/Paper/Scissors' game.  The prize 
system is the almost the same as that for the Harvest Goddess' Counting Game 
but unlike the Counting Game, the Rock/Paper/Scissors game can be played only 
ONCE each Saturday.   One difference in the prize system is that in the New 
Year game, for 2 correct guesses, you will win a random grass.  In the R-P-S 
game, you always win White Grass (the most valuable of all the wild 
grasses).   See the Section on the New Year Counting Game for a list of all 
prizes given for correct guesses.  If you manage to utterly defeat the Harvest 
Goddess in the Rock/Scissors/Paper game, you will receive a letter in your 
postbox declaring you to be the 'R-P-S Master'!

N.B.  Please note that there is a translation or transcription glitch in this 
game as well!  The options for Paper and Scissors are reversed, so 
choosing 'Paper' will be considered a choice of 'Scissors' and vice versa.  

The only other television programmes with any practical application aired at 
the Vacation Cottage are the 'Mining Research Group' show on Sundays and 
the 'Character Profile' show on Wednesdays.  The Mining Show gives tips about 
items found in the mines and the 'Mineral Town Friends' show profiles a 
different citizen of Mineral Town each week.  These shows all are found on 
the 'Western' or left channel of the television.

A note of warning:  Both the 'Mining Research Group' show on Sundays and 
the 'Mineral Town Friends' profile show on Wednesdays are riddled with factual 
errors.  Watch them by all means as they are quite amusing, but do not accept 
any information given in either show as gospel!  To give only one example, the 
profile of Lillia declares her birthday to be the 27th of Fall when in fact it 
is the 19th of Spring.   

If you have purchased the 'TV Changer' from Won, you will have the ability to 
watch every episode of any show that is aired on a particular day in the 
Vacation Cottage and the farmhouse.  The only clear advantage to this is that, 
when you have watched every episode of every single television programme that 
is aired in Mineral Town, you will receive a letter of congratulation from the 
Harvest Goddess!

I hope that some of these tips have been helpful.  I will continue to update 
all my FAQS to improve them.



XXIX. Ultimate Mining Guide


This is a guide to mining in all its aspects, with detailed instructions on 
maximising your energy, time and profit and it includes all the items to be 
found in each mine with their shipping values and uses.  All facts have been 
tested to the best of my ability.   This FAQS file can be used both for FoMT 
and MFoMT as mining and the items that are found in the mines are the same in 
both games.

I have added a section on the Cursed Tools and Mythic Tools that gives 
detailed instructions on how to transform Cursed Tools into Blessed tools and 
then transform them into the Mythic Tools.

Your goals in mining will change as your life in Mineral Town progresses, but 
at the very start,  you will have access only to one mine, the Spring Mine.  
This is the mine that is located above (north of) the Hot Spring, and it 
contains ores of various sorts, with various uses.  The basic principles of 
mining do not change, however, and in order to maximise your energy and 
accomplishments, prepare for a day in the mine as follows:

1.  Empty your pockets, rucksack and basket before you leave your farm of all 
unnecessary items

2.  'Pack a lunch or snack' by taking at least two items that will increase 
your Stamina and decrease your Fatigue; at the start of the game, you will not 
have a kitchen, so the best item to take with you probably is blue grass.  In 
both the Spring and the Winter Mine, using your hoe, you will be able to find 
Black Grass, which restores Stamina and decreases Fatigue.   By exploring an 
entire floor of the mine digging with your Hoe, but NOT SAVING, you can locate 
any black grass there.  After you have located stairs and any grass, reload 
the game and go instantly to the location of these items.  I try to fill my 
rucksack with Black Grasses in the process of mining, consuming them as I turn 
blue.  If I had turned blue at a certain point, by consuming one black grass, 
I found that I could use my Hoe or Hammer eight times before turning blue 
again.

Once you have a kitchen and all kitchen accessories, the best items to prepare 
and take with you are Lattes, either Fruit or Vegetable.   You can make the 
most powerful Lattes by following these recipes:

Fruit Latte (Basic): Mixer, Apple, Milk (S)
Fruit Latte (Best): Mixer, Sugar, Salt; Honey, Apple, Strawberries, Pineapple, 
Wild Grape, Milk (S)

Vegetable Latte (Basic): Mixer; one of the following:  Cucumber, Cabbage, Milk 
(S)
Vegetable Latte (Best): Mixer, Salt; Carrot, Cucumber, Spinach, Cabbage, 
Tomato, Milk (S)

I measured the strength of restorative foods by counting the number of times I 
could use a tool afterwards.  With the best fruit or vegetable latte, I was 
able to use a hammer or hoe 31 times before turning blue.  No other ordinary 
food item gave me more energy and strength.

3.  If you plan to search for the Cursed Tools or the Teleport Stone, you need 
to have an empty tool slot for each of them.  If you do not have an empty tool 
slot, you will be out of luck completely.  It is said that, if you find the 
Teleport Stone but do not have an empty tool slot, IT WILL NOT APPEAR EVERY 
AGAIN!  So remember to empty your rucksack of all unnecessary tools.  The only 
tools that you need in the mines are: Hoe and Hammer. If you are going to the 
Winter Mine and want to try to catch the King Fish in the Lake on the 9th 
Floor, take your Blessed or Mythic Fishing Rod as well.  Early in the game, 
though, you will not need any tools apart from the Hoe and Hammer.

The Mechanics of Efficient Mining


No matter which method you employ, there is one fact that is worth knowing:  
stairs never will be situated next to the wall of the mine nor will they be 
situated adjacent to the other (ascending) set of stairs.  You therefore need 
not waste any energy or time searching in those locations.   If you have not 
found any stairs and you have searched every other space, you can be certain 
that there are NO descending stairs on that floor.   You will not find them 
next to the other set of stairs nor directly next to any of the walls.  On the 
other hand, black grass and Cursed Tools sometimes will be found at those 
locations, so if you are searching for black grass or a Cursed Tool, dig in 
EVERY space with your hoe.

There are three different ways to mine:

1.  Mining by placing your fate in the hands of the Harvest Goddess


For the purist, this probably is the only way to mine.  You save your game 
only at the start of the expedition and at the end of it.  As the location of 
stairs and items is random, you may or may not be able to descend to a 
specific level and you may or may not find the item or items that you seek.  
Mining in this fashion can be extremely frustrating, however, and your energy 
and patience will be exhausted quite rapidly, unless you happen to have the 
proverbial patience of a saint.

2.  Mining with one journal or diary slot


If you are using your two 'save' slots for two different games, you will have 
limited success in finding the items you seek, but you have a far better 
chance than the purist, if you follow these instructions:

        Step 1.  Save your game as soon as you enter the Mine, but only if 
there is no stone obstructing the entrance.  If a stone obstructs the 
entrance, exit and return to find a new configuration;  

        Step 2.  Use your hoe to search for the stairs and any black grass but 
when you find them, DO NOT SAVE!  Instead:

        Step 3.  Reload your game and immediately go to the places where you 
found the stairs and black grass to use your hoe only to uncover these items. 
Save your game now.

        Step 4.  Go down the stairs but do not save your game unless you see a 
clear path before you.  In other words, if you have to smash stones in order 
to be able to move or the only clear spaces are those next to the stairs that 
led you here, reload without saving and descend to a new configuration.  Keep 
doing this until you get a configuration that offers a reasonable chance of 
finding the stairs without having to smash any or more than one or two 
stones.   The more energy you save, the lower you will be able to descend.  As 
soon as you find a configuration you like, SAVE your game!

        Step 5.  Use your hoe to find the stairs but do not save.  If you do 
not find the stairs on any of the spaces that are free from stones, change to 
the Hammer and smash whatever stones you must to find the stairs.  When you 
find the stairs, do not save, but rather reload, then go immediately to the 
space where the stairs are to be found, uncover them, and SAVE.

        Step 6.  Descend the stairs but again, do not save your game until you 
find a configuration that you like.  Then save immediately, and repeat the 
process...

        Step 7.  When you reach a floor with ores, gems or items that you 
want, do not save until you have found the item, gem, ore or black grass.   I 
save after finding EACH gem, ore or item.  That way, no energy is wasted.  It 
is a memory game, really.  Find the items that you seek but do not save, then 
reload and go immediately to the locations where you found the items you 
want.  

N.B.  Remember always that the location of items and stairs is entirely 
random.  If you only use one slot for your journal or diary, you may not find 
the item and you may not be able to descend to the level that is your goal.  
It is far better, if you have the option of doing so, to use BOTH slots for 
one game at least until you have found the Teleport Stone, which cannot be 
done until you reach your third year.

3.  Mining with two Slots


This is by far the most efficient way to perform mining operations.  You are 
guaranteed success when you mine in the following manner:

        Step 1.  Enter the mine and if there is no stone obstructing your 
passage, save immediately in BOTH slots;

        Step 2.  Ground Floor: Playing in Slot 1, use your hoe to find the 
stairs and any Black Grass, but do not save;  Reload Slot 1 and find the 
stairs and Black Grass immediately, then save the game in BOTH slots;  if you 
find that you have to use your hammer to smash more than one or two stones in 
order to reach the location of the stairway, DO NOT SAVE at all but instead, 
exit the mine and return to a new configuration which you then will save in 
BOTH slots.  Now you have two identical games in Slot 1 and Slot 2; you will 
save this way, in both slots, only when you have uncovered the stairs on a 
particular floor, but then you will always go on to explore using Slot 1.  
This prevents confusion and prevents you from saving at the wrong time.

        Step 3.  Playing in Slot 1, descend the stairs to the next floor and 
save immediately if you like the configuration;  find the location of the 
stairs, but do not save the game.  Instead, reload the game in Slot 1 and 
immediately uncover the stairs, then SAVE the game in BOTH slots.  If you find 
that there are no stairs, or if the stairs are difficult to reach, requiring 
much use of your Hammer, do not save this game, but load the game that is in 
Slot 2 and descend the stairs again...  If the configuration looks good, save 
the game in SLOT 1, not 2.  Never play the game using Slot 2 when you are 
mining.  Use that slot only as a 'pure' backup at a place that allows you to 
find an entirely new level.

        Step 4.  Keep playing the game in Slot 1, but save in both slots every 
time you finally uncover the stairs using the fewest steps (in other words, 
the second time you uncover the stairs).

The main reason for using two slots in this fashion is that there are floors 
without any stairs.  If you use only one slot, you will be unable to descend 
to a lower level and will have to start again at the ground floor.  Moreover, 
if you are looking for special items such as Cursed Tools, Goddess or Kappa 
Jewels, Mythic Stones or the Teleport Stone, they will not necessarily be 
present, even if you are on the designated floor of the mine.  By using two 
slots for your game, you will be able to load an entirely new floor and sooner 
or later, you WILL find the item you seek.

Example:  The Cursed Fishing Rod is found on the 29th floor of the Winter Mine 
only after all your tools have been upgraded to Mystrille.  If you are mining 
using two slots, you will go down to B29 and save immediately in Slot 1.  Then 
you will look for two things:  the stairs to B30 and the Cursed Fishing Rod.  
Both are found by digging with your Hoe.  If, however, you dig in every space 
and find only one of these things or neither, you can load the game in Slot 2, 
and find yourself back on the 28th floor.  Descend to a new 29th floor and 
save this game in Slot 1, overwriting the game where the stairs and/or Cursed 
Fishing Rod do not exist.  By saving the new game only in Slot 1, you maintain 
your access back to the 28th floor in case the new 29th floor does not have 
stairs and/or the Cursed Fishing Rod.  Once you have found BOTH the Cursed 
Fishing Rod and the stairs, you can save the game in both slots, but remember 
only to do this after reloading and going immediately to the locations where 
they are to be found.

N.B.  The location of the stairs and the Cursed Tools can change, although 
this is rare: when you reload, most of the time, you will find them in the 
same locations as before, but once in a very great while, the stairs and/or 
tool have moved to a new location.  Do not panic if you reload your game and 
do not find the stairs or Cursed tool where you found them previously.    Go 
ahead and search for them again and then, playing as usual, reload and return 
to that position to find them.  Really, though, this does not occur often.  I 
have only encountered it with respect to floors that contain Cursed Tools, 
never on other floors.

When you first begin the game, you will be able to reach only the Spring 
Mine.  Moreover, you will be able to carry only three items and three tools 
until you obtain enough money to purchase a larger rucksack.   The first 
rucksack you can purchase from the supermarket will cost 3000G.  After you 
have purchased that, you will be able to purchase a larger rucksack for 5000G 
and a basket for 5000G.  The first rucksack will allow you to carry a total of 
5 items and 5 tools.  The second one will allow you to carry a total of 9 
items and 9 tools.  The basket holds 30 items, but you will not be able to see 
these items once you have placed them in the basket nor will you be able to 
retrieve them.  By placing the basket on your head and choosing the Menu 
option of looking at your rucksack, you will be able to discover how many 
items currently are in the basket.  If an item is in your rucksack, you will 
be able to use it or discard it.  You can do neither with items in the basket.

SPRING MINE


The ores that the Spring Mine contains are as follows:

Junk Ore 1G found on every floor by using your hammer
Copper  10G  found on every floor by using your hammer
Silver  20G found on every floor by using your hammer
Gold 25G found on B3 and lower floors by using your hammer
Mystrille 40G found on B5 and lower floors by using your hammer
Orichalc  50G found on B10 and lower floors by using your hammer
Adamantite 50G found on B10 and lower floors by using your hammer

Other items that the Spring Mine contains and which can be found at any time 
are:

Power Berry on B100 (increases Stamina)
Black Grass 10G    found on every floor by digging with your hoe
Goddess Jewels (cannot be shipped, and thus have no monetary value) found on 
B60, B102, B123, B152, B155, 
B171, B190, B202 and B222  (until all of them are found, they have no use)
Fried Potato Recipee  found on B255 (no monetary value)

Ores and items hidden in the Spring Mine which you will be unable to find 
until certain prerequisites are met are:


Mythic Stone 20,000G  found on B60, B102, B123, B152, B155, B171, B190, B202, 
B222 and B255 only after ALL Cursed Tools have been transformed into Blessed 
Tools

Teleport Stone found on B255 after you have entered your third year

A note about the special items:

Goddess Jewels:  When you have found all the Goddess Jewels, the Harvest 
Goddess will appear and transform them into a single Goddess Gem, a tool that 
will recover your Stamina when used; if you do not have an empty tool slot, 
you will not be able to find the 9th jewel; you will have to return to the 
mine with an empty tool slot in order to find the jewel and gain the Goddess 
Gem

Teleport Stone:  Do not go to the 255th floor to look for the Teleport Stone 
if you do not have an empty Tool Slot.  I have been told that if you find it, 
but do not have an empty slot in your rucksack, it will vanish and you will 
not see it again ever.

Mythic Stones:  I have found Mythic Stones on B60, B102, B123, B152, B155, 
B171, B190, B202,  B222 and  B255.  The most I have found on any single floor 
is 3.  It is possible that they can be found on other floors as well but I 
doubt it.   The floors where I have found them all are floors where Goddess 
Jewels are found.  

WINTER MINE


The Winter Mine contains gems instead of ores.

The gems that can be found in the Winter Mine are as follows:

Agate  62G  found on all floors except B50, B100, B150 and B200
Amethyst 60G  found on all floors except B50, B100, B150 and B200
Fluorite  65G  found on all floors except B50, B100, B150 and B200
Peridot  68G  found on all floors except B50, B100, B150 and B200
Topaz 75G  found on all floors except B50, B100, B150 and B200
Ruby 78G  found on all floors except B50, B100, B150 and B200
Emeralds 80G  found on all floors with 5 as last digit: B5, B15, etc. and on 
some floors with 0 as the last digit, such as B40, B60, B80, B120, B140, B160, 
B180, B255 *
Moon Stone 55G  found on all floors with 8 as the last digit: B8, B18, B28, 
etc.
Sand Rose 60G  found on all floors with 9 as the last digit: B9, B19, B29, etc.
Diamonds 100G  found on B10, B20, B30* , B70, B90, B110, B130, B170, B190, 
B200, B210, B220
Pink Diamonds 10,000G found on B30, B70, B90, B110, B130, B170, B190
Alexandrite 10,000G found on B50, B100, B150, B200, B251

*N.B.  On floors with 0 as the last digit not listed above, one finds either 
Emeralds or Diamonds, never both.  I believe from my own experience that 
Emeralds are found on the floors where Kappa gems are to be found, and that 
Diamonds are found on the other floors ending in 0

Other gems and items found in the Winter Mine:

Power Berry  found on B19

Kappa Jewels (no monetary value, cannot be shipped) found on B0, B40, B60, 
B80, B120, B140, B160, B180, B255 (until all of them are found, they have no 
use whatsoever); when you have all of them, they will be transformed into the 
Kappa Gem, which will combat Fatigue

Cursed Tools  (cannot be shipped and thus have no monetary value, but they can 
be transformed into the Blessed Tools and doing this is the prerequisite for 
finding any of the Mythic Stones; the Cursed Tools are found by digging with 
your hoe)  on B29 (Cursed Fishing Rod), B39 (Cursed Hoe), B49 (Cursed Axe), 
B59 (Cursed Hammer), B69 (Cursed Watering Can) and B79 (Cursed Sickle)


ECONOMICS OF MINING


I firmly believe that it is to your advantage to find the Cursed Tools and 
transform them into the Blessed Tools as quickly as possible.  If you look at 
my First Year Calendar, you will see that it is possible to find ALL Cursed 
Tools in your first year (Winter) and it is possible to transform all of them 
into Blessed Tools by the second week of your second year.  You must have all 
your tools upgraded to Mystrille before you will be able to find any of the 
Cursed Tools.  It therefore makes sense to upgrade all tools to Mystrille 
before Winter has ended, as the Cursed Tools are found in the Winter Mine and 
you will not be able to access that when Winter ends.  The reason to find all 
Cursed Tools in your first Winter is twofold: to be able to transform the 
Blessed Tools into the Mythic Tools and to be able to mine for Mythic Stones.  

For all practical purposes, you can play the game and access all areas of 
Mineral Town and its environs if you have the Blessed Tools.  Although the 
Mythic Tools are more powerful, they only make it easier to smash the largest 
stones, chop ALL wood on the screen and catch the rarest fish and items.  More 
important perhaps than the Mythic Tools themselves are the Mythic Stones.  
They will not appear in the Spring Mine at all if you do not have all the 
Blessed Tools.  Mythic Stones are needed in order to have Saibara transform 
your Blessed Tools into Mythic Tools.  When shipped, they are worth 20,000G 
each.   The Mythic Stone, therefore, is the most valuable item in the game.  
As you will see from the list of items to be found in each mine, Mythic Stones 
can be found on nine different floors of the Spring Mine.  If you have the 
patience to go to the 222nd level, searching all floors where the Mythic 
Stones can be found on the way, you can go home with at least nine and 
possibly as many as 16 Mythic Stones IN A SINGLE DAY.   It is worth the 
effort, but unless you play the game in both slots, your chances of reaching 
the lower floors and of finding Mythic Stones on these floors are rather 
remote.  Never forget that the configuration of floors in the Mine and the 
items found there are random.  I have been forced to reload my game eight 
times on occasion in order to find even one Mythic Stone on a particular 
floor. 

As far as the Winter Mine is concerned, the most valuable items to be found 
are the Pink Diamonds and the Alexandrite, both worth 10,000G each.  Pink 
Diamonds are a little more common than Alexandrite.  I never found more than 
one Alexandrite on a single floor, but I have found more than one pink 
diamond.  It is worth your while to descend to the 30th floor to search for 
pink diamonds.  As far as other gems are concerned, however, I believe it is 
probably not worth the effort to distinguish between diamonds, emeralds and 
rubies, or even the lowly agate and fluorite, unless you are trying to ship 
one of every sort of gem or unless you intend to give them as gifts to your 
favourite girl.  In terms of profit, however, the amount of time and energy 
spent on hunting for particular gems may not be worth it.  It would be better 
to fill the basket twice with every gem that you uncover, making two trips to 
the mine, than to expend any extra energy looking for emeralds or diamonds, 
even if they are worth 10G or 20G more than ordinary gems.

MINING AND TELEPORTATION


When you have gained the Teleport Stone, you will be able to visit the Winter 
Mine in every season.  There are only two minor drawbacks to this: you will 
not be able to take a Basket and you will not be able to teleport to any floor 
of the mine that you choose.  When you teleport to the Mine, you will find 
yourself at the entrance to the Mine.  You still will be obliged to find your 
way to lower floors using your Hoe and Hammer.  You either can make brief 
forays to the Winter Mine in order to fill your rucksack on the ground floor 
or you can make carefully planned expeditions to find pink diamonds.  The 
Teleport Stone will allow you to gain the Kappa Gem in any season if you did 
not find all the Kappa jewels in Winter, but for the most part, you will 
profit more if you go to the Winter Mine during the Winter season in the 
normal fashion, carrying your basket, and go to the Spring Mine to find Mythic 
Stones during the other seasons.

MINING AND FISHING


If you explore the Winter Mine, you will find an underground lake on the 9th 
floor.  Only one fish (and items of rubbish such as boots, empty cans and 
branches) can be found here: the King Fish, Coelacanth.  If you are not 
familiar with the King Fish, they are rare creatures who, when caught, vanish 
after being recorded in your Memo. They therefore have no financial value and 
cannot be shipped, unlike Pirate Treasure and Fossils of Fish.  Use the Mythic 
Fishing Rod to gain the best chance of catching any rare items, including King 
Fish.  In my opinion, the quest to catch the King Fish Coelacanth is something 
to be done after you have achieved all your other goals in Mineral Town.   In 
any event, it cannot be caught until you have caught the other 5 River Kings.  
Some of the other King Fish are found in locations where you can catch regular 
Small, Medium and Large varieties of fish which means that you will have 
something to show for your efforts, even if you do not catch the elusive King 
Fish.  As I said before, the Coelacanth is the ONLY fish to be found in the 
Winter Mine Lake and although Mineral Town time passes very slowly when one is 
in the Mines, you can spend hours (in real time) fishing in vain for the 
Coelacanth only to return to your farm empty-handed unless you have the Mythic 
Fishing Rod.

A NOTE ABOUT ENERGY AND MINING


Use of the Mythic Tools will require more energy than any ordinary tools.  If 
you are using your Mythic Hoe and Mythic Hammer to mine, you may find that it 
is best to take a couple of fruit or vegetable lattes in your rucksack, even 
if you found it unnecessary to use anything but black grass found in the mines 
to restore your energy in the past using ordinary tools.

THE MYTHIC TOOLS: HOW TO ACQUIRE THEM AND USE THEM



The Benefits of the Mythic Tools


The Mythic Tools use more energy than others, but there are some cases where 
they actually are preferable.

With the Mythic Hammer, you will be able to smash all boulders on Mother's 
Hill near the Lake with a single blow.  That clears a path to a secret fishing 
spot, which may or may not be of value.   Gaining access to the path, however, 
has one definite advantage:  In the Autumn, you will find another truffle 
there.

With the Mythic Fishing Rod, you have a much better chance of catching 
Pirate's Treasure in Summer and Fossil of Fish in the Autumn.  These are very 
valuable items that are caught when fishing at the Beach.

With the Mythic Axe, you will be able to chop all wood in your field with a 
single blow.  This is of limited value, as you probably will have cleared your 
field completely of wood long before you acquire the Mythic Axe.  It will chop 
ALL branches and stumps throughout the forest and mountain areas in a single 
blow, but this is to be avoided as it will anger Gotz immensely.  

With the Mythic Sickle, you will be able to clear your field of all dead crops 
and weeds at the end of each season much faster than you could with any other 
sickle.

N.B.  When you give a Blessed Tool to Saibara to upgrade to a Mythic Tool, do 
not forget that you still retain a comparable Mystrille Tool!  I once 
foolishly forgot that I could have gone to the mine with my Mystrille Hammer 
during the two days that my Blessed Hammer was in the shop being upgraded to 
Mythic level.

Transforming Cursed Tools to Blessed with the Greatest of Ease

I have dealt with this issue somewhat in my Events Calendar, but here are my 
solutions to the Cursed Tool problem:

To lift the Curse from the Cursed Fishing Pole and the Cursed Axe, each must 
be used 255 times.  That will sap your energy if you try to do it in an 
ordinary situation.  TAKE THEM BOTH TO THE NEXT FESTIVAL!
Take both Cursed Fishing Rod and Cursed Axe to the next Festival and then 
equip and use each 255 times in succession.  You can transform both tools from 
Cursed to Blessed in a single Festival!

I cannot imagine being able to gain the Cursed Tools before the Winter of your 
first year.  That is the soonest I ever have been able to do it, so the first 
festival was the Noodle Festival on 30 Winter.  I went home with a Blessed 
Fishing Rod, a Blessed Axe and 9 buckwheat flours that night.

Carter is in the Confessional on Mondays after 1.00 in the afternoon and is in 
the Confessional on all rainy afternoons.  Take your Cursed Hoe and your 
Cursed Watering Can to the Confessional on the first possible afternoon and 
make certain that you have 20,000G.  By equipping one of those Cursed Tools 
and entering the Confessional 10 times for that tool, it will be transformed 
into a Blessed tool.  Perform the same process with the other Cursed tool and 
you will leave the Church with a Blessed Hoe and a Blessed Watering Can.

The most difficult transformations are with respect to the Cursed Hammer and 
the Cursed Sickle.  These must be equipped for 10 days each before the curse 
will be lifted on the morning of the 11th day.  The horrible part of it is 
that once you have equipped one of these tools, you cannot unequip it for any 
reason, or you will have to start the process over again.  That means that you 
cannot milk your cows, shear your sheep or plant any seeds or fish for 10 
days.  Make certain that you have hired a Sprite to milk your cows and shear 
your sheep during this period or you will lose quite a bit of income.  I 
equipped the Cursed Sickle near the end of a season, so that it actually was 
of some use in scything dead crops and cutting grass.  I equipped the Cursed 
Hammer at the end of winter, though, because I was eager to obtain the Blessed 
Hammer.  I was able to mine each day in the Winter Mine, but I could not go 
underground at all obviously.  Instead, I would simply re-enter the mine when 
I had exhausted all gems on that floor.


I hope that some of these tips have been helpful.  I will continue to update 
all my FAQS to improve them.

Back to Top


XXX.  Death in Mineral Town: Cheating the Grim Reaper

Although none of the townspeople in Mineral Town die, animals on the farm do 
have life expectancies and when these are exceeded, they will be subject to 
random death.  Life expectancy for a Chicken is three years and four years for 
Cows and Sheep.  When a Chicken passes her third birthday, therefore, her life 
is no longer guaranteed.  The same holds true for Cows and Sheep who pass 
their fourth birthdays.  Even with the very best care and the highest heart 
level, an animal will die sooner or later once it exceeds its life 
expectancy.  

Animals can die earlier as well, through neglect.   If an animal goes a day 
without food, it will become unhappy.  Unhappy can lead to actual sickness, 
even if you feed the animal the next day.  The only cure for animal sickness 
is Animal Medicine, purchased from either Barley or Lillia.  Although Barley 
deals exclusively in livestock and Lillia with poultry, the Animal Medicine is 
the same for all animals.   It costs 1000G but it probably is worth buying two 
or three bottles of it and storing it in your toolbox.  After all, it is not 
only through forgetfulness that an animal can be deprived of food.  If there 
is a hurricane, typhoon or snowstorm, no one, including the magical Sprites, 
is able to go outside or travel at all.  Your animals will not be fed during a 
storm and some of them definitely will be unhappy afterwards.  The choice and 
number of animals that will be unhappy after a storm is random.  

Death for animals occurs in the morning when you awaken.  Instead of awakening 
to your usual breakfast at the table, you will find yourself in the graveyard 
with funereal music playing in the background.  If a Chicken has died in the 
night, Rick will be there to mourn.  If a Sheep or Cow has died, the mourner 
will be Barley.  Depending upon the circumstances of the death, they are there 
either to console you or to criticise your poor care of the animal in 
question.  If the animal has died of old age, the mourner will tell you that 
the passing was a happy one and that there is absolutely nothing any one can 
do in such cases.  (This is not entirely true, but I will deal with that 
later.)  If the animal has died from lack of care, the mourner will scold 
you.  Use of Animal Medicine on a sick animal will cure the sickness.  There 
is no need ever to let an animal die of neglect, even if you have forgotten to 
feed it or have been able to do so because of a storm.

Weather conditions for the next day always are announced on the Weather 
Channel.  To prevent the occurrence of any storms, save your game before you 
go to bed.  When you awaken, look immediately at the weather conditions for 
the next day on the Weather Channel.  If any storm is predicted, reload your 
game without saving and try again.  The same tactic will prevent the death of 
any animal as well.  If you awaken to the dreaded graveyard scene, simply 
reload your game without saving to the night before.  Keep doing this until 
you awaken to your usual breakfast at the table.

There is a point in time, however, when the odds against survival grow so 
great as to make it almost impossible to avoid the death of an animal.  This 
is the situation when an animal has exceeded its life expectancy by an entire 
year.   You still can cheat the Grim Reaper, however, if you sell the animal 
instead of allowing it to die.
Chickens can be sold to Lillia and Cows and Sheep sold to Barley.  Even when 
the animal in question is a Champion and has maximum 10 heart level, the 
selling price is less than the price you must pay to buy another animal.  In 
FoMT, there is no other effect from the sale of any animal, but in MFoMT, you 
actually lose Animal Points when you sell any animal.  Selling a Chicken that 
has maximum 10 heart level will result in a loss of 25 Animal Points.  The 
sale of a Cow or Sheep with maximum 10 heart level will result in the loss of 
35 Animal Points.  You lose the points in any case, though, if the animal 
dies, so selling it still remains the better option.  Moreover, if you have a 
full barn and chicken coop, you can decide on the best time to sell the animal 
for the purpose either of buying or breeding a replacement.   One should be 
aware always of the dates of the animal Contests when replacing any animals on 
your farm.  An animal with a low heart level will not win the Cow or Sheep 
Competition.  The Chicken Competition, on the other hand, appears to be rather 
random.  Chickens with a maximum 10 heart level can lose the Contest as easily 
as a Chicken with a heart level of 1, despite literature in the library that 
asserts otherwise.  Still, it may improve the odds if the Chicken has a high 
heart level.

The best strategy is to 'stagger' the ages of the animals in your barn and 
chicken coop.  You then will not experience a situation where all animals 
reach their life expectancy at once and you are forced to restock your farm 
completely.  The optimum situation in terms of the Contests is to enter an 
Animal that has maximum 10 heart level but is no more than 1 year old.  That 
way, once it wins the Contest, you will be able to enjoy the benefits of its 
superior product for at least two years in the case of a Chicken and three 
years in the case of a Sheep or Cow.



These FAQS are the copyright of KingFaq.  Please feel free to use them as a 
personal reference guide, but please do not copy them for any purpose other 
than your personal, private use.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Submitted
by KingFaq