Beginner's Walkthrough

Beginner Walkthrough: First Days in Stardew Valley

This walkthrough has some helpful advice for newcomers. Not everything needs to be done on the first day, but the advice here may be handy in helping you to get started.

Getting Started in Stardew Valley
You're given 15 Parsnip seeds via the gift box inside the house and start with the tools you need to clear an area for crops. The farm is horribly overrun, but much can be done with it when it's cleaned up. The resources you find are very helpful. You should clear a 5x3 patch of land to plant your parsnips.

Always Show Tool Hit Location is one of the most helpful options for a newcomer. It will let you avoid wasting energy by hitting the wrong spot with your tools and will hold your hand until you no longer need it.Head into the game menu to make this easier. Press ESC and go to Options. Turn on 'Always show tool hit location' there, and you'll have an aid to help you learn to target in Stardew Valley. Later you might not need it, but for now it's a learning aid. For most tools you can hit the 3x3 area that surrounds your character, though the hoe is a little more clumsy and requires you to line up properly.

Tools
The 5 tools you're given are pretty self-explanatory but to ensure there's no confusion:

• Axe: Clears stumps when upgraded, breaks logs, and lets you chop down trees. Chopping trees consumes a lot of energy but logs can be broken in one hit.
• Hoe: The hoe lets you prepare tillable dirt so that you can plant seeds.
• Pickaxe: Use this to break rocks and boulders. Later, you'll mine with it.
• Scythe: Use this to easily clear plants and grass. When you get a Silo built on your farm later, it will collect grass and turn it into hay that can be used to feed animals.
• Watering Can: This is used to water your plants!

Clear the ground for crops, plant the seeds, and water them. Later, you can use fertilizer after tilling the land (but before planting seeds) to help your plants grow to higher quality.
Plant the Parsnips
So, you will swap between tools and clear the area so that you can plant crops. When it's clear of all debris, first use the hoe to make a patch for a garden, then plant the seeds by switching them to use them (hotkey 1-9 or the mouse wheel), and finally water the soil that has the seeds. Don't worry if you mess up with the hoe and till the dirt where you don't want to - things regenerate in Stardew Valley, including any ground where nothing was planted.

Pierre's General Store is the cheapest place to buy seeds each season, as opposed to Jojo mart which marks them up.
General Store to Buy Seeds Once your plants are watered, I suggest you head into town to spend your 500G at Pierre's General Store (note the store is closed after 5PM and on Wednesdays). Leave through the Eastern farm exit and walk until you see the town. Pierre's is next to the white building with a red cross (clinic), directly East of your farm. Walk up to the General Store door and click to enter. At the counter you can buy seeds for the current season. The most profitable plant for Spring (that are available now) are potatoes, which take 6 days to grow. You have enough money to buy 10 of them, so do so!
Note the backpack on the store shelf, which can be bought for 2000G. This will expand your inventory from 12 to 24 slots. You can't afford it yet, but it's a good thing to buy around week 2-3 of Spring. For now you have the treasure chest. Return to the farm and plant your potatoes. They'll be done growing on Sunday.

Craft a treasure chest to help you store tools and crafting materials you don't need at the moment. It'll help you carry more loot!
Making a Treasure Chest
Now we will want to make a tresure chest in which we can store items. If you're low on energy you can wait to do this on the 2nd day. Collect 50 wood by chopping down 3-4 trees. Press ESC to open the menu and head to the tab with the hammer - that's where you craft. Make the treasure chest, then switch to it on your hot bar. You can place the chest anywhere next to your character. The grass around the house is a good place to put it, but you can do this anywhere you like. Now you have a place to store items so you aren't forced to trash or sell them.

Energy, Exploration & Going to Bed
Your character will begin to get tired out after all this. Pay attention to the energy meter and when it warns you that you're near exhaustion, stop or you'll take an energy penalty the next day and possibly pass out from it, losing a portion of your Gold. You want to be in bed before midnight so you do not take another energy penalty.
It's important to note that only using tools drains the energy meter. So if it's only early afternoon you can still head around the town, explore, find the various shops, and meet new NPCs.

The TV
When your energy is low or it's late, head inside the house and watch the television. This should be something you do at the start of every day. You'll get the weather forecast for the next day, advice from 'Livin' off the Land' and 'Queen of Sauce' will give you recipes. Lastly, the fortune teller gives you a daily measure of where your character's luck stands.

The Second Day
You'll have to wait 4 days in order for your parsnips to be fully grown. Water them every day or they will pause in progress. You'll understand why farmers love rain, as it gets you out of that task. Refilling the watering can is done by going to the little pond to the southeast of the house and using it there.

The map is very handy to getting around. You'll soon learn there are faster routes to a building you want to visit.
Exploring the Map
Hit ESC or M to open a map of the town. Hover over areas and you'll see the names, so if you see something mentioned here or on the web it's fairly easy to find it. You'll see your character's current position as well as major landmarks and zones of Stardew Valley.
From here forward, you can begin to explore the other areas of game while you ensure the growth of your plants. Farming is only a part of it. The mine will open up on the 5th day, and you can begin to explore it. I suggest you get the backpack first. Willy on the beachside dock will give you a fishing pole, and you can buy them for 500G if they're ever lost. Robin can expand your farm, but you'll need lots of gold and materials. Be sure to explore the community center, then meet the wizard as well. This game easily has 100 hours of play in it, and things will only get better as the developer adds new features. Hopefully this guide helps to kickstart your play or offered you some insight. My deeper guides on various topics should help as well. They're listed below and I'm continuing to expand the site.