Welcome, fellow spirit tamers and adventurers! Moonstone Island is a rich blend of mechanics — part deck builder, part monster collector, part dungeon crawler, and part life sim. With so much going on, your first month can feel like an overwhelming sprint through unknown terrain. But fear not — this guide lays out 28 tips, one for each of your first 28 days, to help you settle in and thrive during your early journey. Let’s get started.

Day 1–3: The Foundation

1. Always do the tutorial. It’s not just hand-holding — it’s the only way to pick your starter spirit and get free Fiber. That Fiber helps unlock the balloon early, making it vital to your mobility.
2. Pick Shimp as your starter. While all spirits are accessible later, Shimp gives you a strong early edge. Earth-types like Capaca are abundant on the starting island, and Capaca’s signature cards don’t shine in early-game battles.
3. Get the warp whistle on night one. There’s not much to do during your first evening, so use that time wisely by heading to the town statue to grab the warp whistle — your daily return-to-town ticket.

Day 4–7: Gathering Power

4. Right-click the statue to pray. The next morning, you’ll receive a free item like a crystal or seeds. Small bonuses like this stack up fast.
5. Visit Zed immediately and accept his quest. It unlocks the Spirit Barn, which increases your party limit beyond three — a critical upgrade for any would-be monster collector.
6. Complete Zed’s quest easily by visiting the Spring Temple. There, you’re guaranteed to find a level 5 Longlog. It might be a double battle, but that’s rare and manageable.
7. Don’t catch a fourth Spirit before the barn. Without the barn, capturing a new Spirit forces you to release one — a painful early mistake.

Day 8–12: Building Your Team

8. Prioritize taming Mumbleweed. Its combo of enemy dizziness and card draw is among the strongest strategies in the game.
9. Add Marsha to your team. Poison in Moonstone Island is seriously overpowered, and Marsha’s synergy makes quick work of high-HP foes.
10. Balloon auto-activates in dungeons. If you fall off a ledge, the balloon kicks in without manual input. A great safety net while exploring.
11. Avoid Talismans that add cards. These bloat your deck with mediocre options and reduce overall battle consistency.
12. Cleanse Talisman = early game MVP. With limited energy, you want only your best cards showing up — this Talisman keeps your deck lean and lethal.

Day 13–16: Farming Smarts

13. Water crops don’t need watering. It sounds obvious, but this saves hours over time and guarantees you always have healing items available.
14. Plant Cattails for free stamina regen. They persist through spring and don’t need to be replanted, making them a go-to passive crop.
15. Difficulty scales with distance. Farther from the main island = tougher Spirit battles. If you’re overwhelmed, reel it in.
16. Spirits don’t need to follow to fight. Leave them behind when farming — they’ll still show up in battle and won’t get in your way.

Day 17–20: Quality of Life Mechanics

17. Equip Fish Hooks manually. Having them in your bag isn’t enough — right-click to equip them before fishing.
18. Ando Acolyte skill = double stamina. It doesn’t apply retroactively, so wait to collect Ando Trees until you’ve unlocked this skill in the Archaeology tab.
19. Rush the Moonstone Minded skill. Found under Foraging, it gives you extra Moonstones from chests — which are finite in the game.
20. Craft elemental charms at the Anvil. These negate environmental hazards completely. The Anvil recipe is unlocked via Farrah’s second quest — don’t miss it.

Day 21–24: Social & Economy Tips

21. Low risk for asking out NPCs. Don’t fear rejection — the penalty is mild, so follow your heart.
22. Sell strategically. Vendors pay more for relevant goods: ores to Farrah, fish to Tobin, seeds to the Conservatory, and Spirit resources to Zed. This nets 150% more money than the generic sellbox.
23. Friday night = town tavern meetup. Want to knock out all your NPC interactions in one go? Visit the tavern on Fridays.
24. Check Steam announcements on game launch. Time-limited events and seasonal freebies are posted there, like free Hollow Hunting Potions during Halloween.

Day 25–28: Final Tips and Advanced Knowledge

25. Hold Shift to run. A simple but overlooked detail — don’t wait until Day 26 like some of us did.
26. Some Spirits are egg-only. Releasing them into the wild makes them start appearing naturally, so you can renew access to limited creatures.
27. Close old mines. Got an annoying mine near your house? As of late October, you can close them once you’ve mined everything — making your home feel more polished.
28. Build confidence as you go. With every new discovery, Moonstone Island opens up in new and satisfying ways. Use these 28 days to learn, experiment, and shape your own adventure.

And there you have it — 28 actionable tips to guide your first month on Moonstone Island. The world is vibrant, complex, and full of surprises, so don’t be afraid to explore, fail, and try new things. Good luck, and may your journey be magical!