Moonstone Island has quickly captured the hearts of the cozy gaming community with its charming blend of creature collecting, deck building, and life sim mechanics. If you’re stepping into its magical world for the first time — or considering it — this guide delivers 40 practical and player-tested tips to help you settle in, survive, and truly thrive.

1. Customize Your Experience Early Go into Settings > Gameplay to adjust day length, fishing difficulty, and battle difficulty. These options let you tailor the pacing and challenge to your playstyle.

2. Your Starting Tool is a Hammer, Not a Pickaxe There’s no pickaxe — your hammer handles mining duties. Use it to access mines and collect valuable resources.

3. Open One Mine per Island Each island contains one mine. Break rocks until you find the entrance. Inside you’ll discover gems, moonstones, and crafting recipes.

4. Plan Your House Location Carefully Once placed, you can’t move your house or Spirit Barn. Choose a spot with room nearby for crops, crafting stations, and the barn.

5. Recent Updates Let You Clear Town Areas You can now chop trees and break rocks in the town — a small but powerful change for early-game efficiency.

6. Craft Multiple Furnaces for Efficiency Speed up your bar production by building more than one furnace. This makes material processing significantly faster.

7. Decoration Station & Furniture Crafting Unlock furniture designs from chests (in mines, dungeons, and underground). Build the Decoration Station to start crafting both indoor and outdoor furniture.

8. Custom Wallpaper and Floors via Loom You can create personalized wall and floor designs using the loom. Can’t draw pixel art? No worries — import community designs from Moonstone Island’s Twitter by copying alt-code text into the loom with Ctrl+V.

9. Recharge at Hot Springs Hot springs restore energy and make a delightful sound when you swim. Most islands have them — they’re marked on your map.

10. Complete the Nearby Dungeon for More Stamina Clear the dungeon close to the Moonstone Island hot spring to earn a permanent stamina boost.

11. Stargate Pillars = Card Manipulation These structures let you add, remove, or upgrade cards in your deck. Use right-click to activate. Once used, they display a green checkmark, and appear to reset each season.

12. Warp Pillars Teleport You — With Risk Some pillars teleport you to distant islands. Be cautious — the destination might be hazardous or above your current level.

13. Balloon Travel 101 Hold WD keys to drift in your chosen direction. Watch your energy — balloon flight consumes stamina.

14. Discover Islands by Looking for Shadows Dark patches on your mini-map indicate nearby islands. Fly close to reveal and land.

15. Broom Tips: Speed vs. Range Brooms are fast and free to use, but limited in distance. Charge it before long trips and consider food items to recharge stamina.

16. Glider: Best Travel Option Gliders require 3 Moonstone Ingots (9 moonstones), but use less energy, don’t need recharging, and travel fast.

17. Get the Warp Whistle from the Town Fountain This single-use daily item teleports you back home — great for time management and emergencies.

18. Wild Plants Are Your Tools Collect and grow wild flora for healing, stamina, and Spirit taming. Treat these like Pokéballs — essential for expanding your Spirit team.

19. Native Crops Die Without Water Skip watering for too long and crops will wither. Be consistent.

20. Harvest Non-Native Crops for Seeds Find unique crops on far-off islands. Cut them with your scythe to collect seeds, sell them to the Conservatory, and unlock them for purchase.

21. Whapple Spirit Cuts Fiber for You Let it follow you while exploring, then collect fiber afterward. A useful passive helper.

22. Check Your Medallion Often Leveling up Spirits unlocks new cards. If you switch Spirits, you must manually assign a new follower.

23. Up to Three Medallion Spirits You can carry three Spirits, with any number following you. Adjust based on your strategy and exploration plans.

24. Tool Wheel is Swappable Out of slots? You can swap tools anytime — don’t stress over limited space.

25. Recover Placed Items With Hotkeys Hold R + I to pick up placed items. Make sure you’re not standing on the object — even slightly — or it won’t work.

26. Always Carry Bridge Materials You’ll often need to bridge across gaps — especially in dungeons. Wood is light and easy to gather. Never leave home without it.

27. One Moonstone Per Island Each island typically hides one moonstone, often obscured by trees or rocks. They glow at night, making them easier to spot. Consider noting which islands you’ve cleared.

28. Chests Contain Hidden Moonstones Explore mines, dungeons, and dig sites. You’ll find moonstones and treasure maps pointing to loot on undiscovered islands.

29. Treasure Maps Track Progress Once looted, maps display a green tick. Helpful for staying organized.

30. Pre-Build Spirit Barn Stalls Before venturing out, place a few empty stalls in your Spirit Barn to ensure space for new captures.

31. Spirits Need Feeding Neglect feeding and they’ll run away. Feed them manually or craft Moongrass Spirit Stores (requires one moonstone each) to automate the process.

32. Spirits Drop Resources Well-fed Spirits gift useful materials like Clay and Seal Glass — both needed for charms and upgrades.

33. Fishing Mechanics Explained Hold left-click to reel in, and move the mouse to keep the fish inside a circle. Turning on easy mode slows the fish for better control.

34. Break Armor First in Battle Always strip armor before targeting HP. It’s a simple but vital tactic in Spirit combat.

35. Use Fast Mode in Battles Speed up animations for smoother battles — a huge time-saver.

36. Bosses May Outlevel You — Come Back Later Don’t worry if you lose. Higher-level bosses are expected; train up and return stronger.

37. Island Hazards Block Progress Electricity, poison, and other hazards make certain islands dangerous. Craft elemental resistance charms via the Anvil to explore safely.

38. Spirit Barn Strategy Matters Assign spirits strategically and monitor who’s following — it affects taming, combat, and exploration efficiency.

39. Every Island is a New Opportunity Look for wild crops, hidden mines, treasures, and spirits. Each visit could yield something new.

40. Take Notes and Play Your Way The game doesn’t track everything for you — consider a notepad or digital list to track island resources, Spirit finds, or moonstone locations.

Moonstone Island is vast, rich, and deeply rewarding for those willing to explore its nooks and crannies. Whether you’re here to tame Spirits, build cozy bases, or master your deck, these tips should give you the perfect start. Happy taming!