PDG’s Guide to finishing the Community Center in Year 1!

Hi! I see you’re looking for a guide to finish the community center under a year. For a challenge perhaps? YouTube? Well this is my guide to help you on your challenge!

First thing you need to know is you have to be lucky. People have made tons of runs and still don’t manage to finish the community center because of that one red cabbage of being unlucky with the drops from chests while fishing etc etc.

Secondly, checking the Travelling Cart every Friday and Sunday by the secret woods will cut you a lot of slack and not only that, it will make this actually possible. Without luck and money, you won’t be able to buy that one red cabbage things that would cost you a lot more like the truffle you need for the gourmet bundle or the rabbit’s foot for the enchanter bundle. Always Check the Travelling Cart.

Next, I’ll let you know that you need to pick the fruit bat cave for this to be possible. You can take your chances with the Travelling Cart giving you a pomegranate and pick the mushroom cave so you get the boost for this whole guide, but you know, what are the chances?

Lastly, I made a legend or where you base off of the symbols I put across the guide. I’ll also explain where, when and which bundle they go to, after the “tables”.

With the different variations of gameplay I cannot exactly determine a To-Do List for everyone to follow, but I did keep it as one compiled section of this guide. However, try not to fully rely on it as there are several ways to play Stardew Valley and a lot of ways to complete the bundles. Like, as much as you'd follow this guide, some would prioritize mining for this season, others would go for amassing money through farming, etc. Hell, you could even ignore upgrading your axe by using a chair to access the Secret Woods and doubling down on hardwood from crates in the Mines. But hey, nonetheless, luck has to be on your side as this is still a challenge of chance, time and skill.

However, here is a quick reference To-Do List I have for my runs. I realize that separating them across seasons is kind of inefficient, and it's easier to absorb this way.

• Make 2 – 3 Tappers (Oak and Maple taps are a must, optionally one for Pine tar)
  
• Stockpile on Soggy Newspapers while Fishing, for later Recycling (! Chance to get Cloth for the Artisan Bundle)
  
• Upgrade Axe to Iron
  
• Visit Gus Daily for the Maki Roll.
  
• Plant an Apple Sapling
  
• Setup a Deluxe Barn
  
• Get a Mature Pig Before Winter.
  
• Setup a Deluxe Coop
  
• Have animals well-fed and loved to faster produce Large Animal Products.
  
• Reach Floor 80
  
• Make a Beehouse, Preserves Jar (~ Fall Crops Bundle gives a Bee House when accomplished and Quality Crops Bundle gives a Preserves Jar when accomplished)
  
• Accomplish Artisan Bundle to get a Keg, use it to make Wine for Enchanter’s Bundle
  
• Upgrade House to access Kitchen (~Maki Roll, Fried Egg)
  
• Finish Vault (Late Winter)
  
• Create a Silo (! for Hay, optional)
  
• PRAY PRAY PRAYYY FOR THAT ONE RED CABBAGE

1YC - 1 Year Challenge.
~ - alternatives
(G) - Gold Quality
! – be alarmed. can be interpreted as this day is important, or this item is used in other bundles, or potentially hard to acquire (ex. 10% chance to get cloth when recycling soggy newspaper, etc)
* - Conditional, will explain in the conditional/s later into the guide.
item vs item - Bold text shows that this is the best season to get some items. Some items reappear in succeeding seasons, which gives way for a chance to get this item again.
item - This item is acquired only in this season. If you fail to submit this to the community center, you'll need to restart your run.
(ratio/here:items) - the ratio is how much the bundle asks for out of the number of items/options it offers, which i then list the items after the colon. (For example, 4/4 would ask you to submit all items, while 5/9 would ask 5 of the 9 options there are. The Quality Crops bundle asks 3/4: 5 (G) Parsnips, 5 (G) Melons, 5 (G) Pumpkins, 5 (G) Corn.)
^ - will discuss this bundle later

• ! To open the Community Center, the player must enter Pelican Town from the Bus Stop on a day when it is not raining, from Spring 5th onward, between 8:00 am and 1:00 pm. Entering town from another direction, at another time, or on a rainy day, will not trigger the cutscene.
  
• ! Spring 5. Mines are unlocked.
  
• ! Fridays and Sundays. Visit the Travelling Cart.
  
• ! Summer 21 or 24 (Re-Run). Recipe for Maki Roll.
  
• ! Summer 24. Last day to plant an apple sapling.
  
• ! Fall 16. Last call to get the pig well-fed to mature. Make it get a truffle outside before winter hits.

THINGS YOU NEED TO LOOK OUT FOR IN THE TRAVELLING CART

• ! Red Cabbage
  
• Rabbits Foot
  
• Truffle

THINGS YOU NEED TO LOOK OUT FOR IN THE FARM CAVE

• Orange
  
• Peach
  
• Apricot
  
• Cherry
  
• ! 4 Apples (3 of the same quality, 1 to excess to donate for Artisan Bundle)
  
• 2 Pomegranates

THINGS YOU NEED TO LOOK OUT FOR IN THE SALOON (GUS') STOCK

• ! Maki Roll
  
• Fried Egg

• Spring

• Wild Horseradish
  
• Daffodil
  
• Leek
  
• Dandelion
  
• Common Mushroom (Secret Woods, Spring/Fall)

• Summer

• Grape (Available also during Fall, Farming.)
  
• Spice Berry
  
• Sweet Pea
  
• Fiddlehead Fern

• Fall

• Wild Plum
  
• Hazelnut
  
• Blackberry
  
• Common Mushroom

• Winter

• Winter Root
  
• Crystal Fruit
  
• Snow Yam
  
• Crocus
  
• Nautilus Shell

• Spring

• Parsnip
  
• Green Bean
  
• Cauliflower
  
• Potato
  
• 5 (G) Parsnips

• Summer

• Tomato
  
• Hot Pepper
  
• Blueberry
  
• Melon
  
• Poppy
  
• Sunflower
  
• 10 Wheat (of same quality)
  
• Corn
  
• 5 (G) Melons
  
• 5 (G) Corn

• Fall

• Eggplant
  
• Pumpkin
  
• Yam
  
• Corn
  
• Grape
  
• Sunflower
  
• 10 Wheat (of same quality)
  
• 5 (G) Pumpkins *

Conditional/s:
* The Quality Crop bundle asks for 3/4: 5 Gold Quality Parsnips, Melons, Corn, Or Pumpkins. If ever you missed out on the 5 Gold Quality Parsnips in Spring or 5 Gold Quality Melons on Summer, 5 Gold Quality Pumpkins can be the last resort in finishing the mentioned bundle. (take note, or, not both. If you’ve missed both the Parsnips and Melons, the 1YC will be deemed incompletable).

• Spring

• Sunfish (Rivers, 6 AM to 7 PM, Sunny Only, Spring/Summer)
  
• Catfish (Rivers, 6 AM to Midnight, Raining, Spring/Fall)
  
• Shad (Rivers, 9 AM to 2 AM, Raining, Spring/Summer/Fall)
  
• Bream (Rivers, 6 PM to 2 AM, Any Weather, All Seasons)
  
• Largemouth Bass (Mountain Lake, 6 AM to 7 PM, Any Weather, All Seasons)
  
• Bullhead (Mountain Lake, Anytime, Any Weather, All Seasons)
  
• Sardine (Ocean, 6 AM to 7 PM, Any Weather, Spring/Fall/Winter)
  
• Eel (Ocean, 4 PM to 2 AM, Raining Only, Spring/Fall)
  
• Carp (Mountain Lake, Anytime, Any Weather, Spring/Summer/Fall) *

• Summer

• Pufferfish (Ocean, 12 PM to 4 AM, Sunny Only, Summer Only)
  
• Sturgeon (Mountain Lake, 6 AM to 7 PM, Any Weather, Summer/Winter)
  
• Tuna (Ocean, 6 AM to 7 PM, Any Weather, Summer/Winter)
  
• Red Snapper (Ocean, 6 AM to 7 PM, Raining Only, Summer/Fall)
  
• Tilapia (Ocean, 6 AM to 2 PM, Any Weather, Summer/Fall)
  
• Sunfish (Rivers, 6 AM to 7 am, Sunny Only, Spring/Summer)
  
• Shad (Rivers, 9 AM to 2 AM, Raining, Spring/Summer/Fall)
  
• Carp (Mountain Lake, Anytime, Any Weather, Spring/Summer/Fall) *

• Fall

• Tiger Trout (Rivers, 6 AM to 7 PM, Fall/Winter)
  
• Walleye (Rivers/Lakes/Forest Pond, 12 PM to 2 AM, Raining Only, Fall) *
  
• Catfish (Rivers, 6 AM to Midnight, Raining, Spring/Fall)
  
• Shad (Rivers, 9 AM to 2 AM, Raining, Spring/Summer/Fall)
  
• Sardine (Ocean, 6 AM to 7 PM, Any Weather, Spring/Fall/Winter)
  
• Red Snapper (Ocean, 6 AM to 7 PM, Raining Only, Summer/Fall)
  
• Tilapia (Ocean, 6 AM to 2 PM, Any Weather, Summer/Fall)
  
• Eel (Ocean, 4 PM to 2 AM, Raining Only, Spring/Fall)
  
• Carp (Mountain Lake, Anytime, Any Weather, Spring/Summer/Fall) *

• Winter

• Tiger Trout (Rivers, 6 AM to 7 PM, Fall/Winter)
  
• Sturgeon (Mountain Lake, 6 AM to 7 PM, Any Weather, Summer/Winter)
  
• Sardine (Ocean, 6 AM to 7 PM, Any Weather, Spring/Fall/Winter)
  
• Tuna (Ocean, 6 AM to 7 PM, Any Weather, Summer/Winter)
  
• Walleye (Rivers/Lakes/Forest Pond, 12 PM to 2 AM, Raining Only, Fall) *

• Fish available in all seasons

• Ghostfish (The Mines (Floor 20 & Floor 60), Anytime, Any Weather, All Seasons)
  
• Sandfish (The Desert, 6 AM to 8 PM, Any Weather, All Seasons)
  
• Woodskip (Secret Woods, Anytime, Any Weather, All Seasons)
  
• Chub (Mountain Lake/River, Anytime, Any Weather, All Seasons)
  
• Largemouth Bass (Mountain Lake, 6 AM to 7 PM, Any Weather, All Seasons)
  
• Bullhead (Mountain Lake, Anytime, Any Weather, All Seasons)
  
• Bream (Rivers, 6 PM to 2 AM, Any Weather, All Seasons)
  
• Carp (Mountain Lake, Anytime, Any Weather, Spring/Summer/Fall) *

Conditional/s:
* Carps are Available all year round in the Secret Woods/Sewers, Anytime, Any Weather, All Seasons.
* Walleyes can be caught during Winter with the help of Rain Totems.

• Farming

• Large Milk
  
• Large Goat Milk
  
• Wool
  
• Duck Egg
  
• Large Egg (Any)
  
• Truffle
  
• Duck Feather
  
• Rabbit’s Foot
  
• Wine
  
• Pomegranate
  
• 3 Apples
  
• 10 Hay

• Foraging

• Cockle
  
• Mussel
  
• Oyster
  
• Clam
  
• 2 Maple Syrup
  
• 2 Oak Resin
  
• 198 Wood
  
• 99 Stone
  
• 10 Hardwood
  
• Sea Urchin (you’ll need to repair the Bridge)

• Mining and Combat

• Copper Bar
  
• Iron Bar
  
• Gold Bar
  
• Quartz
  
• Earth Crystal
  
• Frozen Tear
  
• Fire Quartz
  
• Aquamarine
  
• Solar Essence
  
• Void Essence
  
• Frozen Geode
  
• 2 Red Mushrooms
  
• 2 Purple Mushrooms
  
• Crab (from Rock/Lava Crabs)
  
• Yam (from Duggies, floor 6 to 29)
  
• Winter Root (from Blue Slimes, Floor 41 to 79)
  
• Crystal Fruit (from Dust Sprites,Floor 41 to 79)

• Do Not Forget!

• ! Red Cabbage
  
• ! Maki Roll
  
• Fried Egg

• Bundle-Specific
These are all ranked from top to bottom, based on which I would prioritize looking for to put in these highly versatile Bundles. Ex. I recommend you’d put apricots immediately in the exotic foraging bundle but hold back on the pomegranates or apples because they’re used in other bundles.

• Exotic Foraging Bundle (! You should have a tapped oak and maple tree.)

• Cave Carrot (The Mines, either smashing boxes or tilling soil)
  
• Morel (Foraging in the Secret Woods or Forest Farm Map, Spring Only)
  
• Pine Tar (Tapped Pine Tree)
  
• Oak Resin (Used in Enchanter’s Bundle)
  
• Maple Syrup (Used in Chef’s Bundle)
  
• Coconut (Desert Foraging)
  
• Cactus Fruit (Desert Foraging)
  
• Red Mushroom (Used in the Dye Bundle)
  
• Purple Mushroom (Used in the Field Research Bundle)

• Artisan Bundle

• Apricot (The Farm Cave (fruit bat option))
  
• Orange (The Farm Cave (fruit bat option))
  
• Peach (The Farm Cave (fruit bat option))
  
• Cherry (The Farm Cave (fruit bat option))
  
• Cloth (Loom, Recycling a Soggy Newspaper, dropped by Mummies in Skull Cavern)
  
• Honey (Bee House, Oasis)
  
• Jelly (Preserves Jar)
  
• Cheese (Cheese Press)
  
• Goat Cheese (Cheese Press, Desert Trader)
  
• Truffle Oil (Made from Truffles using an Oil Maker)
  
• Pomegranate (! Used in the Enchanter’s Bundle)
  
• Apple (! 3 apples of the same quality is used in the Fodder Bundle)

In this section of the guide, this will go in-depth to most decision making calls you should look out for in attempting the 1YC.

At the minimum, this is all doable with a Copper Pickaxe, and Iron Axe. You’ll need the axe to access the Fiddlehead Fern in the Secret Woods (on top of other forage-ables, Woodskip, Hardwood, etc.). The Pickaxe on the other hand, would be used to get deeper into the mines. A Copper Pickaxe would make you take 2 swings to destroy a rock past Level 40 (this applies to Iron deposit as well), and 4 swings to destroy a Gold deposit. Hoarding salmonberries during Spring 15 – 18, would go a long way for energy replenishing, even as deep as floor 120 in the Mines!

You’re looking to get, at the lightest, A Deluxe Barn and a Big Coop . In the Barn, you want to have 1 Cow (Any Color), 1 Goat, 1 Sheep and 1 Pig *. In the Big Coop, you want 2 Chickens (1 White and 1 Brown) *, 1 Duck.

A deluxe barn would cost you 43,000 gold, 1350 Wood, 650 Stone. On the other hand, a big coop would cost you 14,000 Gold, 700 Wood, 250 Stone. In total, that would be 57,000 gold, 2050 Wood, and 900 Stone. This computation assumes you don’t buy wood and stone from Robin. The animals will cost you a total of 32,300 gold. That means about 89,300 gold all in all.
Do take note that building a, well, building, takes 3 days, and upgrading them takes 2 days each upgrade. With this being said, try to accomplish the Deluxe barn in making a Big Coop. It takes 10 (fed) days for a pig to mature. Try to acquire a mature pig in before winter 1, ideally, get the pig Fall 16.

The Animal Bundle ^ asks for 5/6: Large Milk, Large Egg (White), Large Egg (Brown), Large Goat Milk, Wool and Duck Egg. Clearly you can finish this bundle with the setup- hell you even have the Duck Feather for the Dye Bundle ^. The * 1 Pig is for the Chef’s Bundle ^, that asks for a Truffle.
However, this puts you on the spot as you will need a Rabbit’s Foot for the Enchanter’s Bundle ^. Where do you find that you ask? In the Skull Cavern! That’s right, the Serpents (Green Flying Dragons) have a whopping 0.8% chance to drop a Rabbit’s Foot.

But isn’t that completely irrational to go to the skull cavern just to look for this singular item? Not entirely. Some runs aren’t that forgiving when it comes to money (unless you bring capitalism to the valley after ironically escaping the toxic industry in-game), so there’s instances where runs aren’t that blessed with gold to upgrade the Big Coop and buy a Rabbit.

In all honesty, I’d recommend going for a deluxe barn and a deluxe coop to make it much lighter on your shoulders. This makes you spend an additional 20,000 gold, 500 wood and 200 stone for the upgrade and another 8,000 gold for the rabbit purchase itself. This makes your new total a whopping 109,300 gold, 2550 Wood and 1100 Stone. The gold upkeep is dreadful but hey, no coin flipping on those pesky serpents, eh?

With the thought of lacking gold in runs, here are the best ways to get money per season.

Farming
Best Crops per Season:

• Spring: Kale (Could opt for Potato, as less grow time would guarantee faster money/return on investment = more money to hold on before Travelling Cart arrives.)
  
• Summer: Blueberries
  
• Fall: Cranberries

Reference: https://stardewvalleywiki.com/Crops
Fishing
Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llhDwWmaGTs

Honestly, the easiest to complete out of the sets of bundles in the Community Center. I usually accomplish this after hitting Level 100 in the Mines, because I usually donate a solar and void essence for the Adventurer’s Bundle. If you can, try to accomplish this as soon as you could because minecarts are a godsend.

In total, this pack of bundles costs 42,500 gold. Unless you are doing coin flipping the Rabbit’s Foot on killing Serpents in the Skull Cavern, I’d recommend you do these bundles last. 42,500 gold is a lot and you’d definitely need it for the 1YC.

If you’d like, you could buy the 5,000 pack to get 30 Quality Fertilizer to work on the Quality Crops Bundle, but a few hundred sap and more seed packets could do the same job with less money spent.

I usually do this either extremely early or extremely late in my runs. 198 Wood, 99 Stone, and 10 Hardwood isn’t hard to come by, but it’ll definitely be handy to have these resources early, as you can use them for craftables like a preserves jar and a keg, or buildings like the early coop and barn. I’d recommend you do this bundle later in winter (around Day 26ish at the latest).

Honestly, this is one of the more versatile bundles that I love so much. You do need to tap an Oak tree (for the Enchanter’s Bundle) and a Maple tree (for the Chef’s Bundle), then perhaps you could go for a Cave Carrot, both Red and Purple Mushrooms or even a Morel in the mix. If ever you do decide to unlock the Bus Stop early (see The Vault), a Cactus Fruit or Coconut would also suffice. Or you could give them to Linus. Linus loves Coconuts and Cactus Fruits. Just make sure to tap an Oak and Maple tree early on.

As explained earlier in the Farm Buildings and Animals Section, this guide asks you for a Deluxe Barn with a Cow, Goat and a Sheep and then a Big Coop with 2 Chickens (1 White and 1 Brown) and a Duck.

Since this guide recommends you start working your way up to a deluxe barn, then into a Big Coop, you’ll most likely end up delivering Large Milk, Large Goat Milk, Wool, Duck Egg and a Large Egg (Any).

This bundle is doable without crafting/buying crab pots. You’ll be foraging for a Clam, Oyster, Mussel and Cockle. After that, you can head into the mines and look for the Crabs (dropped by Rock Crabs/Lava Crabs).

This is another versatile bundle. However, since we’re going to utilize the fruit bat cave, I’d recommend you hold onto your apples and pomegranates. You’ll need 3 apples OF THE SAME RARITY for the Fodder Bundle and a Pomegranate for the Enchanter’s Bundle.

I’d look for an Apricot, Orange, Peach and Cherry in the fruit bat cave, then I tend to just make a Beehouse and a Preserves Jar for Honey and Jam. You could try to fill in the spaces with an Apple and Pomegranate, but do it AFTER you complete the Fodder Bundle or Enchanter’s Bundle, respectively. This Bundle then gives you a Keg to work with, later for the Wine in the Enchanter’s Bundle.

This, in all of the bundles, will either be the death or success of your 1YC. This literally puts the dye, in die, as if it were aiming to kill your run. It has the infamous ! Red Cabbage, which not only comes as a seed packet LATER in year 2, but is only accessible through the Travelling Cart in the first year. I've recently done a 1YC run, and for the sake of flexing, This is how it should look like.

So this is where the whole thing revolves on, your "luck of the draw" on the things that the Travelling Cart sell during Fridays and Sundays. You have 32 Travelling Carts per run, don’t miss it and have pocketed money ALWAYS. (I take it as 31 visits actually, cause I don’t count putting the Red Cabbage on Winter 28 a win, because the animation where the Community Center gets fixed occurs on Spring 1, Year 2. But hey, we play how we play.)

Look out for those deadly apples. You could coin flip 3 of the same quality in the fruit bat cave, or plant an apple sapling early on summer to have it produce apples in the upcoming fall. Do note that Apple Saplings need 28 days to mature, and will start producing 1 apple from then on to a max of 3 on the tree. If you plant a sapling on Fall 1, it grows to mature on Fall 28, and doesn’t produce as it hits Winter. Try to plant it on or before Summer 24.

Do not forget to watch Queen of Sauce on Summer 21 or 24 (Re-Run). This gives you the recipe for Maki Roll. Other than that, you should know that this asks you to upgrade your house to cook. I used to coin flip this, shuffling through trash cans around town and looking at Gus’ stock consistently, but upgrading your house just assures the 1YC victory. This doesn’t stop you from buying it from Gus, though. If you manage to buy both these items without having to upgrade your house, you practically save up on a lot of gold and resources.

As this infamous bundle has been mentioned from section to section, this could be deceivingly easy as a bundle. Just remember that this takes priority on pomegranates (over Artisan Bundle) and oak resin (over Exotic Foraging Bundle). Oh, watch out for that rabbit’s foot, too.

You don’t have to keep going back and forth from a guide, wiki and even in-game to check the bundles. You can look at the bundles checking the top right of your inventory. On top of that, if you have something that the bundles ask for, the top-right icon for the community center will start moving as you hover your cursor over the item. This doesn’t occur if the bundle isn’t unlocked neither does it specify the amount.
Example, open your inventory and hover over 1 piece of wood. Since it’s part of the Construction Bundle, the community center icon on the top right of the Inventory would move. However, if you hover over a Chub and it doesn’t move, even though it’s needed in the Field Research Bundle, it probably means that you either haven’t unlocked enough bundles to unlock the Bulletin Board or simply, you’ve already donated one.
You can actually access the Secret Woods without upgrading your axe. This is done by using a chair. By placing it behind the log blocking the path, you can squeeze in to sit on the chair to hop off into the woods. This gives you early access to Morels, Woodskips and Fiddlehead Ferns.
You can tell what color of Chicken you’re getting by looking at the top of your screen in the dialogue box. It specifies what color you get.

The fruit bat cave can also salvage your runs as it does give some of the fruits outside of the Artisan Bundle. These fruits could be Spice Berries for Summer Foraging, etc.

You can reset the contents of the Mines by going in and out after emptying the floors. This way, you can farm for Copper on floor 21, Iron and Coal on Floor 41 and Dust Sprites, and Gold Ore on Floor 81. You'd only need to reach floor 80 for the 1YC to be doable, as fire quartz can be found on floor 81.

Lastly, there is an option to guarantee a Red Cabbage spawn in 1 of the 32 visits of the Travelling Cart. There is an option to Guarantee Year 1 Completable when making a new character (in the wrench icon down at the bottom right).
You could use this option to test out your attentiveness to the travelling cart in a few dry runs, or to guarantee you aren't going for a dead run. I don't use it personally, though it does say SEED so be wary you have to plant it during summer in your run. On another hand, I am looking to try remixing the bundles and going for a 1YC on that run.

This is the section where i can mourn with you guys whom have failed. But oh well, there's always a next year to the game! and would you look at that! You only need a few more requirements to finish the community center!~

I know your inner tryhard is speaking out to you to restart with a new character and try your luck on that one. Know what? Go for it!

Although to those whom have finished the community center, congratulations! If this was your first try, hats off to you! You have commitment, luck and dedication to this game! Now you can play the rest of the year without a community center on your back!