If you love fairies, magic, and farming, then the adorable Fae Farm is probably already on your radar. If not, it should be. Fae Farm molds magic and farming together with smooth gameplay and a relaxing aesthetic to set itself apart from other games in the same genre.

Here’s everything you need to know before jumping into Fae Farm.

Welcome to Azoria

At the beginning of the game, your character sets off to Azoria after receiving a message in a bottle about a land beset by whirlpools, blizzards, a volcano, and wild creatures. Unfortunately, your boat is destroyed by said whirlpools on the way to provide help—but the mayor of Azoria is there to welcome you with open arms.

After being offered a farm and everything you need to get started, the world of Fae Farm is yours to adventure around. As you progress through the main story, you’ll unlock new ways to explore the land.
 

Construction and crafting

Crafting workstations and decorations is easy once you know how to do it. If you want to craft objects, press ‘C.’ From there, you can press ‘C’ again to pull up the catalog of everything you know how to build. Click on what you want to create, and then choose a place for it. You’ll automatically make it and place it where you choose.

If you want to create objects for your home, you’ll first have to head inside it. Otherwise, to craft something outdoors, follow the same process as above but on your farmland.
 

Cooking

Once you’ve built a cooking fire, you’ll be able to cook. This is a great way to help manage your energy levels—cooking quick pick-me-ups like Arugula gives you more energy than eating it raw. It also sells for more money, too.

This is essential for exploring. In order to progress further in dungeons, you’ll need to return again and again to farm the resources you need to continue progressing.

Tip: There are different cooking stations. You’ll need to make everything you can in order to cook all the recipes you learn.
 

Farming

To begin farming, you’ll need to create soil beds for your seeds. You can do this by heading into the construction screen while on your farm. Once you’ve placed a soil bed, simply click on it and choose which seed you’d like to plant.

If you run out of water, you can use the wells around your farm to fill it back up. You can also take a dive into any of the lakes or streams running through Azoria. You’ll see a meter appear above your character as your watering can fills up, and it’ll fill completely if you stay in the water long enough.
 

Taking care of animals

In order to get animals, you’ll need to buy them from Earline or Jeremiah. However, it’s not as easy as just purchasing one—you’ll need to register it afterward. Fae Farm starts you with a Coop and Barn, located on the right side of your farm. Once you’ve purchased an animal, walk to the open book outside of either structure to register it.

Once you’ve got the animal registered, you can feed and pet them. You’ll need to make sure your animals have food and love, and it’s also important for them to get time outside. You can call them outside by using the bell outside of the building. Just remember to keep them indoors if it’s raining or snowing outside.

You can feed your animals by placing the food they require in their feeding area inside the building. Keeping grass around your farm lets them graze outside as well, which takes care of their food for the day.
 

Fishing

Once you’ve received a fishing rod from Eddy, you’ll be able to fish in the waters around Azoria!

To equip your fishing rod while roaming around, scroll the mouse wheel up or down. With the rod equipped, left click the mouse to cast it. Holding the left mouse button down will charge up the cast and make it go farther. You can use your mouse to aim where you’ll throw the line as well.

When you’re reeling in a fish, you want to make sure that the rod is white. If it turns red, your rod can break. If it starts getting pink and the fish is moving away from you, simply stop reeling the fish in and wait for it to turn white again.

If you’re struggling to attract a fish to you, then you can jiggle the lure by left-clicking the mouse. This also pulls the line in closer to you, so be careful not to do it too much.
 

Catching critters

Catching bugs around Azoria is a great way to make money. Once you’ve gotten a critter-catching net from Mel, you can equip it by scrolling on the mouse wheel. To use the net, simply swing it by left-clicking the mouse.

If you miss on your first swing, keep trying. Just keep in mind that the bugs will start getting annoyed if you miss near them too much—and may escape. If the bug you’re after is getting tired of you, then you can sneak up on it by holding down the left mouse button.

If you have a Critter Conservatory, you can add bugs to it to get items like Flutter Dust, Frog Sweat, and Shell Bits. There’s also a special Conservatory for Fae.

Tip: The easiest way to catch bugs is by clicking on them. While you can technically swing the net in the direction of the bug to get it, it’s a lot easier to try clicking on the bug once you’re close enough.
 

Making money by selling things

When it comes to selling things, Fae Farm works a bit differently than other farming sim-type games. Instead of having a bin that sells your stuff for you automatically every day, you put your stuff in the middle of Azoria on Market Tables. At 6 AM the following day, your items are sold and you’ll see what you’ve earned.

There are four Market Tables, and each can hold up to eight items. Items of the same kind don’t stack, so keep that in mind when you’re planning your profits. You can see how much Gold Florin items are worth when you’re looking at the Market Tables.

You can also buy Produce Stalls from Pearl. These appear by your house, and you can sell eight items here, which frees up space to sell other things at the Market Tables.
 

Magic

After you receive your staff in Chapter Two, scroll up or down on the mouse wheel to equip it. From there, simply left-click the mouse to wave it around and attack the dark purple thorns that plague Azoria. You can get better staffs and learn more about them by talking with Drak.

Once you’ve cleared the whirlpools around Azoria, you’ll get access to new spells. You can equip them to your staff by pulling it out and then holding down ‘X.’ You can then use the spell with ‘F.’

In order to get your wings, you’ll need to work through Chapter Four of the main story. While your wings won’t help you with magic, they do make you feel like a magical being.
 

Exploring dungeons

Dungeons are a lucrative place in Azoria, and Fae Farm's early story quests will take you to the first one, Saltwater Mines. It’s important to be prepared while you’re in there, so stock up on food and potions.

Unfortunately, you’ll enter dungeons on the first floor no matter how far you got the last time you visited. However, you can craft Dungeon Seals to teleport between floors. You’ll need to place a Dungeon Seal on each floor as you progress—you can’t skip any floors or teleporting won’t work.

In order to progress through the dungeon, you’ll have to mine around and find a switch on the floor. This switch will open up the next door so that you can progress. Alternatively, you can place a Seal down and the door will automatically open. However, you need copper to craft these, which you have to get from the Saltwater Mines first.

Occasionally you’ll run across enemies while in dungeons. You can use your staff to take care of them, and it’s a good idea to take them out before trying to mine the resources on the floor. You can use spells on enemies or just whack them with your staff—both options work well in different situations.

Tip: The Waypoints around the map are great for dungeon exploring. When you’re spending all day trying to progress in the Saltwater Mines, the best thing you can do is quickly teleport back home without having to worry about the time. It’s worth the resources, and you’ll find everything you need while exploring the mines.
 

The villagers of Azoria

Here’s a handy reference list for every villager in Fae Farm and who they are or what they sell:

• Merritt: The Mayor
• Wisp Mother: Guardian of Azoria
• Emily: Sells wallpapers and decorations.
• Charles: Sells wallpapers, decorations, and accessories.
• Millie: Sells clothing, dyes, and accessories.
• Skye: Sells inventory upgrades, floorings, wallpapers, and decorations.
• Willow: Sells tree saplings, wallpaper, and flooring.
• Holly: Sells seeds, wallpaper, and flooring.
• Aspen: Carpenter. Upgrades buildings.
• Rosalind: Sells flower seeds, wallpapers, and flooring.
• Cinder: Blacksmith. Upgrades tools.
• Pearl: Merchant Guild leader. Sells produce stands, wallpapers, floorings, and accessories.
• Kasper: Innkeeper. Sells teas.
• August: Chef. Sells cooked meals, floorings, and decorations.
• Mel: Beekeeper. Sells bug-catching nets, wallpapers, and flooring.
• Dominic: Sells baking ingredients.
• Balarandi: Chemist. Sells potions, wallpaper, and flooring.
• Earline: Rancher. Sells animals.
• Loretta: Offers animal breeding services and sells animal breeding charms.
• Patel: Farmer who offers animal breeding services.
• Vera: Doctor. Sells potions, wallpapers, floorings, and decorations.
• Eddy: Sells fishing rods.
• Cleo: Adventurer.
• Alaric: Eccentric wizard.
• Rite: Enthusiastic teacher.
• Ginger: Doctor’s apprentice.
• Drak: Magic trainer.
• Frida: Innkeeper.
• Miles: Mailman.
• Bjorn: Storyteller.
• Jack: Outdoorsman.
• Jeremiah: Rancher.
• Nessa: Fisherwoman.
• Argyle: Frog-loving artist.
• Neppy: Water sprite.
• Pyria: Loves ancient things.
• Nhamashal: Painter.
• Galan: Warrior.
• Pepper: Outdoorswoman.
• Zido: Wanderer.

Fae Farm makes it extremely easy to track down villagers. When you open your map, you can see where everyone’s at. Not only that, but you can track any villager you need. To do so, click on the area of Azoria they’re in. (You’ll need to actually left-click the words themselves.) A list of everyone there will pop up, and you can simply click on a villager to start tracking them in the overworld.

You can get closer to the people of Azoria in two main ways: becoming besties and being in relationships. When it comes to making besties, you can talk to them every day and do quests as they ask.

However, when it comes to romance, you’ll need to give your potential partner whatever item they want at that time. These do change from day to day. The romanceable NPCs are Argyle, Jack, Nhamashal, Pepper, Galan, and Pyria.

After your relationship has progressed to Flirting, an eligible character may ask you on a date through the mail. Simply speak with the character to go on the date.
 

The Almanac

Anytime you’re struggling to find a specific item that you know you’ve seen before, check out the Almanac. This handy resource records everything you’ve encountered, and it’ll tell you where to find what you need. For example, if you’re looking for a Sardine, it tells you it’s a saltwater fish, meaning it’s found in the ocean.

This is a great way to figure out what you need for recipes when you’re not at your home, too.

Those are the basics of Fae Farm. If you’re ready to start exploring Azoria, you’ll find it on the Epic Games Store.