After 120 Hours in Stardew Valley, Here’s My First Place Grange Display Fair Strategy

After spending hours and hours playing Stardew Valley, farming endlessly, and entering the Grange Display countless times, I’ve finally figured out how to consistently win first place at the Fall Fair. While it seems like a fun, relaxed event, the Fair is actually surprisingly competitive! Everyone in Pelican Town wants to earn those 1,000 star tokens, and I’m no different. The key to success? Don’t just focus on maximizing the value of your items – think of the Grange Display as a puzzle where how you present your items is just as important as what you present.

I’ve learned that winning at the Stardew Valley Fair isn’t just about having the best stuff or spending hours planning. It’s about creating a display that shows your whole year – what you grew, what you mined, and everything you cooked. It’s about thinking ahead, even months in advance, and knowing exactly which item will give you that extra push to win. This is how I consistently take home first place!

Understanding the Point Breakdown for the Stardew Valley Fair Grange Display

I just mentioned not to stress about the numbers, but knowing how scoring works will give you a good idea of what a winning grange looks like. Just like a successful farm in Stardew Valley, there’s a bit of strategy involved in the fun gameplay. However, unlike managing a farm with strict rules, earning a high score at the Stardew Valley Fair isn’t difficult. Your final score depends on the quality of your items, their selling price, and how varied your entries are. You need 90 points to win first place.

Base Points: All players will receive 14 points automatically for participating.
Number of Items: Players can submit a total of 9 items to the grange. It is best to fill out all the grange slots for maximum points. Granges with fewer than 5 items will have points deducted from their final score.
Categories: Having diversity at the Stardew Valley Fair grange is a good way to rack up points. There are eight categories of items to keep in mind: Fruits, Animal Products, Cooked Goods (you don’t have to cook them yourself), Fish, Forage, Artisan Goods, Minerals, and Vegetables. Players earn 5 points for every category represented, up to 30.
Item Price: Generally speaking, the more expensive an item goes for, the more points it can rack up at the grange display contest. This is usually a combo stat tied with item quality below.
Item Quality: Players who do not have expensive items at hand can compensate with higher-quality items. The total maximum of points a player can earn from an expensive, Iridium quality item is 8, so don’t stress if an item in the grange does not meet both criteria.

Warning: You Can Get Disqualified

Okay, so if you’re just trying to quickly farm Star Tokens in Stardew Valley, here’s a funny (but maybe not strategic) route. If you put Mayor Lewis’ Purple Shorts on display, he’ll actually pay you 750 tokens to keep quiet! The downside? It completely disqualifies you from the Grange, meaning zero points. It’s a really hilarious cutscene and I think everyone should see it at least once. Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend doing it in your first year or a relaxed playthrough, though. I personally felt so embarrassed for him, I had to reload my save!

How I Always Win First Place at the Stardew Valley Fair Grange Display

Mine Something, Stash Something

I always follow a simple rule with minerals: the very first one I find goes to Gunther at the museum, but I keep any duplicates. The Stardew Valley Fair rewards a good mix of high-quality items, and a rare mineral can really boost your score. If you find a valuable mineral like a diamond in the mines, don’t donate it to Gunther immediately! Hold onto it in a chest until after the Fair. Just one diamond, prismatic shard, or helvite is often worth more points than most crops. After the judging, you can still donate it to Gunther if you want.

Goats and Ducks Are Your Best Friends

Raising animals on your Stardew Valley farm is a great way to make extra money. When you’re just starting out, cows and chickens are usually the most reliable choices. But if you don’t upgrade your barn and coop to the larger sizes, you’ll miss out on easy opportunities to earn points at the Stardew Valley Fair.

As ducks and goats grow up, they’ll produce milk and eggs. You can use these to make delicious Duck Mayonnaise and creamy Goat Cheese. Duck Mayonnaise always gives you at least 5 points, and regular Goat Cheese gives you a fantastic 6! While getting these animals set up can be a bit expensive early in the game, it’s definitely worth having at least one of each on your farm.

Save Produce from Spring, Summer, and Fall

It’s natural to want to sell everything you gather in Spring, and by Summer, you’ll probably be focusing more on growing crops. By Fall, you should have a good feel for how your farm works. However, a common mistake in Stardew Valley is forgetting to save foraged items, fruits, and vegetables throughout the year.

If you grow a gold-star quality fruit or vegetable, definitely keep it! If you grow several, save the very best one. Even if you really need gold in Stardew Valley, it’s better to be safe than sorry. You’ll probably have plenty of extra crops throughout the year as you prepare for the Grange Display, so you’ll earn a good amount of money at the Stardew Valley Fair.

Know Where to Fish

I often forget to fish in Stardew Valley, and I know I’m not alone! This makes completing the Community Center bundles really difficult, since fish are so important for a perfect farm. If you need a good fish quickly, try fishing at the lake. Otherwise, if you’ve progressed far enough in the mines to reach the volcano levels, you can catch some valuable fish to help fill gaps in your collection.

2025-11-13 21:41