In Virtual Villagers 3, a small group from an older, thriving village sets out to explore and inhabit a different part of the island, where they find ruins from an old city. The goal of the game is to grow your village, complete the set of puzzles, and eventually unlock the mysterious door at the top of the path. Here’s a complete guide to the game 🙂 (Play it on GameHouse or Steam!)
Basic Need-to-Knows & Tips
Controls:
- Click villagers to see their basic stats, click “details” for more info.
- Click and drag the screen to pan around.
- Click and drag villagers to move them. Picking them up while they are holding or doing something will make them drop the item / stop what they are doing.
- Drop villagers on things to get them to interact.
Menus: (Opening any of the menus will temporarily pause the game)
- Population, food, and tech points can be seen on the left. Food is important to keep up so that your villagers don’t die of starvation. Tech points are used to buy village upgrades, so to speak.
- The puzzles menu shows what puzzles you have completed. Complete all 16 to beat the game.
- The map menu shows you the whole island’s map and lets you pan faster.
- The tech menu shows you what you can buy with your tech points.
- The collections menu shows you what collectibles you have found around the island. There are 4 sets: turtle shells, feathers, coral, and tablets. Tablets cannot be found until later in the game.
- Click the menu button to be brought to the main screen. Here you can start your tribe over or rename it, and see the full options menu, which includes sound options, etc.
Game Speed:
If you go to the menu > options > game speed, you can set the game speed to Fast, Normal, Slow, or Paused. The game progresses even when you are not on it, so if you plan to be away a while (and especially earlier in the game), I recommend pausing the game or setting it to the slow setting until you get back.
- Slow Setting: 1 “year” takes 200 minutes
- Normal Setting: 1 “year” takes 120 minutes (2 hours)
- Fast Setting: 1 “year” takes 60 minutes (1 hour)
MAP:
- The main areas are the orchard (giant dirt area), reef / ocean, the path leading to the door, the amphitheater, the waterfalls, the lab, the bath, and the medical area. These are the main places referred to in this guide 🙂
- There’s a map of where the herbs are further down.
Villager Details & Help
When you click on a villager, you can see their name, title, and action. If you click “details,” you can see more about them and acroll through your villagers.
| Name | Villagers are automatically given names! To change it, click your villager > details, then click their name. |
| Age | Age determines what your villagers can do. 0-1 year olds (babies) are shown being carried by their mother. Ages 2-13 (children) run, play, and can pick up collectibles / mushrooms. Ages 14-17 (teenagers) can work and train instead. Ages 18+ (adult) work, train, and can have kids. (Female adults carrying a baby cannot work until their baby is 2 and walks alone) At age 60 (old age), adults’ hair will turn gray. They will move slower. Old age females can no longer have babies, but there is no age restriction on men. The details menu will show who the parents of children and teenagers (aside from the two you start the island with) are. Once they become adults, it no longer appears and never affects anything. |
| Interactions | Drop a child on a collectible or mushroom to pick it up. Drop a teen/adult on a project to get them to work. Drop a teen/adult on a child to tell a story at the amphitheater. Drop an adult on an adult to get them to embrace. If one is a male and the other is female, they may have the action “going indoors” to try for a baby (or they may run away) Drop a teen/adult on a sick villager to heal them. (Sick villagers sneeze when you pick them up, show “sick” on their healthbar in the details menu, and will often go to the medical area to lie down. Heal them before they die!) Picking up a villager while they are doing/holding something will force them to stop. Dropped items cannot be picked back up! The only time this doesn’t apply is if they successfully try for a baby (it will be successful even if you interrupt them) |
| Gender | Villager gender can only be male / female, and cannot be changed. It takes one of each to reproduce. |
| Reproducing / Nursing | – Reproducing increases the population. – This is only allowed if there is enough food, and if the max population has not been met. (To increase the max population, upgrade “restoration” tech and rebuild the ruined huts. You can also choose the magic faction and upgrade to stage 3.) – To have villagers reproduce, drop an adult or elder male (age 18+) on an adult female (age 18-59) (or vice versa). They will embrace (or run away). If you hear a kissing sound, they will show the action “going indoors” and will walk to the love shack to try for a baby. You don’t have to wait for this- the population will immediately increase if successful, even if you accidentally interrupt them, so just drop them on each other til it works. – Most mothers will only have one baby at a time, but chances of twins and triplets are higher if the mother is more experienced at parenting and if “medicine” tech has been upgraded fully (population limit has to allow for each baby). – Women who have their preferred skill set to “parenting” will try to have more babies as soon as its possible. Men who have their preferred skill set to “parenting” will try to impregnate every woman that can have kids. NURSING TIMES (2 in-game years): – Slow setting: 400 minutes – Normal setting: 240 minutes – Fast setting: 120 minutes |
| Health / Death | – The health bar shows how healthy your villager is. A full bar is great! It goes down when your villager gets sick, drinks a bad potion, explodes a potion, something bad happens to them, etc. – To raise health, cure sick villagers. Allow villagers to “eat” if they choose to do that on their own (dropping them on the food and commanding them to eat doesn’t help). You can also create healing potions (I recommend doing this with a healthy villager in case it explodes) and let them drink it. Don’t worry too much about health unless it’s about 60% or lower. The bar will also either say “healthy” or “sick.” A sick villager will sneeze when picked up, and usually walk straight to the medical area. The tribal chief typically follows with the action “concerned for the sick” to warn you of the illness. Sickness is usually caused by rain, and should be treated ASAP, as it will drain your villager’s health and is the fastest way for them to die. Drop a teen+ villager (including the tribal chief) on a sick villager to heal them. If successful, the no-longer-sick villager will wait a second before hopping to their feet. If unsuccessful, the healer will shake their head. Just try again. If a villager’s health bar runs out, they will die. Their skeleton will be shown on the ground, and an adult will have to take their bones and bury them. |
| Likes / Dislikes | Likes and dislikes can be given at birth or added automatically over time. They can’t be removed. Some don’t matter. For example, disliking Yellow doesn’t effect your villager’s actions. However, a villager who likes running will run instead of walk, which is handy. A villager who likes the rain may drop what they’re doing to go drink rain, whereas a villager who dislikes rain will almost always run from it. |
| Skills / Training / Titles | Villagers can be trained in 5 skill areas: Farming (“farmer”), Building (“builder”), Research (“scientist”), Healing (“doctor”), and Parenting (“parent”). Earn skill by doing tasks related to that area. Kids can also learn early from the tribal chief’s kids-only lectures if stage 2 of leadership has been bought. Farming: Harvest food. (Children collecting mushrooms does not contribute) Building: Build or fix structures, or clear leaves / rubble. Research: Research at the tables in the right side of lab, or do alchemy. Healing: Heal sick villagers, or if stage 2 of medicine has been bought, study medicine at the table in the medical area. Parenting: Try for a baby, nurse a baby, or tell stories to kids. Note that if you drop a villager on something and they shake their heads No, it simply means they were unsuccessful this time. Just try again. The more trained they are in an area, the less unsuccessful they’ll be. Click the check-box to the right side of a skill bar to set it as that villager’s preferred skill. This will make them more inclined to do and learn this skill. However, they are also more inclined to do skills they already know well (training in an area may be harder if they are already very good at another area or if it isn’t their set skill.) Titles are given in training: – Untrained: Bar is empty or barely filled. Untrained teens and adults will usually wander around with the action “unsure what to do.” – Apprentice: Child, where bar is about 1/6 filled. – Trainee: Bar is about 1/6 filled. – Adept: Bar is about 1/3 filled. – Master: Bar is about 5/6 filled. Villagers each only get one title, shown when you click on them. If no preferred skill is set, their title will automatically be whatever they are most trained in (example: “Trainee farmer”). If a skill is set, it will be whatever you set it to, even if they are more trained in a different area. For example, they could be more trained in farming, but if Research is their set skill, their title may be “trainee scientist,” etc. A villager that is a master in 3 or more skills will have the title “Esteemed Elder.” A villager that is a master in all 5 skills will unlock the achievement “Jack of all Trades.” |
| Tribal Chief | The tribal chief (puzzle #1) has different abilities than regular villagers. A child chief can still do child-related things. An adult chief can still have kids and cure sick villagers. Otherwise, they can’t work, and therefore don’t need a preferred skill. The chief can still get sick and die. If they die, the robe will be rehung and a new chief can be discovered. Abilities: – Have them Direct Work (which speeds up the job) by dropping them on a project. – Create magic food once every 24 hours by dropping the chief on the food hut. – Make it rain once every 24 hours (see puzzle #5) – Lecture the tribe to give listening adults a small boost in a random skill. Will only work if you let villagers freely come and freely go without interruption. To do so, drop your chief on the amphitheater’s black podium and everyone will run to gather. (Once every 24 hours) – (After buying leadership stage 2,) lecture children to give listening kids a small boost in a random skill. Will only work if you let kids freely come and go without interruption. To do so, drop your chief on a child and all kids will run to gather. (Once every 24 hours) – (After buying leadership stage 3,) cause a rare collectible to appear somewhere in the village for a short time by placing the chief at the top of the path where the mysterious door is. (Once every 24 hours). Note that where they point isn’t necessarily where the collectible will be. |
| Help I’m Running out of Food! / All possible food sources | Running low on food can become very dangerous for your villagers. Here’s a list of everywhere you can get food and what can help you get more: – Drop your tribal chief on the food hut every 24 hours and don’t interrupt them for them to create magic food. – Mushrooms. Look around the village, especially when it rains, for mushrooms. They can appear anywhere at any time. Drop a child (2-13 years old) on a mushroom for them to carry it to the food hut. Red mushrooms (worth 35) are worth more than brown (worth 6). TIP: it’s a minor cheat to, if you can get to it fast enough, drop more than one child on the same mushroom. The mushroom will multiply, allowing your kids to carry several back instead of just one. This can be especially helpful when you’re in a tight spot. – The bee hive. See puzzle #2. – Planting trees / the orchard. At the start of the game there is a piece of fruit laying in the orchard. Drop an adult villager on it to plant a fruit tree. It will take time for it to grow. Two more trees can be planted in the same way with puzzle #10. TIP: This same method can be used even after you have all three trees. The fruit dropped will just be brought to the hut for extra food. – Replenish food sources quicker with nature faction stage 1. Note that if you choose this faction, you can’t get the magic faction. – The ocean can be accessed for unlimited fish after the sharks are gotten rid of. See puzzle #11. |
Tech Points / Technologies
Tech points are important to earn fast and spend wisely. You earn tech points by having villagers do research (drop adults on one of the two tables in the right side of the lab) and by getting collectibles you’ve already found (common are worth 100, uncommon are 250, and rare are 1500 per find). Villagers will earn tech points through research faster if they are more trained, if stages 2 and/or 3 of science have been bought, if stage 1 of the magic faction has been bought, and if the tribal chief is directing their work.
Tips to earn: Always have an adept or master scientist researching at all times. If you need a lot of points fast, set the game speed to fast (main menu > settings), and drop all adults and the chief on the research tables. Don’t let anyone leave (they’ll especially try to if it’s raining, if they’re untrained, or if their preference is set to something else). Also look for collectibles you’ve already found.
Where to find Collectibles:
- Turtle shells only appear by the waterfalls, and can appear at any time.
- Coral only appears by the reef, and can appear at any time.
- Feathers can appear anywhere, at any time.
- Tablet pieces will only appear in the rubble area once you’ve started clearing the rubble. (Don’t worry about missing pieces or clearing the rubble too fast, they can still appear later).
Technology Prices:
- There are 7 tech areas: Science, Medicine, Alchemy, Restoration, Leadership, and the 2 factions: Nature and Magic (you can only choose nature Or magic, not both).
- Each area has 3 stages you can buy. You start with stage 1 in science, medicine, alchemy, restoration, and leadership (so you can only upgrade these twice; you have the first). Nature / magic require you to buy stage 1. Whichever faction you choose is your permanent choice (you can’t change it).
- Science (earn tech faster): Stage 2 is 11,000, Stage 3 is 150,000
- Medicine (reduce disease, increase longevity and fertility): Stage 2 is 8000, Stage 3 is 75,000
- Alchemy (reduce chance of accidents): Stage 2 is 5000, Stage 3 is 75,000 (I think?)
- Restoration (rebuild ruined structures): Stage 2 is 7000, Stage 3 is 85,000
- Leadership (stage 1: magic food, stage 2: lecture children, stage 3: locate rare collectible): Stage 2 is 7000, Stage 3 is 125,000
- Faction (Nature/Magic): Stage 1 is 4500, Stage 2 is , Stage 3 is 150,000 (Nature: stage 1 replenishes food sources quicker, stage 2 gives pitcher plant herb, stage 3 increases longevity) (Magic: stage 1 earns tech faster, stage 2 gives berry herb, stage 3 increases max population)
What Order to Buy Technologies (Recommendation)
- I highly recommend starting with level 1 of the magic faction. It lets you get tech points much faster, letting you buy needed technology faster. If you do this though, be mindful you’re on a timer to find new food sources quickly, as early sources (the bee hive and first tree) will run out and not replenish fast at all.
- Next I recommend getting restoration stage 2, as you will need it to increase your population and get the next food source (other trees in the orchard).
- Third, you should probably get stage 2 of whichever faction you chose. It is needed to do important puzzles including getting unlimited food.
- After that, it’s a matter of preference. Medicine and leadership stage 2 are nice to have. After these, alchemy can be pretty helpful. Science and leadership are best to get fully upgraded, but it will take a while (especially because science is the most expensive) and they are not necessary to upgrade super early (though you should consider getting science upgraded before buying everything else; it speeds up your tech point earnings).
- Between nature and magic, nature is more helpful if you’re in a spot or forgot to upgrade your faction to stage 2 early. This is because nature replenishes your food sources faster. At stage 3, it lengthens your villagers’ lives. Magic on the other hand is good if you choose it ASAP, because it boosts how fast you earn tech points. At stage 3, it ups your max population. Both factions’ stage 2 gives you a much needed plant.
Puzzles (Hints & Spoilers!)
| Hint | Solution (SPOILER) | |
| #1 The First Chief | The chief wears a special robe! | No Requirements Only one villager is “the chosen one” to wear the yellow robe hanging in the amphitheater. Drop your villagers on it until one of them fits! |
| #2 The Bee Hive | You could get to the honey if the bees weren’t there… | Requires… Fire (instructions included) Your first food source comes from the bee hive! To get rid of the bees, you’ll need to smoke them out! First, build a fire. To do so, drop an adult on the pile of wood just to the right of the bee hive, and an adult on the dry grass to the furthest possible left by the waterfalls. They’ll carry wood and dry grass to the fire pit, now all you have to do is drop an adult on the fire pit and they’ll light it. NOW, to smoke the bees out, drop an adult on the torches laying between the bee hive and the pile of wood. They’ll “try an idea,” and take the torch to the fire pit, then to the hive. Once the bees are gone, drop villagers on the hive to harvest honey! Note that the hive is a good start, but it doesn’t replenish fast… or like… at all. So find more food!! |
| #3 The Alchemy Lab | A scientist would know what to do with all those random pots. | Requires… Adept+ Scientist Once you’ve got an adept or master scientist, you are able to put the alchemy lab together! There are 5 things around the village to find. To collect them, drop your adept+ scientist onto them and they’ll carry the items to the lab. When all 5 are found, the left side of the lab will be restored and potions can now be made! Here’s what you need to find: A red striped pot, a yellow striped pot, a brown clay pot, a blue mixing bowl, and a… telescope? Rod? I don’t know lol Here’s where you can maybe find them!: Waterfall area, path, beach / reef, orchard, cemetery, rubble area, near the front of the lab. The telescope thing is always the hardest to find, but it’s usually in the orchard, under the cliff, kind of hiding. It’s a blue stick thing. Idk. |
| #4 The Roster of the Dead | Clear the leaves! | No Requirements In the top right of the cemetery there’s a big bush of leaves blocking the roster of the dead! It’ll take a while, but it’ll help your villagers get building points! Just drop them on the leaves and they’ll start clearing them. |
| #5 Weather Dancing | How could the farmers make it rain….? | Requires… Tribal chief (puzzle 1), 3 Adept+ Farmers, Stage 2 Leadership, and Fire (puzzle 2) Once you’ve met the requirements, your villagers can do a dance around the fire to make it rain, once every 24 hours (time starts once the rain is actually created). To do this, drop your chief and your 3 adept+ farmers onto the fire and they will start to dance. If a villager sits and shakes their head, it means they aren’t adept in farming yet and can’t help with the dance. |
| #6 The Lift | Who would be able to fix the machine? | Requires… 3 Adept+ Builders, and Stage 2 Restoration Once you’ve met the requirements, drop your 3 adept+ villagers onto the lift at the same time. They give up quick, so gather them together before actually having them start trying to fix it. Using the lift: The lift works by letting the left side’s bucket fill with water when it rains, which lifts the right side up to the trees. So, as soon as it starts raining (and I mean As Soon As it starts), drop an adult on the right side of the lift |
| #7 The Ruins | Clear the rubble! | Requires… Restoration Stage 2 Right below the medical area is a pile of rocks hiding a cave entrance! It’ll take a while, but it’ll help your villagers get building points! Just drop them on the rocks and they’ll start clearing them. |
| #8 The Ancient Bath | Who would be able to write plans for such a big project? | Requires… Puzzle #3 and a Master Builder Once the alchemy lab is restored, drop a master builder on the chalk board for them to draw up plans. Once plans are drawn, drop villagers on the bath for them to start building. |
| #9 The Statue | If only we had the advancements to write plans for this big project! | Requires… Restoration stage 3, Leadership stage 3, Puzzle #8, a Tribal Chief, and a Master Builder Once you have restoration and leadership built up to stage 3 each, and the bath has been restored, drop a master builder on the chalk board in the alchemy lab for them to draw up plans. Now, carry any adult villager to the path leading to the mysterious door. On the left edge of the path, near the top of the standing part of the statue, on the right side of the statue, a prompt will pop up that says “a good place to anchor the statue.” Where this prompt pops up, drop the adult villager. They will build a scaffold. THEN, drop your tribal chief on the statue (the most effective place to drop is on the statue’s face. After it’s been moved, continue to drop villagers where the statue originally was. They’ll walk up to it.) for them to direct the work. Your chief HAS to be directing the work at all times. Now, drop all adult villagers who are trainee+ in building onto the statue for them to push it. This project has a “time until repaired” prompt instead of percentage complete. The time will be greatly reduced the more villagers you have working on it. TIP: You should probably start working on this puzzle after completing the orchard and shark puzzles. Also, because this puzzle can only use skilled builders, it is important to do this puzzle early enough that you still have skilled builders. Another thing you could do is save puzzle 7 (the ruins) to train younger villagers how to build around this time. You could have already trained builders pushing the statue while untrained villagers clear rubble until they can help. |
| #10 The Orchard | Fill the orchard with lots of trees! | Requires… Puzzle #6 Once the lift has been restored, this puzzle will help your villagers get more food, so it’s important you do this puzzle ASAP especially if your beehive is running low. First, wait for it to rain. AS SOON AS it starts, place any adult villager on the right (flat) side and they will “stand on the lift.” They now will not move until it continues to rain. The bucket on the left will fill up with water, lifting the villager to the tree above. Once high enough, a piece of fruit will drop. Only one piece can fall per time it rains, so once it’s on the ground, it is safe to take the villager off. Now, drop any adult villager on the fruit to have them plant it. Including the tree already planted for food, you can have 3 trees total, and once you have all three, the puzzle will be completed. Note that you can still continue to use the lift to get extra fruit for emergency food after the orchard is complete, and your villager will just carry it to the food bin instead of planting. |
| #11 The Sharks | Sharks guard more food… but what might calm them down? | Requires… Puzzle #3 and either Faction Stage 2 (Alchemy stages 2 and/or 3 are recommended) Once you buy your faction (nature or magic) stage 2, a new herb will appear. Both new herbs (Pitcher plant for nature, Berries for magic) will appear to the left of the lab. Use herbs to create a potion (simply drag any adult or child villager onto each herb to carry it to the table.) The recipes are… (for nature) pitcher plant + black orchid x2, or (for magic) berries + rose x2. Once all three herbs are on the table, drop an adult on the table to start brewing the potion (scientists work better, don’t use any villager with low health). The potion will explode if it didn’t work. Buying alchemy stages 2 and/or 3 will decrease explosion chance. Once you have the potion, drop any adult villager on the cauldron and they will carry a vile to the ocean, ridding the area of sharks forever! (Herb locations can be found in the map below). |
| #12 Aromatherapy | The right tech would help somebody know how to spice up that bath | Requires… Puzzle #8, Medicine Stage 3, a Master Doctor, and a lit Fire (see puzzle #1) Once the bath is complete and you have stage 3 medicine, drop a master doctor on one of the bowls in the bath. They will carry lotus to each bowl. Now drop your master doctor on the fire, and they will light each bowl. |
| #13 The Ash Key | Diamonds are made from coal, coals are found… | Requires… Fire (see puzzle #1) Every once in a while, your fire will have sparkles. (This will only happen after you’ve kept the fire going for 60-62 hours. Keep feeding it wood!) This is when you need to put it out or let it go out itself. To put it out, drop an adult villager on the waterfall. If you see the action “getting a drink,” it is not time. If you see the action “putting out fire,” you’re set! Wait for them to carry the water and put the fire out, and there will be a diamond, but it is too hot to touch. Have many adults carry water from the waterfall to the fire pit to cool it down. Then, drop an adult on it to have them carry it to the door. |
| #14 The Cliff Key | If only they could jump that high (The cliff has a hint written on it!) | Requires… Puzzle #3 Once your alchemy lab is complete, all you need is the potion. The recipe is… lotus + cactus + rose (for map of where these are, scroll down). All you have to do is drop any adult or child villager on each ingredient to have them carry it to the table. When all three are there, drop any adult (scientists work better) onto the table to have them make a potion. Unsuccessful potions will explode. (buy alchemy stages 2 and/or 3 to lower this risk, though for this potion it shouldn’t be too much of a problem). Once you have the potion, drop any adult villager on the cauldron for them to use it. They will feel “light and springy.” Now, drop them by the cliff under where the pink key is (see map above) and they will jump to reach it, then carry it to the door. |
| #15 The Clam Key | After the statue is built, teamwork might persuade the clam to trade something just as pretty | Requires… Puzzle #9, Tribal Chief, a Master Builder, and a Master Scientist Getting the black pearl from the clam will take persuasion! Time to make a replica. Once the statue is built, you’ll see a weird blue stone near its base. Drop a master builder on it and they will carry it to the waterfall to shape it. Then drop a master scientist on it and they will carry it to the lab to polish it. Finally, drop your tribal chief on it and they will take it to the clam to persuade a swap. They will then carry the black pearl to the door. |
| #16 The Chief and the Princess / The Sun Dial | The final puzzle after unlocking the door! | Requires… Puzzles #13, #14, and #15 (all three keys) With all three keys in the door, the sundial room will be revealed. Wait for the weather to be sunny (sun rays will appear), then drop any adult villager on the sundial to turn it. It has 3 positions. Wait until it is turned to the far leftmost position, and ghost-like figures will appear (solving the puzzle). If this doesn’t happen, try again. |
What Order should you Complete Puzzles / Build / Buy / Do Things? (Recommendation / Tip) Don’t read all of this unless you’re on a speed run 🙂
Towards the beginning of the game, your villagers are much more diversely skilled, especially in building. Do any puzzle that requires a master or trained builder ASAP. Also do any food-gathering puzzles ASAP. My recommended order is…
| Puzzles / Projects | Tech Points / Experience | Other Notes / Tips |
Do puzzles #1 (tribal chief) and #2 (beehive) as soon as the game starts, | Train all villagers how to farm the bee hive. | Consider restarting the game as soon as you start if your villager lineup isn’t looking good. It is best to have multiple women, and for one of the children or women to be the chief. |
| Buy restoration stage 2 ASAP. | Constantly be on the lookout for mushrooms and collectibles. Drop a child on them to collect (drop multiple kids on a mushroom to multiply it!) |
Have all villagers work on puzzle #4 | Do not cause any women to have more kids yet! You need all hands on deck and food is very limited! ALSO- Drop the tribal chief on the food hut to create magic food ASAP, every day. | |
Once you have 3 adept farmers, | Buy either faction (nature or magic) stages 1 and 2 ASAP. | If you leave the game, go to the main menu > settings > set the game mode to Slow or Paused, especially early on. You don’t want them dying while you’re away. |
Complete puzzle #11 (sharks) ASAP!!! | Purchase options: – Alchemy stage 2 will help with puzzle #11, I only suggest getting it if you’re having trouble clearing sharks. – Medicine stage 2 allows you to train doctors. This is important to get if getting achievements is important to you. – Leadership stage 2 will let your chief teach children. | Once your village is self- sustaining, always set one villager to healing as their preferred skill and one woman to parenting. This way, sick villagers will automatically be set to be healed by the doctor and the mother will constantly have kids. |
Once you have a master builder (train | Spend some time to get restoration stage 3 and leadership stage 3. (It may be wise to get science stage 2 before these to earn faster. Just depends on your preference.) | Adjusting your villagers’ preferred skills is not a one time thing! If you want projects to get done faster, set all adult’s preferences to the desired project, or use it to separate teams / groups. 🙂 |
Complete puzzle #9 (the statue) as soon | Next buy medicine stage 3. | Be on the lookout for sick and unhealthy villagers! Unhealthy villagers can be easily healed with the right potion, but have someone else make it in case it explodes. |
Complete puzzle #12 (aromatherapy) | Go till all your areas are stage 3 🙂 | Ta-daaaa |
Awards / Achievements
Awards can be found by going to puzzles > awards (at the bottom). There are 10:
- Abundant Security requires you to get a grand total of 20,000 food over time (not in your food hut all at once). You will probably earn this after doing puzzle #11 (the sharks).
- Ancient Elder requires a villager to live to the age of 80. Age 75 is possible without upgrading, but most villagers die at 70. Upgrade medicine and nature technologies to stage 3 to help.
- Alchemy R Us requires you to concoct 50 unique potions. See potion recipes below for what to avoid.
- Child Prodigy requires a villager under the age of 18 to become a master. Upgrade leadership to stage 2 and teach children as much as possible. Once one turns 14, train them in an area ASAP. Set that as their preferred skill, and don’t let them leave (this award isn’t toooo hard to get). I’d choose research, healing if you have medicine stage 2, or farming if you’ve done puzzle #11 (sharks). These are the most reliable to train in.
- Jack of All Trades requires one villager to master all 5 trades. I HIGHLY recommend doing this ASAP with one of your first or second generation villagers, as there are many more opportunities and needs to build, get tech points, and farm. You can’t very well do this without medicine stage 2 (to study in healing), however. Also, the younger they are, the longer you have to work with them. Use their preferred skill to tell them what to train in, and try to bring them all up at the same time instead of one by one so they’re no inclined to just work on what they’re good at. Female villagers earn parenting skills fast by having kids, but this takes away from training time. Male villagers can very easily learn parenting by impregnating all the women (failed or successful), and by telling stories to kids (drop them on any child under 18). The best time to train parenting for either gender is when they’re past the age! Just keep dropping two old people on top of each other. It’s effective lol
- Fungus Among Us requires you to retrieve 100 total mushrooms. This is easy to get if you’re constantly on the lookout. Also, when you find a mushroom, drop multiple kids on it to duplicate it.
- Legendary Leader requires a chief to rule for over 50 years. This is very easy for your first chief, especially if they were a child to begin with. If your chief dies, replace them ASAP. Use medicine stages 2 and 3 and nature stage 3 to help.
- Prolific Procreation requires a women to have triplets. This is nearly impossible (even twins is difficult) if you don’t have medicine stage 3. Your woman and male partner should both be master parents. Set a girl’s preferred skill to parenting as soon as she’s 18 to train her as soon as possible.
- Tech Wonders requires you to earn 1,000,000 total tech points (not all at once). This will happen over time if you constantly make all your adults and the chief go research.
- The Doctor is in requires disease to be cured in villagers 30 times. To do so, wait for them to be sick, then drop any adult, trained or not, on them to heal them. Villagers often get sick when it rains, and it can spread. They are less likely to get sick with medicine upgrades. Do Not wait to heal villagers until they’ve infected other and Do Not try to lower their health hoping they’ll get sick. They’ll die. This award is easy to get. Of course if you want though you could go use though awful potions
Collectibles
There are four sets of collectibles other than the mysterious door keys: Turtle shells, Coral, Feathers, and Tablet pieces. These appear randomly on the map, but only while you are actually In the game. Drop any child villager on these to pick them up. Note that they must be brought back to the lab to be added to the collection, so don’t accidentally pick up a child carrying a collectible (dropped items can’t be picked back up), and make sure you get it before it disappears.
The first time you find an item it will be added to your collection. Any re-finds brought back will earn tech points: (each collection set has 4 common (worth 100 per refind), 4 uncommon (worth 250 per refind), and 4 rare (worth 1500 per refind)). Tablet pieces likely will not pop up twice unless it disappears before you get it / you drop it. You get +5 max population per completed collection, so keep on the lookout! (Some believe that chimes are heard when a collectible or mushroom is somewhere. However, some sound tracks have bells in them already, so this isn’t necessarily a reliable method of finding collectibles.)
- Turtle Shells can only be found near the waterfalls, especially when it rains.
- Coral can only be found on the beach / reef.
- Feathers can be found anywhere, especially in the orchard.
- Tablet Pieces will only appear during or after the completion of puzzle #7 (the rubble). These appear more often during the completion, but can still pop up once in a blue moon after.
When leadership stage 3 is bought, the chief (if not nursing a baby) can be placed at the top of the path (by the door) to point out a collectible. Wait for the gong and rainbow. The direction that they point DOES NOT MEAN that that is the direction of the collectible, it just means that the collectible is out there somewhere- go look for it. Feathers are especially hard to spot, and pointed out collectibles will still disappear if you don’t get them in time.
Alchemy: Herbs / Potion Recipes
Once you’ve complete Puzzle #3 (alchemy lab), your villagers can use herbs from around the island to create potions. Each potion requires 3 ingredients in any order.
How to make / use Potions:
- Drop any adult or child villager (not holding a baby) on each ingredient (in any order) to have them carry it to the table in the alchemy side (left side) of the lab.
- Wait for all ingredients to be there (you can’t start brewing until then), then drop an adept+ scientist on the table for them to bred the potion.
- If unsuccessful, the potion will explode, removing half of the brewer’s health and scaring everyone away (lower this risk by buying alchemy stages 2 and 3). If successful, puffs of smoke will arise.
- Drop any adult or child villager on the cauldron to have them use it. Effects of the potion can be seen at the bottom of the screen when the villager is selected. After using a potion, each villager must wait 2 minutes before drinking another.
- The potion will evaporate in 2 minutes. You can’t brew another until the previous potion has evaporated.
Herbs:
- Tiger Lily adds an element of childish behavior. Find it on the path leading to the door (it’s orange!)
- Rose adds an element of love. Find it in the orchard under the cliff (it’s red and pink!)
- Black Orchid adds an element of luck / magic. Find it at the top of the cemetery (it’s black!)
- Cactus adds an element of health / nature. Find it between the lab and the firepit (it’s green!)
- Lotus adds an element of relaxation. Find it to the right of the bath (it’s purple-pink!)
- Pitcher plant is unlocked after buying Nature stage 2. Find it to the left of the lab (it’s green with red tops!)
- Berries are unlocked after buying Magic stage 2. Find it to the left of the lag (it’s yellow!)
Potion Recipes:
Good / Helpful Effects:
| Light & Springy (Puzzle #14) There’s a hint on the cliff | Rose + Cactus + Lotus |
| Feels Better (Minor health given) | Cactus + Cactus + Cactus (Pure Potion) Pitcher Plant + Pitcher Plant + Rose Pitcher Plant + Pitcher Plant + Cactus Pitcher Plant + Pitcher Plant + Lotus Pitcher Plant + Rose + Cactus Pitcher Plant + Cactus + Lotus Berry + Cactus + Lotus |
| Much Better! (Half health given) | Cactus + Cactus + Lotus Cactus + Lotus + Lotus |
| Much Better! (Full health given) | Rose + Rose + Black Orchid |
| Romantic Embrace Good for parent training | Rose + Rose + Rose (Pure Potion) |
| Fertility (Better odds at breeding / twins or triplets) | Rose + Rose + Cactus Rose + Lotus + Lotus Pitcher Plant + Rose + Lotus |
| Taking Vile to Ocean (Puzzle #11) Requires Nature or Magic Stage 2 | (Nature) Pitcher Plant + Black Orchid + Black Orchid (Magic) Berries + Rose + Rose |
Neutral Effects:
| Happy Feet / Dances | Rose + Rose + Lotus |
| Stinky Breath (Villager burps green cloud) | Rose + Rose + Tiger Lily |
| Yummy! / Kids Drink | Rose + Cactus + Cactus Berry + Rose + Lotus Berry + Rose + Tiger Lily |
| Blannesamagawa loomajoobamooga!! (crazy!) | Rose + Cactus + Tiger Lily |
| Woozy (Spins and sits) | Rose + Lotus + Tiger Lily Tiger Lily + Black Orchid + Black Orchid |
| Fun / Acts like Child | Tiger Lily + Tiger Lily + Tiger Lily (Pure potion) Rose + Tiger Lily + Tiger Lily |
| Energy (Runs around) | Black Orchid + Cactus + Lotus |
| Must exercise! | Black Orchid + Cactus + Tiger Lily |
| Nasty, Bitter | Black Orchid + Lotus + Lotus Cactus + Cactus + Tiger Lily Cactus + Tiger Lily + Tiger Lily Lotus + Tiger Lily + Tiger Lily Pitcher Plant + Black Orchid + Cactus Pitcher Plant + Cactus + Tiger Lily Pitcher Plant + Tiger Lily + Tiger Lily Berry + Berry + Cactus Berry + Black Orchid + Black Orchid Berry + Cactus + Tiger Lily |
| Has to go! Nature calls! | Black Orchid + Lotus + Tiger Lily Pitcher Plant + Black Orchid + Tiger Lily Berry + Black Orchid + Tiger Lily |
| Sleepy (Sits / lies down) | Black Orchid + Tiger Lily + Tiger Lily Pitcher Plant + Pitcher Plant + Black Orchid berry + Berry + Black Orchid |
| In a Trance | Lotus + Lotus + Lotus (Pure potion) |
| Having an Epiphany in a Trance… Nothing | Pitcher Plant + Lotus + Lotus Berry + Lotus + Lotus |
| Hiccups | Lotus + Lotus + Tiger Lily Pitcher Plant + Rose + Tiger Lily |
| Soapy / Hiccups | Pitcher Plant + Rose + Rose |
| Itchy | Pitcher Plant + Pitcher Plant + Pitcher Plant (Pure potion) |
| Too Hot (Tries to cool off) | Pitcher Plant + Cactus + Cactus |
| Too Cold (Tries to get warm) | Berry + Cactus + Cactus |
| Paralyzed… Can’t Move… | Berry + Berry + Berry (Pure potion) |
| Scientific Clarity | Berry + Rose + Cactus |
| Feels Smarter | Berry + Black Orchid + Lotus |
| Who turned out the lights? | Berry + Black Orchid + Cactus |
| Woah! (Teleports villager to beach) | Berry + Tiger Lily + Tiger Lily |
Bad Effects / Potions to Avoid
| Stomach Ache (Minor health gone) | Rose + Black Orchid + Black Orchid Cactus + Black Orchid + Black Orchid Lotus + Black Orchid + Black Orchid Pitcher Plant + Lotus + Tiger Lily Berry + Lotus + Tiger Lily |
| Burns (Minor health gone) | Rose + Black Orchid + Cactus Rose + Black Orchid + Tiger Lily Pitcher Plant + Rose + Black Orchid Pitcher Plant + Black Orchid + Lotus Berry + Berry + Rose Berry + Berry + Lotus Berry + Rose + Black Orchid |
| Yikes! (Half health gone) | Black Orchid + Black Orchid + Black Orchid (Pure potion) |
| Awful (Makes villager sick) | Rose + Black Orchid + Lotus Black Orchid + Cactus + Cactus Pitcher Plant + Pitcher Plant + Tiger Lily Berry + Berry + Tiger Lily |
| Feels Hungry (Eats a lot) | Cactus + Lotus + Tiger Lily |
Game Board 