A Winter Mystery Stardew Valley Quest Walkthrough

A Winter Mystery in Stardew Valley is a long side quest that allows players to discover many Secret Notes scattered around Pelican Town. These are hidden in various places all around the map, and finding them requires a special Magnifying Glass.

Some of these notes list the preferred gifts of different characters in the town, which are then added to the Social tab for convenience. Others contain puzzles that the player can solve for various benefits.

A Winter Mystery Guide

To begin the quest, you first have to make sure that it is Winter. As the name implies, the trigger for ‘A Winter Mystery’ will not appear in any other season.

Now, walking to the Bus Stop from your farm anywhere between 6 am and 4 pm may start a short cutscene where you encounter a shadowy figure. He gets startled and runs away towards the town.

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If players head on over to the playground near the Community Center, they can interact with a bush near the benches to find the figure once more. He’ll jump out and talk to you, then give you the Magnifying Glass item. Now players are equipped to find Secret Notes.

You don’t actually have to use the item. Notes may automatically be found when you perform the relevant actions. These are:

• Chopping Large Logs – 5% Chance.
• Chopping Large Stumps – 5% Chance.
• Chopping Trees – 0.5% Chance.
• Cutting Weeds – 0.9% Chance.
• Digging Artifact Spots – 11% Chance.
• Fishing – 8% Chance.
• Harvesting Giant Crops – 100% Chance.
• Killing Monsters – 3.3% Chance.
• Mining Boulders – 5% Chance.
• Mining Meteorites – 5% Chance.
• Picking up Stones – 0.75% Chance.

Any of the game’s 25 different Secret Notes may be generated by these activities.

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Stardew Valley Item Preferences

We will now go over all Secret Notes that reveal item preferences in A Winter Mystery:

Secret Note #1: This note reveals all of Abigail’s favorite gifts.

• Amethyst.
• Blackberry Cobbler.
• Chocolate Cake.
• Spicy Eel.

Secret Note #2: Tells players about the gifts enjoyed by various different residents of Pelican Town.

• Sebastian – Frozen Tear and Sashimi.
• Penny – Emerald and Poppy.
• Vincent – Grapes and Cranberry Candy.
• Jodi – Crispy Bass and Pancakes.
• Kent – Risotto and Roasted Hazelnuts.
• Sam – Cactus, Maple Bar and Pizza.

Secret Note #3: We learn about all of Leah’s favorite gifts.

• Goat Cheese.
• Poppyseed Muffin.
• Salad.
• Truffle.
• Wine.

Secret Note #4: A list of all things enjoyed by Maru.

• Battery Pack.
• Diamond.
• Gold Bar.
• Iridium Bar.
• Strawberries.

Secret Note #5: Another list of things enjoyed by some more residents of Pelican Town.

• Pam – Parsnip, Glazed Yams and Beer.
• Jas – Fairy Rose and Plum Pudding.
• Vincent – Pink Cake and Grapes.
• George – Leeks and Fried Mushroom.
• Evelyn – Beets and Tulips.

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Secret Note #6: This is a list of food loved by some citizens at the Stardrop Saloon.

• Mayor Lewis – Autumn’s Bounty.
• Marnie – Pumpkin Pie.
• Demetrius – Bean Hotpot.
• Caroline – Fish Taco.

Secret Note #7: Food liked by the three older bachelors in Pelican Town.

• Harvey – Coffee and Pickles.
• Elliot – Crab Cakes and Pomegranates.
• Shane – Beer, Pepper Poppers and Pizza.

Secret Note #8: Items liked by two of the bachelorettes in town.

• Haley – Pink Cake and Sunflowers.
• Emily – Gemstones and Wool.

Secret Note #9: Alex loves the following two dishes.

• Complete Breakfast.
• Salmon DInner.

These were all of the A Winter Mystery notes that involved item preferences.

A Winter Mystery Puzzles

The following are all of the puzzle Secret Notes in A Winter Mystery Stardew Valley:

Secret Note #10: Reading this begins the ‘Cryptic Note’ quest. This requires you to reach the 100th floor of the Skull Cavern, after which you will be rewarded with the Iridium Snake Milk. It permanently increases your Health by 25 points.

Secret Note #11: A simple picture of the NPCs Marnie and Jas. It serves no further purpose.

Secret Note #12: The note brings to the players attention that Garbage Cans in town can be searched for random items.

Secret Note #13: At exactly 12pm on the 28th day of any season, search the bush above the playground to obtain a Junimo Plush.

Secret Note #14: There is an obscured Stone Junimo statue behind the Community Center, next to the wooden fence. It can be picked up using a pickaxe.

Secret Note #15: Attend the Night Market, which is held between the 15th and 17th of Winter. Now enter the boat to the right of the docks to begin the Mermaid Show. After the show, shells inside the boat can be clicked to play music. Interact with them in the order written in the Secret Note #15 to be rewarded with a Pearl.

Secret Note #16: Head to the boulder in the north of the Railroad, next to the train tunnel. Now use your hoe to dig exactly one block to the right of the boulder to find a Treasure Chest.

Secret Note #17: Look for the small riverbank to the north of the JojaMart building. On the east side, dig in the northernmost corner of the area to get a Strange Doll (Green).

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Secret Note #18: Go to the Calico Desert and find the bench in the Southeast area of the map. Dig near the cliff to the left of the bench to get a Strange Doll (Yellow).

Secret Note #19: Follow the directions marked, to the exact spot behind Mayor Lewis’ House. Then right-click on the ground to get a secret Solid Gold Lewis statue.

Secret Note #20: From the town square, follow the marked arrows to the truck next to the JojaMart building. Interact with the vehicle to talk to the driver, who will trade you a Special Charm for a Rabbit’s Foot. This permanently increases the player’s daily Luck by 0.025.

Secret Note #21: At 12:40 am on any night of the year, interact with the large bush to the northwest of the bridge leading to the Beach. Marnie and Lewis will appear, but nothing else happens after that.

Secret Note #22: Go inside the tunnel to the West of the Bus Stop. Now place a Battery Pack in the box on the wall in the center of the area to begin ‘The Mysterious Qi’ quest.

Secret Note #23: Reading this adds the ‘Strange Note’ quest to your journal. To complete this, go to the Secret Woods between 6 am and 7 pm with a bottle of Maple Syrup to start a cutscene. After it’s over, the selling price of Blackberries and Salmonberries will be multiplied by 3.

Secret Note #24: If you have a Junimo Hut on your farm, you can change the colour of the Junimos by placing a Gem or Mineral inside. The colour change depends on the colour of the item you placed.

Secret Note #25: Fish in the water outside of the Spa during any season except Winter for a chance to get an Ornate Necklace. While carrying the item, talk to either Caroline for 50 Friendship points or with Abigail for 100 points.

This has been eXputer’s A Winter Mystery Stardew Valley guide.