Experimental Mobile Multiplayer Guide

With the release of Stardew Valley 1.6 on mobile, there is now a hidden multiplayer feature which you can access. This feature is available on Android and iOS, but not the Apple Arcade version (Also known as Stardew Valley+).

It is hidden for a couple of reasons:

1. It’s an experimental feature, so it might still have some bugs or issues.
2. The nature of the mobile platform could make a multiplayer session frustrating, under certain scenarios.

Mobile multiplayer works pretty much the same as on other platforms, except there is no farm “discovery” capability. You can only connect via IP. You can, however,  join a PC-hosted farm from a mobile device via IP.

The ideal “mobile multiplayer” scenario would be to connect to a PC-hosted farm from a high-end mobile device on a local network (using wi-fi, unless you have some way to connect your mobile device to ethernet). This would be the best-case scenario.

If you try to connect or host using a cell phone network, you will likely encounter problems.

The worst case scenario would be if someone were to host a game from a low-performance phone, on a cell network (you would probably have to create a mobile wi-fi hotspot for others to connect to locally), and they were on a train or something, going through tunnels. And then the host is also getting calls, causing the app to be interrupted repeatedly. This would result in a potentially frustrating multiplayer experience.

However, if you want to try these things out, there’s nothing stopping you… Just be aware that there are inherent connectivity issues that can arise when attempting to host a multiplayer game from a mobile device.

Here is how to unlock the experimental multiplayer feature on mobile:

1. On the title screen, you will notice that the “Stardew Valley” logo has four groups of leaves attached to it.
   

2. Using the guide below, tap the leaves in this order:  ↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← →   … Then press the “?” button in the bottom right corner of the screen. (Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, ? )

3. Exit the “?” menu. You should now have a co-op button on the title screen.

4. In the co-op menu, you will have options to “Host” or “Join”. If you are joining, put in the IP address of the host. If you are hosting, you will have to set up the farm first, and then if there are cabins available, others should be able to connect to you (they will need your IP address). To find your IP address for hosting, do the following:

For iOS:  Settings -> Wi-Fi -> Click the (i) next to your Wi-Fi name -> Look for “IP Address”

EXTRA TIPS AND NOTES:

*CAUTION: Don’t use an important save file for this, unless you back it up first! This features is experimental and could have bugs in it which would compromise your save file.

*Make sure you are on the same version of the game as your friends, or you won’t be able to connect. You can check in the “?” menu on the title screen, it will display in the bottom left corner

*You must either be on the same network as other players (i.e. on the same Wi-Fi, same hotspot, etc.), or connecting to a player who is port-forwarding their game. (24642 UDP is the port needed)

*Note to iOS players: The first time you join, you will receive a prompt asking for permission to find and connect to other devices on the network. After you hit “Allow”, it will fail to connect the first time you try. When you try again, it should work.

*Multiplayer is currently not available on the Apple Arcade version of Stardew Valley.