Mystery boxes are a feature introduced in Stardew Valley’s 1.6 update that allows you to receive miscellaneous rewards as you perform daily activities. Unlike geodes, these boxes contain numerous item types, from cooked foods to building materials. Here’s how to find and open mystery boxes in Stardew Valley.
Where to find Mystery Boxes in Stardew Valley
Before you can unlock mystery boxes, you must first sleep through the night until encountering a nighttime event in which Mr. Qi drops them from the sky. During this cutscene, Mr. Qi will fly in a plane and drop mystery boxes from it, officially announcing that you can find these boxes scattered around your Stardew Valley world.
Don’t be alarmed if you don’t trigger the event immediately. I got lucky and found it during my first night of sleep, but it may take several tries to unlock them. Once you encounter the cutscene and unlock mystery boxes, you can find them through nearly any regular activity in the game. So far, I’ve had decent luck finding them through artifact spots, but you can also get mystery boxes through woodcutting, mining, and fishing.
After obtaining at least one mastery point, you can also unlock foraging mastery, which gives you an opportunity to find golden mystery boxes. These boxes contain items much more valuable than regular variants, making them worthwhile to open once you find one.
How to use Mystery Boxes in Stardew Valley
After you obtain your first mystery box, you can bring it to Clint at the Blacksmith’s building. The Blacksmith is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day except Friday, giving you limited time to see him. Nonetheless, he’ll stand at his counter once you visit, ready to open the box.
Since the game considers mystery boxes geodes, you’ll have to select “process geode” when interacting with Clint. He’ll open it like a regular geode by hitting it with his hammer in exchange for 25 gold. Once he opens the mystery box, you’ll get a random reward, ranging from warp totems to a batch of ten hardwood. Similarly, if you open a golden mystery box, the item will be even more valuable.
