Essential Gardening Tips

Viva Piñata™ may appear cute (it is) and simplistic (it's not), but a few hours of gameplay will reveal a strategy game that is easy to grasp, but almost impossible to master. It is a game of micromanagement and experimentation, and while the joy may be in the discovery, the following tips will help to guide you on your way.

His appearance will come in time.

Focus on a Species
Initially, you have little choice when deciding which piñatas to focus your attention on, but once you've bred a few Whirlms, and welcomed a couple of Sparrowmints or Syrupents, the true depth of Viva Piñata begins to shine through.

Instead of jumping from one species to the next though, focus your attention on one critter at a time. Don't worry too much about micromanagement with your piñatas in the beginning. Once they're residents, they'll be happy enough on their own for a while. By focusing your attention on one species at a time, you get the opportunity to learn the nuances of each individual piñata.

Hunting Tafflies, no doubt.

Turning a Profit
Chocolate coins make the world go 'round in Viva Piñata, and while you don't need much money in the beginning stages, upkeep costs rise rapidly as the game progresses. Here are a couple of pointers for picking up some much needed currency:

• Romance: Nothing brings in the cash like selling off excess piñatas, and the more exotic they are, the more they're worth. Focus on romancing the more precious piñatas as quickly as you can. You can speed this process up by buying romance candy from Costolot's store. Once you have romanced a particular piñata species, this candy will allow you to skip some of the romance requirements.
• Flora: Dangerous plants like the Venus Piñata Trap can crop up around your garden quickly, but don't be too hasty to destroy them. Instead, wait until they reach maturity, then hack the plant with your shovel. When you do, the flower's head will fall off, and if you're lucky, several seeds will fall out as well. You can then sell the fallen flower and any excess seeds for a quick profit.
• Bart's Exchange: This eccentric fellow shows up after a few hours of game time. His ability to transmogrify fruits and vegetables comes in handy, both for attracting new piñatas and for making more money. Call Bart out to transform your apples to toffee apples (worth 150 chocolate coins!), your blackberries to jam, and your pumpkins to jack-o-lanterns, and so on. Bart can't work his magic on every fruit and vegetable though, so try out each new item before asking him to transform the lot of them.

Fences make for good neighbors.

Turn Them Away
A novice gardener can easily make the mistake of trying to care for every piñata that comes by. If you do, most of your time will be spent breaking up fights and calling Dr. Patch. Pick the species of piñatas you are interested in focusing on, and use how compatible they are as a factor in your decision. Kick out the troublemakers to make your life easier.

Likewise, take a long, considered look at piñatas that other piñatas eat, like Mousemallows. Sometimes it can be just too much trouble keeping them alive and away from their predators. If you want to keep two breeds who may not be ideal matches, you can always consider a fence.

Break It Up
If you do have two piñatas who don't get along, you can expect them to fight eventually. If you let them fight, not only will one of them get injured, but they'll both lose morale. It may seem extreme, but early in the game a single judicious whack with your shovel will daze one or both of them and put a stop to the shenanigans.

This piñata needs some accessories to make him happy.

Helpers on Tap
After a few hours of play, it becomes nearly impossible to keep up with every demand of your garden. Right about this time, Arfur's Inn opens and offers you the services of several helpers, like Sprinkling, who can water your plants for you. Employ these generous folks as soon as they appear, and you can focus more on your piñatas.

This romancing is not going well.

These helpers do need supervision, however. If you introduce several new plants at once, Sprinkling may not be able to get to all of them in time. Check up on your helpers regularly and make sure to take up any slack.

Where's the Love?
Often you need to meet more than one requirement for a pair of piñatas to successfully fall in love. If a second requirement isn't listed, it is a safe bet to assume that they are waiting for a house. If your species is not romancing, and they don't have a house, they're probably waiting for a place to call their own before producing baby piñatas.

The council meeting is now in session.

Plants Don't Live Forever
Plants only last so long in the world of Viva Piñata. Eventually your gooseberry bush will fade away, your hazelnut tree will shrivel up, and your watercress will die off. Pay particularly close attention to those plants that produce fruit or other items vital to the happiness of your piñatas. You won't want to be without them for long.

Journal Reminder
It's easy to get so caught up in the management of your current piñata that you forget to attract new ones. Use your Journal to see which piñatas have appeared, but which haven't actually visited or settled down yet. Among lots of other handy tidbits, you'll find the visitation and residence requirements for each piñata.

Article by Ryan Treit