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To reveal Stardew Valley’s experimental mobile Co-op mode, tap the leaf groups on the title-screen logo in this order: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right. Press the ? button, then exit the help menu. Co-op should appear. The feature is documented for Android and iOS versions of Stardew Valley, but not the Apple Arcade edition, Stardew Valley+ (official mobile multiplayer guide).
How to unlock mobile Co-op
- Open Stardew Valley on Android or iOS and stay on the title screen.
- Tap the logo’s leaf groups in this exact order: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right.
- Press the ? button in the lower-right corner to open the help menu.
- Exit the help menu. The Co-op button should now be visible.
The game’s official guide describes this hidden feature as arriving with Stardew Valley 1.6 on mobile. It does not provide a device-by-device or operating-system compatibility list, so check the game version from the title-screen help menu and have every player use the same version (official mobile multiplayer guide; official multiplayer troubleshooting guide).
Host a farm or join one
Hosting
From Co-op, choose Host to set up a farm. A host owns the save and needs an available cabin for each farmhand who will join. Cabins house one farmhand apiece; on an existing save, they can be built at the Carpenter’s Shop (Multiplayer; Cabin).
Joining
Choose Join and enter the host’s IP address. Mobile Co-op does not have farm discovery, so the host must give joining players the address (official mobile multiplayer guide). A farmhand’s access depends on the host: the host must have the farm open for multiplayer, and farmhands cannot access that world or their characters while the host is offline (Multiplayer).
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- Turn your overgrown fields into a lively and bountiful farm
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- Settle down and start a family with 12 potential marriage candidates
- Explore vast, mysterious caves, encountering dangerous monsters and valuable treasure
Choose a network setup
The official guide describes two practical connection arrangements. Local Wi-Fi is its preferred scenario; connecting to a host outside the local network requires the host to configure port forwarding.
| Connection | What it involves | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Same local network | Players connect over the same Wi-Fi network. The guide calls a high-end mobile device joining a PC-hosted farm over local Wi-Fi the ideal scenario. | Best-case setup in the guide; cellular connections are likely to cause problems. |
| Host with port forwarding | The host configures the router to forward UDP port 24642, then gives the joining player the host’s IP address. | Requires router configuration; it is an alternative when players cannot join the host’s local network. |
These setup details come from the game’s official mobile multiplayer guide. It warns that cellular connections can cause problems, without promising that port forwarding will make every network or device combination work.
Rank #2
Find your phone’s IP address
- iOS: Open Settings → Wi-Fi, then tap the information icon beside the connected network. Find IP Address.
- Android: Open Settings → Network & internet → Internet, then tap the gear beside the connected Wi-Fi network. Find IP address.
Menu names can vary by operating-system version. Use the address appropriate to the connection arrangement and follow the guide’s instructions if the host has configured port forwarding (official mobile multiplayer guide).
If Co-op is missing or a connection fails
- Co-op is not visible: Repeat the leaf sequence on the title screen, press ?, and exit the help menu.
- Players cannot join: Confirm that everyone has the same game version, that the host started the save through the title-screen Co-op flow, and that the farm is open for multiplayer. The general troubleshooting guide dates to February 11, 2020, so treat its advice as general guidance rather than a mobile-specific compatibility matrix (official troubleshooting guide).
- The host’s farm is not available: Check that it has a cabin for each joining farmhand and that the host is online with the farm open.
- An iOS permission prompt appears: Allow local-network access. The official guide says the first connection attempt may fail after permission is granted; try joining again.
- Connections remain unreliable: Prefer local Wi-Fi where possible; the guide warns that cellular play may cause problems.
Important limits before you start
This is an experimental feature, and the official guide warns that it may have bugs, can be frustrating in some situations, and may be disrupted by calls or other interruptions when a phone hosts. The developer advises backing up important saves before trying it because bugs could compromise a save; this is a precaution, not a claim that save corruption is inevitable (official mobile multiplayer guide).
Rank #3
- For 1 to 4 players
- Ages 13+
- About 45 minutes per player
- A cooperative board game
- Based on the hit video game
The mobile instructions apply to Android and iOS editions covered by the guide, not Apple Arcade’s Stardew Valley+. General multiplayer rules can differ by platform: for example, the wiki describes online-subscription requirements for console remote play and cross-platform restrictions. Those general rules should not be assumed to apply identically to this experimental mobile connection path (Multiplayer).
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