Dinkum

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Game Title: Dinkum
Released: April 22, 2025
Game Length: Too Long
Grade: A- 

Gameplay

Limits: As a solo player, the game has a problem keeping your attention. That's because this cozy game is built with multiplayer in mind from the very beginning. The first year is designed to be gruesomely tiring in order to incentivize exploration, introduce new concepts, and upgrade mechanics overtime at a very slow pace. Almost no resources can be purchased, products can only be purchased one at a time, and there are restrictions to what might be available at any given time. Some players immediately pull up online videos and lists to help them determine the most efficient way to make it through these hurdles. I'm here to say that my experience was completely blind to any outside sources within the first year. Around the second year, there was a need to learn specifics about certain accomplishments and activities as my frustration was reaching its peak.

Modifications: There are a number of streamers out there who have decided to make their game "better" or easier by incorporating several different types of mods. There are plenty available as not everything is as intuitive as you might believe. One big problem people avoid is the need to have an item selected in your inventory by double-jumping to activate your glider, making it easier to fish, incorporating better ways to plant trees, and turning your book identifiers into toggles. Other improvements include the ability to store and stack things like fish into storage, gates automatically opening and closing when you walk through them, the option to move any building instantly, and not losing relationship status when you fail to complete an activity. Some modifications were added in the game like a peaceful option so animals don't hurt you, a watch to slow down time, or a museum icon added next to those in the database you already donated. There's also a creative mode with no durability on tools, no stamina used, and instantly teleport anywhere on the map.  

Skills

Bug Catching & Fishing: In order to catch fish or bugs, you need to obtain a Fishing Pole or Bug Net from John's Goods or a special one during a competition. Unlike bug catching, a fishing pole can be upgraded with copper or iron. In fact, you can fish up sharks onto the land and take them down without a fight with an iron fishing pole. To discourage you from hoarding the living beings, anything you catch cannot be placed inside storage and do not stack in your inventory. You can place them down as decorations with their own case and stack only one on top of another. It is highly recommended to buy a Bug Book and Fishing Book from the Museum as soon as possible. This allows you to see the price and name appear above every possible bug or fish in the world, including the decorations you place down. If you have not previously discovered one, a small number of question marks will appear where their name and value should be marked. You can find different ones each season and times of day. For bugs, some will be attached on trees, floating in the air, or crawling on the ground. For bugs and fish, the type of biome matters. Reach level 30 and you will be able to craft a Bug Terrarium to create cocoons for silk (or to raise your own bugs) that requires supplies from the Undergrove to build. Similarly, a certain level of progression will offer a fishing pond blueprint that can produce a random amount of fish roe after throwing up to five fish inside (or grow your own fish).  

Farming: To even begin farming, you need supplies from Rayne's Greenhouse. You need to spend at least 18,000 when she comes to a visit and complete a couple of requests to get her to stick around. Build her relationship to obtain a Plant Book that tells you how long a plant will need until you can harvest them. Seeds are sold at random and can be dependent on certain seasons. You can buy a hoe to till the ground for the seeds and a watering can to have them grow. Upgrade them to copper level to increase the range from one to three tiles or iron for six tiles. You don't have to water if it rains for the day. Eventually, you will be able to craft automated sprinklers with a nearby water tank to supply water. Rice is a special case where you can plant inside one tile of water that self-sustains them through the whole process. A Weather Station commissioned at Franklyn's Lab can help show you the forecast for the whole day and the next. A compost bin can convert poop and shells into fertilizer to increase the growth rate of plants or a worm farm can create one bag of fertilizer every seven days. Plant scarecrows to prevent the birds from eating your crops. Building a fence will prevent ground animals from eating (and spawning inside) your field. Seeds will be marked on whether you can harvest consecutively, have a chance to "offshoot" into nearby plots, or require a pole that you will not be able to walk through. Be careful as most crops will require a scythe for harvesting that could potentially destroy nearby crops if not grown enough (though some can still stand after being hit once). Use your well-rested state from sleeping before midnight for an early start stamina bonus. Getting enough funds for a Tractor and license agriculture for attachments to automate the whole process in order to mass-produce crops. Just be aware that you will not be able to run over any that come with poles.

Foraging: In the simplest context, picking up things that are on the ground will contribute to this skill. This includes gathering shells off of beaches, gathering logs that perhaps collect after cutting down a tree with an axe, shaking down fruit off trees, rustling types of leaves off bushes, collecting flowers during the Spring, or gathering mushrooms during Autumn mornings before they wilt at noon. The interesting aspect is that you do not use stamina. This provides you an opportunity to let the day continue indefinitely after midnight before starting the next day. Unlike farming, you can "plant" seeds, trees, and fruit by throwing them onto the ground and covering it up with dirt (no water necessary). To keep them leveled, use a shovel to dig up a tile of dirt beforehand and then throw it back onto the tile afterwards. Stacks of 10 fruit can be used to make jam in a Billy Can Kit. If you make tea with the leaves, then you can make bottles in the Keg. Defeating jellyfish will also be necessary to build the Tuckerbox Shop after you make a settlement with five visitors and gain Sheila's trust. The Har-Vac is something that can be crafted in the late-game to automate this process by holding down the one button to both harvest and collect anything in the field from logs to flowers.

Hunting: There are a number of beasts out in the world that you can hunt down. While technically any tool will do damage, you can craft spears for range and hammers for powerful swings. You do not buy them or upgrade their potential. Instead, you craft each individual weapon at each tier (like copper and iron) that becomes available. Bats (the weapon, not animal) can also be crafted and require crocodile teeth in their upgraded tier. The higher forms will require you to encounter Ted Selly once you have hunting license 2, preferably after 3pm on Saturday and in an environment away from other villagers. He will carry a torch at night but only before midnight. Start from the beginning of the map and circle around while listening for his whistle notification. Be aware that animals will continue to attack you if they engage as you enter a non-moving state like dialogue or entering a vehicle. They will only halt in place if they are far enough away to not begin their attack sequence. Alpha characters can be marked and hunted down from the Bulletin Board. They have no boundaries and will continue chasing you down all the way back to your village. They will flee like other animals when low in health. Toads can also be hunted down when it rains and their skin bartered for one-time stun grenades. It might be a good idea to turn on Peaceful Wish by donating 150,000 coins at the Wishing Fountain, especially if the beasts in the mines get too annoying. Ted Selly will not ever appear with Peaceful Wish. He will appear Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday with no license required if Dangerous Wish was made. The alpha weapons all require 400,000 and duplicate the abilities from the alpha animals you beat down for parts.  

Mining: Don't assume this is Minecraft where you dig deep into the earth for better resources. Certain barren areas will spawn copper, tin, and occasionally iron (with a very rare chance for opal) but will not replenish quickly between seasons. Though, deserts usually have a large supply of quartz available. Instead, you are meant to travel through the mine system or build a number of quarry that pulls up one random object each day. You need to buy a Mining Pass from John's Goods each time you want to use the elevator. You can only set it to a level once per day and you cannot revisit the floor for the rest of the day if you return to the surface. Each floor has gemstones you can throw into the crusher to create shards that slot into the elevator controls to go one floor deeper. Or if you want, the gemstones can be carried to the surface to be sold on the scale. Shards can also be obtained individually from sparkling bugs and fish when Bountiful Wish is active. Pay attention to the reminders in the elevator room. After a small earthquake at 11pm, radiation will pour out after midnight slowly killing. Use old keys to open locked rooms to obtain treasure chests. Make sure you have food for stamina and some kind of light source (like a torch or mining helmet). The third level is a bit different with how you need to throw water bottles over lava to enact bridges and a glider to get across platforms. The airport functions as an auxiliary "mine" where you might want to bring along a diving helmet and a boogie board (or jet ski) to travel across the endless water. 

 Buildings

Structures: Fletch will have you setup a base tent to function as your headquarters, a tent to act as your home, and a visitor's site that will temporarily host a potential villager for a day. Befriend them by completing their requests and spending money until they offer to stay for good with a full selection of items through a building deed. You are able to start construction on any deed and pay later through the donation box, but only one can be done at a time until the entire amount is paid in full. Only after all the supplies are deposited into the box will construction begin for two days.

Town Hall: Your first friend on the island is also your sponsor. You can acquire licenses, deeds, and increase the space inside your house (as long as you pay upfront). The bare essentials will be available with the base tent until you form a settlement with 5 villagers. This includes sleeping bags to complete the day, crafting table, some spare storage slots, and town stats. You can build up to 4 spare houses in addition to your primary house. Relocating a building costs you 25,000 each time and you cannot place it back down in the same spot. 

Bulletin Board & Photographs: This does not replace villager requests but supplements the system with additional functions. You can be asked to take a photograph of a person, place, or object. You are not able to take photographs inside structures. You can buy both the camera that you carry in your inventory or the camera with tripod that you can plant down as a decoration with a 360 degree spin from the Museum. Turning in the photograph will remove it from your list. You can name the files and slot up to four of them behind Theodore in the Museum. Occasionally, there will be an investigation request where you track down a satellite that crashed where the blue question mark is made (unless its a winter bag with goodies). Other requests include crafting or cooking an object, trading any decoration or cosmetic (that characters may then wear) for a new specific one listed, an increased pay for capturing specific types of animals, or defeating an alpha animal. 

John's Goods: Your first store and primary source of tools will sell a number of fascinating objects. You can buy one of each tool for roughly 1,000 coins - bug net, basic axe, basic pickaxe, fishing rod, and shovel. A few advanced stations are also available. This includes the furnace for iron on top of the crafted crude furnace, stone grinder to create cement and break apart shiny stones, a quicker version to cook things with the BBQ instead of the campfire, and a table saw to cut logs and tin ore into boards. Other things include...

  • A wheelbarrow allows you to transport up to 10 units of dirt when your shovel can only carry them one at a time.
  • A hand trolly allows you to carry storage units, including decorations, around without pulling everything into inventory.
  • A machine manual pulls up a list of resources you can deposit into a machine but only if you have the resource already available somewhere.
  • A tape measure visually shows a purple outline with an associated number up to 31 by 31 tiles that remains until you choose when to remove it.
  • A first aid can be used three times to restore the same amount of health as durability consumed.
  • A House Customization Kit allows you to change the appearance of your house once per item including the roof, fence, color, door, windows, and name. Using the kit on a guest house will additionally offer the opportunity to increase the space inside.
  • A rental sign allows you to have random villagers move into your house and place rent by the front door every Wednesday.
  • A metal detector that allows you to track down buried treasure. This item seems to be only useful until you increase your license to the second level when the ground is visually marked. Villagers that hang out with you will dig in the spot for you. 
  • A torch functions almost identical to an actual torch in the sense that it gives off light when the area is dark. This does not wear down the durability of the item. Instead, you can focus the beam in front of you to stun animals briefly. This ability cannot be done in rapid succession.  

Theodore's Museum: In addition to what was listed in the photography section, you can donate each bug, fish, and critter found on the bottom of the water once. Just make sure you donate them as you discover new ones or you'll have to refer to the statistics page to check which ones aren't marked with a museum icon. In addition to the special skill books, you can buy a display case that shows an item you store in it or a display pedestal that formulates a glass when something heavy (not fish) lands on top.

Band Stand, Town Bell, and Wish Fountain: This giant gazebo is required in order to participate in two festivals. Make sure to have it ready and built by August 8th for Sky Fest. There's also Island Day on the Anniversary of your arrival. The Town Bell has one purpose - show you where all the visitors are on the map for about 30 seconds. The Wish Fountain allows you to modify the game format by paying 150,000 to increase the rate of bugs and fish, have rare events occur more frequently, make animal attacks twice as strong but give twice the loot, make no animals attack unless provoked (in most cases), clear out all animals on your property, or return back to normal. 

Franklyn's Lab: Establishing his place might be difficult as you need to spend 190,000 in the shop or catalog before he decides to move onto the island. Once he does, there is a random blueprint on the table you can buy for 5,000. Most of these recipes are variants of ladders, paths, gates, and walls. However, there are some very exclusive ones that you can discover that also can be randomly assigned by grabbing a blueprint item from chests in the mines. To receive a custom-designed object, you must provide the genius a list of items and a lump sum of cash. Most of these will require high-level licenses beforehand. A ton of these powered objects break the game. A chainsaw or jack hammer that cuts down resources in a matter of seconds with very little stamina required and high durability can make activities extremely easy. Commission a charging station and you can "repair" those tools at no cost. If you do advance the tiers of your basic tools, you can always commission a repair table and buy a repair kit to do maintenance on everything in your inventory for 30,000. There is a lawnmower (and riding lawnmower) that you can push around to cut grass. The riding one automatically picks up any seeds that drop. Other vehicles such as the jet ski and motor bike help you get around quicker. None of the vehicles have any sort of durability limit or gasoline requirement. There's a few other random things like the quarry that pulls out either a barrel or a resource node each day you can mine. The Gacha Machine throws out something completely random the next day after you insert 5,000 coins (by pulling out the coins into your inventory and running up to the object to deposit), including a single fancy path tile. Once you show Franklyn 10 Berkonium Ore, more powered objects become available like the invincible improved versions of the chainsaw or jackhammer. The Auto Sorter is a fascinating chest that shoots out any objects to other chests that contain the same item. 

Rayne's Greenhouse: There are a few items that are always available. You can buy a watering can and hoe that are completely upgradeable from the crafting table. The Jacaranda sapling is a special kind of tree you can plant to spruce up your village. The scarecrows can be purchased, or crafted if you have the supplies, to keep the birds off your crops. There are always four random crops available to purchase, sometimes showing the same one twice, that are available during that season.

Irwin's Barn: Four items can be purchased off the shelf. An infinite supply of chicken feed will always be available for 100 dinkums each. A milking bucket can be used on vombats (the hamster) when they are fully grown, clean for a day, and not sick. Higher quality milk can be obtained when your relationship with the animal increases by petting them or playing the guitar. You can even wear the bucket on your head! An animal brush can be used to keep the animals clean until you are able to craft an Animal Shower once you obtain the right license. Shears can be used to cut wool from pleeps (the platypus). A dog kennel and bowl, that you can put raw meat in, can be purchased for your pet dog (once you obtain a collar from the mines). Calling an animal can include your generic whistle for dogs, a purchasable item from the barn for farm animals, or a playable guitar from the mines for all animals. Animal feeders can be either purchased or crafted. Two chooks (the chicken) are always available for purchase. Only one vombat or pleep is available each day. You can interact with animals regardless if they are asleep or not.

Tuckerbox: Other than selling three random food products, there is a fancy food modeller machine that turns any meal from a consumable to a decoration. Most standard products will be displayed on a plate with some silverware on both sides. Appetizers or snacks will include a cutting board. Some meals like burgers and fairy bread that you eat with your hands will not include silverware. Fruit will be shown in a crate while jams (and other things cooked outside like rice) will display three containers of the item. Bottles and tea will convert into a display set. Food that are at the end of a stick will have a box with holes containing three of the item. She also sells the cooking kettle which is an upgraded form of the Billy Can Kit. However, the biggest draw of the store is the food of the day that she buys at 2.5 times the normal sell value. This is chosen at completely random each day - which you could easily reset by reloading a saved file - and can include basic ingredients like bananas, a cooked variant, or any meals made by the cooking table. As an added bonus, the store remains open until you sleep with a three-hour window during the day for Sheila's much needed break.

Furniture and Clothes: Melvin's Furniture Store and Clover's Threadspace both function similarly. Melvin stocks one decoration, two furniture, one flooring style, one wallpaper, and one interior wall type. Threadspace offers you two options from your head, face, chest, legs, and feet. Only one of each item can be purchased per day even in multiplayer other than the interior walls. A catalogue is available where you can buy as many furniture or clothes as you want only if you have previously obtained the item. This does not include wallpaper and floors. Only one interior wall is available each day - wall, half-wall, or doorway. 

Bank: This building allows you to stash away your currency and add a very low amount of interest after each day. This comes to a seventh of a percent or around 1,400 if 1,000,000 is deposited. Although it is entirely possible to earn enough permit points through daily activities, milestones, and museum donations, you can speed up this process paying 500 for 1 point (or a more relevant figure 500,000 for 1,000 points). You can withdraw any amount you deposit without penalty either directly from Milburn in the bank or from a purchasable ATM. Keeping your money in the bank will not count towards the 20% penalty upon your death.

Salon: One of the last buildings you will probably obtain is Sally's Salon. You can change practically any character feature you made from the beginning of the game. This includes hair style, hair color, skin tone, eyes, nose, and lip. You are not able to change your name unless you use developer commands.

Tele System: There are four broken towers located at the far end of each cardinal direction. Repair each one and you will be able to buy the deed to make a single tele pad (that can be moved similar to any other building). These allow you to instantly port between them as many times as you want without cost. You are able to carry large things with you into the teleport system. Please be aware that villagers will not be able to follow you through and the game does not pause aggressive animal attacks while you choose where to go. Players who "ping" a tower in multiplayer will have to wait until they fully travel to the site.

Mines and Airport: Some of the information pertaining to mining is in the section above. There are three levels of the mines and an auxiliary level you can visit every Sunday at the airport. A pass must be purchased and inserted in to trigger the transition. It might be good to have a mining pass purchased ahead of time for Sunday when John closes his store. Each biome has their own ecosystem filled with creatures, treasures, and resources. The Deep Mine and Undergrove have the glow bug (use bug net) and deep fish (use fishing pole). A Bat Zapper comes in real handy and offers you a very low chance of obtaining bat wings from bats in the Deep Mine. Turn in 20 at a Bat Shrine for a Bat Glider. Undergrove has a ton of usable plants and vines in crafting. All levels have their own version of obtaining treasure using old keys for paint, cassettes for the boom box you buy from Jimmy's boat, gliders, statues, and tools. Blueprints and berkonium cannot be obtained in the Deep Mine. Each level has their own type of special items too like the Miner's Helmet in the Deep Mine, Diving Helmet in Undergrove, Tree Pinchers (to move trees) in Hot Hot Hot, and Ice Cream Maker (to make food that lowers how long the burning sensation of fire lasts) in the Island Reef. 

Houses: The game offers you the chance to build four more houses in addition to your home. Don't let this opportunity slip you by as these houses have a number of hidden features. Like your own home, you can buy House Customization Kits from John's General Store to change the features of the house. Unlike how you ask Fletch to upgrade your home, these kits are also used to increase the room inside. This does not consume the kit but does cost you 250,000 per use. Adding a rental sign to each house will invite a pre-selected new character to the island. Each one covers information about a skill - River for fishing, Doug for digging, Forest for foraging, and Mason for outfits. Every Wednesday, you can collect rent that ranges at minimum 1,750 depending on what decorations you placed inside their house. Items in storage, bugs or fish, duplicated decorations, and large objects on their own don't count towards the total. Although the developers have severely crippled how many rare items you can use, a perfect ruby (not emerald or amethyst), both the fish and bug trophies, and others can inflate the 10,000 average weekly amount to about 60,000.

 Activities

Villagers: Each character will allow you to chat, perform a duty, turn in requests, provide a birthday present, and hang out if it is their day off. If their friendship status is high enough, they can follow you around and perform a number of activities. If you mine or chop once or twice, they will do so too. They will stand there and applaud if you catch a fish or bug. If your metal detector finds something, they will dig it up for you. Torches and other light sources will be used when it gets dark or in the mines. They can even revive you when you fall with no penalty. They will not attack bats or panic if on fire. They cannot follow you through the Tele system, the deeper portions of the mines, or hop on a vehicle with you.

Animals: There are a number of creatures on the island. Passive animals like the birds will run away, but can be struck down with a slingshot. Neutral animals won't attack you unless provoked. Aggressive animals like sharks will attack you when you come into range. Farm animals will mostly roam around and interact with the system to automatically eat & clean themselves. Rare objects include Jackaroo Hood, Shark Egg (hat that has a shark fly around your head), Plant Hammer, Battle Fish (spear shaped like a marlin), Berkonium Wand, Bush Devil Hood, Pincher Hood, and Magic Tome that cosmetically changes the season. A Doggo collar can tame a dog that can follow you around with a whistle or sit when pet. Use a Mu Saddle to create an animal "vehicle" that you can ride around like a motorcycle. 

Festival: A lot of changes happen in the game during the month of December. If you want to see them for yourself, reset the internal computer clock. There will be a festive tone to the music and festive lights on the poles of some of your buildings. Nick will appear as a question mark that allows you to craft all sorts of fun things like a festive boom box, festive scarecrow, and fireplace. He will require cherries that you can obtain from capturing white jackeroos with red hats on them. Grow cherry trees that will continue even outside the month. Check the bulletin board to investigate a jolly sack with a number of cosmetics. 

TownCo Agent: Go-Go Town and Dinkum had a crossover event where they both added things from each other's universe. For this game on the last Monday of the month, you can find an agent on his phone (with a notification when you are nearby) offering a crafting list. A few goofy decorations are offered, but you can also craft yourself a workable clock and go-go trike.

Fertilizer: Although these bags are mostly used to increase the growth rate of crops (before you plant them), there are many other hidden features. If you bury a bag into the ground next to a tree, then a giant tree will appear the next day. Cutting down one of these giant trees will leave behind a decorative stump that you can sit in. The same can be applied to the mushrooms in Autumn where you can bury the mushroom and a bag next to it for a decorative mushroom stool. You can replicate the tree ferns in the Undergrove by burying one next to a fern. While a number of things placed inside the compost bin will return fertilizer, using parts from an alpha animal will return Insta-Grow instead.

Jimmy's Boat: If you have 1 million dinkums in the bank and it rains during the morning session, a question mark will appear somewhere out to sea with Jimmy hanging out in his boat. He will buy anything from you at "double" the value if you sell in a stock of over 50. Four items are always available and exclusive: red glider at 800k, Key-Cycler for 700k, Boom Box for 6,000 Permit Points, and Coffee Seeds at 13.6k each. Other exclusive items can be found like special paint, statues, cosmetics, and oddball tools. Be careful as some items listed can be found in the mines like the slingshot or doggo collars. 

Gliders: One of these is practically required to get around in the Hot, Hot, Hot portion of the mines. There are 13 different ones to collect and pretty much all of them are very hard to obtain. The red can be bought on Jimmy's Boat as a last resort. Two can be found from sparkly fish & bugs with the Bountiful Wish. One requires you to finish the museum by collecting every single fish, bug, and creature. Others are found on the slim chance when performing certain activities or opening chests. 

Weather: You might have figured out that flowers grow in the spring and mushrooms before noon during the Autumn. You might even figured out that you can put those mushroom on your head as cosmetic hats. However, there are special events that can happen throughout the year that you might want to pay close attention to the Weather Station. A thunderstorm can occasionally strike you if you aren't careful and leave a special Thunder Egg behind. A heat wave will offer you a chance to obtain gold nuggets when digging that can be upgraded to gold bars for jewelry. A meteor shower can drop a meteorite with special resources when broken open. 

Snow: During the winter, you might come across giant snowballs whenever it snows. You can pick them up and throw them to loot snowballs or combine two into a snowman (that you can then throw for additional snowballs). Though, breaking open a snow cube will provide you with an Ice Sculpting Table. Yep, you can craft a number of things with snowballs from ice chests (literal ones, not the commercial kind) and ice paths. You can throw snowballs at people or save them up to craft an Ice Hammer from Ted Selly.

Game Plan

Schedule: Because you can't do everything at once, the game offers you a choice on what type of activity you want to focus on. So down below is how I approached the game:

  • 1st Year Summer - Increase friend status by completing jobs and activities for villagers. You can only complete one thing for someone each day they are present on the island. Who appears on the Visitor Site might seem entirely random but leans on what activity you are currently working on. Exploration in the world and the mechanics in the game are essential at this stage. Tons of fish and bugs were stacked around the base at the ready for whatever request was needed. The bulletin board, mines, and band stand were all built within the first month. 
  • 1st Year Autumn - Dinkums (the game currency) were lacking with how much each deed cost to build. Repositioning tons of fruit trees in a convenient location to collect on occasion gave the needed boost to upgrade my tent to an actual house. I created a fence line to funnel animals into nearby traps, but the amount earned from them wasn't sustainable. Making sure to replant cut trees seemed important at the time. Buying equipment from the stores, without knowing what they would do, played a big part for this month. 
  • 1st Year Winter -  After noticing how much the visitors from the competition paid for bugs and fish after an event, my goal was to flood the beach with as many as I could catch. After 2 months, I finally restored and built the teleport system. Discovering how the books from the museum show price tags in the wild, bugs were barely worth going after capping at around 4,000. Although fishing takes more time, obtaining a jet ski and going after fish that ranged between 10,000 and 15,000 seemed much more rewarding. This allowed me to collect about 4,000,000 Dinkums. This paid for everything that cost less than 150,000 from the lab, trivializing the need to upgrade any current tools with the chainsaw and jackhammer on hand. This also allowed me to pay 150,000 to the wish fountain for peaceful gameplay within the mines. I also coincidentally discovered Jimmy at a question mark out to sea with some very exclusive items never seen before. I paid everything left on hand to get the key converter since there were tons of artifacts not being used in storage. 
  • 1st Year Spring - Almost a year went by with absolutely nothing increasing the farming skill. Somehow no food was made, no crops were grown, and no animals were owned. This might have to do with the fact of how difficult it was to "bribe" those two villagers to stick around on the island. This was an excruciating long month watering my plants before diving into the two levels of the mine for ore and utilizing my new building's boosted sales. I started building "roads" and sidewalks with a number of signs at a second location.
  • 2nd Year Summer - With all ten buildings built, there was a notice about an airport. I might have been too enthusiastic in accepting the offer as the building required silk from animals not available to me. I also had a 2,500,000 debt to pay before relocating my tight community to a better position. On top of that, paying 25,000 to move one building each day over to a new location tried my patience. I'd run across the stores buying every furniture, all the clothes, and the one available blueprint (if not already purchased) from the lab. With my resources from the mines, I practically ignored the rest of the world by spending long nights over by the crafting table sorting through what new things were made available these past months. This doesn't mention redecorating with all the new fun toys and plushies from the week-long Anniversary Event. 
  • 2nd Year Autumn - 6 months later, my curiosity got the better of me. I had 5 fish, 5 bugs, and 5 critters missing in my logs with no clue on where to obtain any of them. It seemed a few of them were extremely rare with some players spending weeks trying to find them, and this was after knowing when and where they spawned in the world. Other things like learning how to create stumps people can sit on or discovering that you could wear mushrooms as hats on your head were little things that went completely unknown to me. This was my first month flying over to the new island every Sunday. 
  • 2nd Year Winter - This was the month I braved the mines to level my tech. I planned out routes after using my glider. I adjusted my wishes to get some alpha weapons from Ted Selly since the grub worms and creatures living by the lava still attacked me in Peaceful Mode. While it was possible to fly in to steal the contents of the red chest, defeating those little guys on the way made it less stressful. 
  • 2nd Year Spring - I discovered a number of hidden features in the game that made things easier for me such as Nick's ability to craft me a boom box and the Town Agent giving me a ton of fun toys. I finally obtained my last license, was able to craft a sail boat, and bought the giant vacuum as my last deed to the game. 

Summary

Review: Dinkum straddles the line between creatively decorating a town and navigating the harsh conditions of building a town from scratch. The game feels like it lasts forever with how it severely limits what is available to you at any given moment. The very last building cannot be made until the second year and tons of features that are built with multiplayer in mind slows down the lone ranger. I barely managed to unlock the bare necessities of furniture, cosmetics, and blueprints after learning how to progress through the game. Essential tools like the telephone that sends you back-and-forth wherever you are on the map can elude your grasp until hours of gameplay later. Most of the exploits mentioned online to progress faster have been pulled out from the developer upon release. While I applaud the substance of the game, the early parts of discovery can be excruciatingly painful without proper guides that explain how systems work.