INTRODUCTION

When I first started playing Hay Day in October 2024, I was absolutely blown away by the scale of the game. Seriously: I thought it was just an average farming game like all the others, with simple animals like chickens, cows, sheep and pigs, and a couple of production buildings. But boy, how I was wrong! I was absolutely stunned when I discovered the fishing zone, ore mining in the mine, and the town at level 34. However, on top of all that, in 2019, Hay Day introduced a very interesting feature - the Valley. On 24 June, it will have been seven years since it was introduced in Hay Day, and over that time there have been numerous seasons and rewards. It unlocks for players at level 25, and at first, it feels like a completely different game.

I play in the Valley myself every day and have some exclusive rewards from there. However, I decided to reflect and try to understand: what is the point of this mode? How successful is it, or is the Valley a complete flop? In this article, I’ll share my thoughts on the Valley, tell its story and more!

1. WHAT IS VALLEY?

Right, let’s start from the beginning. What is The Valley? The Valley is a special mode that becomes available to players at level 25. The strategy is quite simple: you’re presented with a huge map (they’re usually all different, but after a while they start to repeat) with various points.

Near these points are various buildings - for example, store, diner, spa, veggie shop, windmill, cinema, pizzeria and so on. Your task is quite simple: you choose the point closest to you and head there. You can travel between these points using your truck - the very same one you use to deliver orders from your main farm. Every time you head to a particular point, you’ll need to deliver your goods there. But don’t worry, the goods are easy to obtain and in small quantities. For example, delivering 3 units of wheat. But there may also be double orders, such as 1 raspberry and 2 coffee beans. Basically, you’ll have to hand over what grows in your field, or what grows on trees or in bushes. However, there are also more complex goods. For example, 1 pizza, which requires cheese (for which you need 3 milk), a tomato and 2 wheat to make. On top of all this, orders may also include goods from farm animals, of which there are already 10 in Hay Day: a chicken (egg), a cow (milk), a pig (bacon), a sheep (wool), a goat (goat milk), lamb (chop), bee (honeycomb), squirrel (nuts), lobster (tail), duck (feather); as well as any kind of fish (fillet). You can’t simply buy these items like you can with the produce that grows in the fields, so to obtain them, you need to keep a close eye on these animals.

So, what do we get from completing these orders? There are, incidentally, two types. The first, and simplest: you simply arrive at a location and hand over the order (the required quantity of goods). The second is more interesting: you arrive at a location and collect goods that need to be taken to another location. Once the order has been delivered, you’ll receive a reward and will also be able to fulfil an order from that very location, thereby earning double.

However, it’s not quite that simple. You won’t be able to just drive around the valley. Don’t forget, you’re delivering all these orders by truck. And since Hаy Day is a logic-based game, your truck will eventually run out of fuel. But don’t worry - you can top up your fuel reserves on a special wheel of fortune. Just like with the daily truck and the wheel of fortune, you’ll get one free spin here. This will give you between 6 and 9 units of fuel. A second spin of the wheel will cost 5 diamonds. So what are these fuel amounts for? As I mentioned earlier, you choose the points closest to you. And each of these journeys (from point to point) will cost you a certain amount of fuel. For example, the closest ones will cost 1-2 units of fuel, slightly further ones 3-4, and so on. And no, you won’t be able to travel from one side of the map to the other in a single go.

The valley area, which lies beyond your current space, is shrouded in clouds, and you’ll only be able to find out what’s going on there if you make your way there. Returning to the topic of fuel, there’s one thing to note: you’ll be able to spin the wheel for free several times. How? Every day, you’ll have access to so-called “Valley Sun Points”. To earn sun points, you need to complete various small tasks. For example, loading crates onto a boat, delivering a few orders by truck, feeding the animals, or starting production in the fishing zone (hooks, duckling traps, nets, etc.). There are plenty of quests like this. You receive a certain number of points for completing these tasks. But this doesn’t mean that the more difficult the task, the more Sun Points you’ll get. Take my example: for casting one net into the water to catch fish, I’ll get 30 sun points, whereas for completing a single delivery by truck - just 4. As you can see, it’s completely random. And once you’ve collected a certain number of points, you can spin the wheel. The first time you need 15 points, the second time 35, the third time 75, the fourth time 150, the fifth time 410, and I didn’t get any further than that, but I think you get the idea: the more often you want to spin the wheel in a day, the more points you need to earn. But there’s a catch: the next day, all your previous points are reset to zero. So every day you start with 0 points. And on top of all that, your daily tasks also change.

So, TLDR: in the valley, you carry out various simple tasks using a truck, which needs fuel to travel; you can obtain fuel by spinning the fuel wheel; you can spin the wheel several times a day, but to do so, you need to earn sun points, which can be earned by completing tasks on the farm

Let’s now move on to the more interesting bits: rewards, currency, time and so on!

2. REWARDS, CURRENCY AND THE SHOP

So, let’s ask this question: why do we need the Valley at all? Essentially, when completing orders, you don’t gain the experience needed to level up. So what’s the point? The thing is, when you complete orders, you earn currency. And no, it’s not gold or diamonds; it’s the Valley’s special currency. There are three types in total, with tokens acting as currency - blue, red and green. By completing tasks, you can earn a small number of tokens of two types - usually up to 100 tokens of one colour. In total, you can accumulate up to 6,000 tokens in the valley over the course of a season (the combined total of all three types of tokens cannot exceed this number). And of course, the only way to get these tokens is simply to complete as many orders as possible in the valley; these tokens cannot be bought with real or in-game money, which makes earning them all the more exclusive. Also, these tokens don’t have difficulty in earning - the number of tokens of each colour will be roughly the same (with a margin of error of ~100)

Now let’s talk about something sweeter - rewards. The Valley itself has its own shop called the “Valley Shop”. It has three categories: rewards, exclusive section and piggy bank!

The “Rewards” section includes simple trinkets for your farm: items to expand your farm, puzzle pieces for the animals in the zoo, and even just decorations that can be bought on the farm for diamonds.

The “Exclusive section” is the most interesting. It contains three types of rewards: 30 diamonds; An exclusive seasonal decoration + 10 diamonds; 3 boosters (5 stars each). Each reward is worth over a thousand tokens of each colour and becomes available to unlock after the season ends.

However, simply waiting until the end of the season won’t be enough to open the shop window. It’s important to note that there are two types of valley in Hay Day: one with chickens and one with zoo animals. They alternate each season. What does this mean? When you’re delivering an order from one point to another, you might come across a chicken or an animal on the road. Your task is simply to tap on it and it will be collected. But there are some differences:

For the Chicken Valley, you need to collect 100 chickens to unlock the showcase. But don’t worry: 100 chickens is a total number collected from all the players who are playing the valley with you. The showcase will open for everyone, even if you’ve only collected a couple of chickens. This type of valley is quite simple: just collect chickens along the way. You can easily collect 100 chickens in just a week!

For the Sanctuary Animals Valley, you need to collect as many as 400 animals. But that’s not all - the animals need to be returned to the zoo, as, according to the storyline, they’ve escaped and scattered throughout the valley. Your truck can hold up to 3 animals, after which you must drive to the zoo (there are several on the map). After delivering the animals, ‘unloading’ them will take 30 minutes (you can complete this immediately for 5 diamonds). This type of valley is much more difficult, and as a rule, 400 animals are collected over the course of about 15-16 days across the whole valley (again, this depends on how actively you and other players are playing in the valley).

The “Piggy Bank“ section is where any remaining tokens you haven’t spent during the season will be collected. For example, if you had 1,200 tokens of each colour and you bought an exclusive decoration costing 1,100 tokens of each colour, any remaining tokens you haven’t spent will go into your savings. Unfortunately, however, the piggy bank is quite small and can only hold a total of 1,200 tokens. Incidentally, you can use it in case you haven’t managed to save up the required number of tokens during the season. But using the piggy bank will cost you 25 diamonds, and you’ll also be able to ‘break it open’ at the end of the season.

Now let me tell you about what I should have mentioned earlier - the season duration. Each Valley season lasts 21 days. After that, the season ends, but you’ll have a full 7 days to spend your tokens on rewards. After that, the season closes and you’ll have to wait for the next one. By the way, if my calculations are correct, at the time of writing (June 2026), the game is in its 92nd Valley season; the game itself doesn’t display the number of seasons. Well, now let’s try to weigh up all the pros and cons of the Valley and look at what players think of it!

3. PROS AND CONS OF THE VALLEY

PROS:

Firstly, the exclusive decorations. Yes, every season brings a whole host of new special decorations, each costing 1,100 tokens of every colour. And the most interesting thing is that each reward showcases a small piece of history. You see, each decoration is associated with a specific country. For example, at the time of writing, the latest such decoration is the Friendly Dragon. This Dragon is a symbol of the capital of Slovenia and is linked to the legend of Jason and the Argonauts. The decoration’s design is inspired by the famous Dragon Bridge in Ljubljana: the green colour symbolises the oxidised copper of the statues, whilst the roses around the base emphasise the romantic atmosphere.

How do you view this decoration now? :) There are dozens of such decorations in the game, each inspired by the culture of a particular country. This is what makes this decoration so exclusive, especially if you live in one of these countries!

Secondly, diamonds. At the end of the season, in the Valley Shop window, you can get as many as 30 diamonds, each costing 1,200 tokens of every colour. This is the most expensive purchase of the three. However, these diamonds are very important for F2P players. You can spend the diamonds on an interesting decoration, or simply save them up until the right moment.

Thirdly, boosters. The 3 most powerful boosters: experience boost, a free Tom, or a reduction in the number of crates on the ship. These are also really useful items.

Fourthly, buying other items. For example: puzzle pieces, expansion items, upgrades for the barn or silo tower, and other little trinkets. Personally, I only buy puzzle pieces, as they’re absolutely essential for getting new animals in the zoo!

CONS:

Firstly, it’s a difficult choice. Yes, there are 3 rewards to choose from in the showcase, but there’s a catch - they’re all very useful. So you have two options: either play the Valley a lot to earn more tokens, or play as usual but choose just one reward.

Secondly, token depletion. As mentioned earlier, you have a piggy bank where tokens you haven’t spent during the season are collected. But there’s a catch - the piggy bank can only hold a total of 1,200 tokens. Starting from zero, it will take you 2-3 seasons at best to fill this piggy bank. After that, you’ll have two options: either you break open the piggy bank for 25 diamonds and empty it, spending its tokens on goods, or all your future unspent tokens that didn’t fit in the piggy bank will be burned by the start of the new season, regardless of their quantity.

Thirdly, the weak connection to the farm. Essentially, the Valley is a separate world with its own shop, currency and mechanics. The weak connection lies in the fact that you do not gain experience for completing orders, and playing in the Valley is only necessary to purchase a small amount of resources or a special decoration. If you are a player who actively levels up your main farm, there is little need to play in the Valley frequently.

Fourthly, the repetitive nature of the tasks. The Valley’s structure is the same as it was almost seven years ago - play, deliver orders, collect tokens, receive rewards. There is no increasing difficulty, no sense of progress within the Valley itself.

Just to clarify - all the pros and cons described above are purely my own subjective opinion, and they may differ from yours. However, let’s now take a look at what other players are saying on social media and break down a few points!

4. COMMUNITY FEEDBACK: WHAT PLAYERS ARE SAYING

Player reviews of The Valley are mixed, but on the whole they’re fairly positive - provided you play it properly and regularly.

The main thing the mode is praised for is the rewards. Players are happy to complete a season for the sake of the 30 diamonds at the end, expansion permits, and puzzles for Sanctuary animals. The Valley shop is also valued as a way to buy building materials cheaply without emptying the granary.

However, there is also persistent dissatisfaction. Firstly, the imbalance between seasons: players unanimously agree that the Sanctuary animals season is significantly more generous and enjoyable than the chickens season, which is perceived as a tedious grind. The second is the fuel mechanic: the need to spin the wheel or spend diamonds for a few trips annoys many. The third is monotony: some players find the endless “farm - deliver - get rewards” cycle monotonous and end up simply ignoring the Valley altogether.

It is telling that the community has split along player types: those focused on resources and farm development see the Valley as a useful tool. Those seeking variety or who are not part of an active neighbourhood, however, tend to skip it altogether.

5. VERDICT: UNDERRATED OR A FAILURE?

What verdict can be reached based on the above? What is the Valley really: an underrated mode or a failure that has been around for almost 7 years?

My opinion is this:

THE VALLEY IS AN UNDERRATED FEATURE OF THE GAME

Seriously, playing actively for a couple of weeks to earn diamonds or max boosters is really worth it. And if you have enough of them, why not buy an exclusive decoration with historical significance?

I won’t argue that I’d like to see a few changes to the Valley: for example, expanding the piggy bank to 2,000 total tokens or offering more rewards for completing the Valley’s daily quests. It would be interesting to see more challenges and exclusive content each season, which we’ll only be able to look back on in the future.

In any case, every player’s opinion will differ, but generally speaking, here’s the thing: the Valley isn’t a bad feature, but I think it needs a few interesting tweaks to really boost players’ motivation to play it!