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Stardew Valley is home to many supernatural events, so it's no surprise that your grandpa eventually makes his ghostly return. Grandpa's Evaluation is an event that happens the night before the start of your third year in the valley. Your goal is to pass his test and light all four candles on his shrine.

Related: Stardew Valley: A Complete Guide To Every Crop And What It Sells For

There is not the most in-game direction for completing this quest but fortunately, we are here to help you with that. In this guide, you can find a complete explanation of this evaluation, as well as how to complete it as efficiently as possible.

Updated May 28, 2023 by Jacqueline Zalace: Completing Grandpa's Evaluation in Stardew Valley can be difficult at first, as you may not be sure what to do. We've updated this guide with more information to help you win the approval of this beloved grandparent.

What Is The Evaluation?

Grandpa's shrine in the back corner of the farm, near the barn and chicken coop

Grandpa's Evaluation is essentially a checklist of what you have accomplished while playing. On the first day of the third year, your grandpa will appear at the shrine on your farm to conduct the evaluation.

If you haven't been paying attention to the evaluation, you will probably not pass, but that's okay! You can resummon your Grandpa, which we will go over later. This content is also completely optional to play the game. While the reward is nice, it's not essential to complete the evaluation to move forward.

The Scoring System

A woman stands in front of a farmhouse and by a mailbox in Stardew Valley.

To light all four candles and get the statue, you will need to accumulate 12 points across a set of five different categories. Below, you can check out the categories, tasks, and how many points each category earns you.

Milestone Category

Task

Total Points

Earnings

Earn 50,000g


Earn 100,000g


Earn 200,000g


Earn 300,00g


Earn 500,0006


Earn 1,000,000g

7

Skills

Earn 30 Levels


Max Every Skill

2

Achievements

Donate All Items to Museum


Catch Every Fish


Ship Every Crop in The Game

3

Friendship

Get Married to an eligible NPC and Upgrade Your House Twice


Earn eight Friendship Hearts With five Villagers


Earn eight Friendship Hearts With ten Villagers


Earn five Friendship Hearts With Your Dog or Cat

4

Story

Complete all Community Center Bundles


Attend the Community Center Opening Ceremony (2 Points)


Reach the bottom of the mines and retrieve the Skull Key


Donate 60 items to the museum and receive the Rust Key

5

Tips For Completing The Evaluation

Some tasks are easier than others to complete. For example, the three achievement-related tasks are a bit harder to complete. Instead of completing these, we suggest focusing on tasks related to your earnings and friendship.

Additionally, obtaining the Rusty Key is quite simple, as you will just need to donate 60 items to the Museum. If you go through the Mines, you can work on building up your mining and combat skills, while also venturing to the bottom floor to obtain the Skull Key.

How To Check Your Points

Grandpas Shrine

If you have failed the evaluation already, then it may be hard to figure out how many points you have earned. To check, go to the shrine to examine how many candles are lit.

  • One Candle - 0 to 3 Points
  • Two Candles - 4 to 7 Points
  • Three Candles - 8 to 11 Points
  • Four Candles - Over 12 Points

The candles will stay lit at all times, so you can check your progress whenever you want.

How To Summon Grandpa

To resummon Grandpa, you will need to place one diamond in his shrine. Grandpa will not automatically appear; instead, he will come to you the following night and reconduct the evaluation.

If you pass the evaluation, Grandpa will then give you a reward! If on the other hand, you fail again, you will be able to use another diamond and summon grandpa at a later time.

Rewards For Completing Grandpa's Evaluation

Stardew Valley Statue Of Perfection on mountain background

As a reward for passing, you will receive the Statue of Perfection. This is a unique statue that looks like a bright purple Maneki-Neko.

When the statue is placed on your farm, you will obtain between two and eight Iridium Ore a day. With that, you are done! There are several other statues that you can obtain in Stardew Valley, as well as the incredibly rare Statue of True Perfection, which you obtain by 100 percent completing the game.

NEXT: Stardew Valley: How To Complete The Goblin Problem Quest