Getting started
Click the Heartbloom in the middle of the first island to collect Dew. Your first plant, the Glimmerclover, costs Dew and produces Essence on its own. From then on you buy more plants with Essence, and they keep producing while you watch – or while you are away.
Short tips appear when something new becomes relevant. You can switch them off in the settings.
- Left click: click the Heartbloom, use buttons
- Hold the right mouse button and drag: rotate the camera
- Mouse wheel: zoom
- Escape: pause menu with settings, credits and quit
Resources
Moonpetal Garden has four currencies. Numbers can grow far beyond the usual limits; switch between short (1.23M) and scientific (1.23e+6) format in the settings.
- Dew – from clicks and Dewbells. Pays for the first plant and for crossbreeding.
- Essence – made by most plants. Pays for plants and upgrades.
- Moonseeds – from a Dormancy. Spend them in the Root Tree; every Moonseed earned this cycle also raises production.
- Moonpetals – from a New Moon. Unlock islands and Moon Altar powers.
Plants, milestones and growth stages
Each species has its own bed. Buy x1, x10, x100 or Max at once. Owning 10, 25, 50, 100, 150, 200 … of a species doubles its production each time.
Beds age in real time from their first plant, also while the game is closed. A Dormancy or New Moon replants all beds, so you can choose: prestige now, or let the garden grow Ancient overnight.
- Sprout – from the start, x1
- Bloom – after 30 minutes, x1.25
- Radiant – after 2 hours, x1.75
- Ancient – after 8 hours, x3
Crossbreeding and the Herbarium
Once your run has produced enough Essence, the Breed tab opens. Pick two species you know, pay Dew and wait – crossbreeds keep running offline. Recipes are fixed: the same pair always gives the same hybrid. An unknown pair fails and returns half of the Dew.
The Herbarium shows one parent and the element of the other for every hybrid you have not found yet. Every success has a small chance for a shimmering variant, which doubles that hybrid's bonus. Herbarium bonuses are permanent and survive every reset.
Dormancy and New Moon
Dormancy (Roots tab) is available as soon as it would grant at least one Moonseed – usually after two to three hours. It resets Dew, Essence, plants and upgrades and keeps the Herbarium, talents, achievements and statistics. Spend Moonseeds in the Root Tree on production, click power, cheaper plants, offline income, crossbreeding slots, shimmer luck and garden spirits that click for you.
The New Moon (Moon tab) is the second layer, first reached after roughly 30 hours. It additionally resets Moonseeds and the Root Tree and grants Moonpetals. Use them for new islands and the 13 powers of the Moon Altar – among them the auto-buyer (Gardener's Hands).
The islands
Islands are unlocked with Moonpetals and connected by bridges. The camera buttons fly between them.
- The Greenhouse – your starting island with eight base species.
- Moonlit Pond (1 Moonpetal) – day and night bloomers produce double in their phase and half outside it.
- Crystal Hollow (20 Moonpetals) – no growth stages; crystals swell over real time instead, up to x6.
- Sky Orchard (120 Moonpetals) – every tree ripens in harvest waves; during a harvest it produces x3.
Challenges and achievements
After five Dormancies, eight challenges unlock. Starting one resets your current run without Moonseeds; reach the Essence goal under special rules to earn a permanent reward – for example Silent Garden (no clicks) or Small Beds (at most 50 plants per species).
102 achievements are tracked in the Awards tab together with your statistics. Each one grants +1 % production and unlocks on Steam as well.
Offline progress
While the game is closed, your garden produces at 50 % for up to 8 hours. Talents raise both values. Crossbreeds, growth stages and crystals keep running, and a summary greets you when you return.
Saves and Steam Cloud
The game saves every 30 seconds, when you quit and when the window loses focus. The save and three rotating backups are stored in %APPDATA%\Godot\app_userdata\Moonpetal Garden\ and are synchronised with Steam Cloud. If the save is ever damaged, the game automatically loads the newest intact backup and tells you.
Settings
Open the settings from the title or pause menu (Escape).
- Audio: master, music, nature sounds and effects volume
- Display: window or fullscreen, FPS limit, VSync, UI size
- Game: language (System, English, Deutsch), number format, tips, Discord status
- Delete save – starts completely fresh (cannot be undone)
Frequently asked questions
Does the garden grow while the game is closed?
Yes. Production continues at 50 % for up to 8 hours (more with talents), and crossbreeds, growth stages and crystals keep running in real time.
When should I do my first Dormancy?
As soon as it grants a few Moonseeds and your progress slows down – usually after two to three hours. Later runs take between 30 minutes and a few hours. If your beds are about to turn Ancient, waiting a little can be worth it.
My crossbreed failed. Did I lose everything?
No, an unknown combination returns half of the Dew. Use the hints in the Herbarium: they show one parent and the element of the other.
How do I get shimmering variants?
Every successful crossbreed – also of hybrids you already know – has a small chance. Talents and some hybrids raise it. A shimmering variant doubles the hybrid's bonus.
Where is the auto-buyer?
It is the Moon Altar power Gardener's Hands, available after your first New Moon.
Can I play on a second monitor?
Yes, Moonpetal Garden is made for it. Play in a window, lower the FPS limit in the settings and let the garden run beside your work or stream.
Is there controller or Steam Deck support?
Not yet. Version 1.0 is played with the mouse on Windows. Controller support is planned.
Does the game have microtransactions or ads?
No. You buy the game once. There are no ads, no in-game purchases and no timers to pay away.
My achievements are not showing on Steam.
Start the game through Steam. On the next launch it syncs all achievements you already earned in the game.
How do I move my save to another PC?
Steam Cloud does it for you. Without Steam Cloud, copy the save*.json files from %APPDATA%\Godot\app_userdata\Moonpetal Garden\ to the same folder on the other PC while the game is closed.
The game does not start or the screen stays black.
Update your graphics driver – the game needs Vulkan 1.0 or DirectX 12. Then verify the game files in Steam (Properties → Installed Files → Verify integrity).
How do I switch the language?
Settings → Game → Language: System, English or Deutsch. The change applies immediately.
