Gifting, hearts, and what every villager loves
How the gift reaction ladder works, how many points each tier gives, and the habits that raise friendship fastest.
The short answer
A gift gets one of five reactions: loved, liked, neutral, disliked or hated. They are worth 20, 10, 3, 0 and 0 heart points. Birthdays add +20, and two cooking perks add one tenth to liked and loved cooked gifts. Talking to a villager gives another 7 points a day, so combine conversation with gifts.
The reaction ladder
Every villager reacts to a gift in one of five ways, checked in this order:
- Loved: in their loved list (or an item with the Loveable infusion) → 20 points
- Liked: in their liked list (or Likeable infusion) → ten points
- Hated: their single hated item → 0 points
- Disliked: carries a tag they dislike → 0 points
- Neutral: everything else → 3 points
Two hardcoded gifts follow special rules. Juniper loves Void Newt, and Eiland loves Void Cake. Each counts as a birthday gift and doubles for a total of 80 points, the highest value from a single gift. Everyone else dislikes both.
Juniper
EilandThe gift finder has every villager’s list and can answer both “what does X love?” and “who wants this item?”
How hearts add up
Heart levels are cumulative point thresholds, not per-level resets:
| Level | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points needed | 80 | 180 | 280 | 390 | 530 | 705 | 900 | 1125 | 1450 | 1850 |
One loved gift (20 points) and a daily conversation (7 points) take a villager from zero to heart 1 in about three days. Higher levels take a mix of gifts, birthdays and dates. A date alone is worth 60 points (romance guide).
The birthday bonus
Giving a villager a birthday gift adds +20 points to its normal value. A loved birthday gift gives 40 points, twice the usual value and exactly half the requirement for heart 1. The calendar page lists every birthday, so set aside loved gifts before those dates.
The birthday bonus applies to any gift, but a disliked or hated item still gives zero points. Use an item the villager likes or loves.
The cooking perks
Two perks in the cooking tree change the math:
- Award Winning adds one tenth to liked reactions from cooked gifts.
- A Way to the Heart adds one tenth to loved reactions from cooked gifts.
Star rating does not affect heart points. With the relevant perk, a cooked liked gift gives 11 instead of 10 and a cooked loved gift gives 22 instead of 20. On birthdays, the birthday bonus is added to the base reaction before the same perk multiplier is applied.
Practical gifting habits
- Talk to everyone daily. The 7 daily points are the largest reliable source over a season.
- Target the loved list. The gift finder shows each villager’s loved items; most are cheap forageables or easy dishes.
- Save birthday gifts. A loved birthday gift gives a useful boost, although the two void specials are worth more per item.
- Use the void specials. A void newt or void cake handed to the right villager is worth four ordinary loved gifts (void guide).
- Cook for the perks. Once A Way to the Heart is active, cooked loved dishes receive the perk bonus; extra stars do not add heart points.
Where friendship leads
Ten hearts with a dateable villager opens the proposal. Dates, the engagement ring and the wedding all use the same heart-point system. The romance guide covers dates and their unlock items, while the villagers page lists everyone’s job, birthday and likes.