Stacklands – A Complete Guide to Every Quest in the Game (Includes Island and Dark Forest Updates)

Stacklands is an innovative take on the survival genre in that it’s played entirely with cards. Every interaction, from crafting to combat, is handled by stacking cards or placing cards near each other. All of this leads to a surprisingly addictive little game.

Throughout the game, you’ll be given a series of quests, which populate in a menu tab at the left side of the screen. Many of these quests are hidden from view until you either complete them inadvertently, or you complete the prerequisites to display them.

So I’m going to walk you through every single quest in Stacklands, explaining how to complete each one. Quest completion is persistent across multiple runs.

Note that in a lot of these cases, I tell you to place the Villager card last. This isn’t a requirement for most of these combos, but it’s just how I find myself playing. I do think there is strategic value in preventing your Villagers from being idle in a stack you’re still working on.

Also, if you want a complete list of Ideas (crafting recipes), I do have another guide specifically for those.

Anyway, let’s take a look at every single quest in Stacklands.

A Quick Note about the Island Update

The Island Update released on July 11, 2022, adding a whole bunch of new cards, recipes, and quests. I’ve updated this guide to include those quests.

In order to start the update, you must complete the vanilla game first. That means defeating the demon at the end of the game. At that point, you’ll unlock the Idea for the Rowboat, which will take you to the island. At this point, you can only send a single Villager over, and your mainland will pause while you tackle the island. If your Villager dies, you will return to your paused mainland and resume that journey. You can send another Villager over to the island at any time if you build another Rowboat.

One thing to note, however, is that there’s a bug where if you send another Villager the same day as the previous Villager died of starvation, the second Villager will immediately die of starvation. You’ll want to wait a day or two before sending someone else over. I do hope this gets fixed, but at the time of this writing, this bug persists.

Also, once you’ve been to the island, you should be able to go back in subsequent games so long as you can make a Rowboat, even though the island quests won’t reappear until you’ve successfully made it to the island.

A Quick Note on the Dark Forest Update

The Dark Forest update was added on November 9, 2022. I have updated this guide to include the new quests. To get to the Dark Forest, you simply need to wait for a portal to appear and then send your villagers through it. You’ll want to send multiple villagers, because these fights are going to be quite challenging.

Welcome

Open the Booster Pack – This is super easy. When you start the game, you’ll have a Booster Pack called “A New World.” Click on it to open it. You’ll have to click multiple times to open all five cards.

Drag the Villager on top of the Berry Bush – This is another quest that’s pretty self-explanatory. Just place the Villager card on top of a Berry Bush card.

Mine a Rock using a Villager – Simply place a Villager card on top of a Rock card.

Sell a Card – To sell a card, move it on top of the Sell tab. This tab might be covered up by your quest window, so close that if you can’t see the correct tab.

Buy the Humble Beginnings Pack – The Humble Beginnings Pack is the first booster pack that’s made available (besides “A New World”). To purchase it, you’ll need three coins. Move those coins into a stack, and then drag that stack onto the Humble Beginnings tab.

Harvest a Tree using a Villager – This is pretty much the same as the Rock quest. Simply place a Villager card on top of a Tree card.

Make a Stick from Wood – If you’ve completed the “Punch a Tree” quest, you should have a Wood card handy. Place a Villager card on top of a Wood card to turn it into a Stick card.

Pause using the play icon in the top right corner – This is easy; just click the Play icon in the corner of your screen until the game pauses.

Grow a Berry Bush using Soil – To grow a Berry Bush, you need to have a Soil card. Those occasionally show up in the Humble Beginnings pack, so keep buying those booster packs until Soil shows up. Once you have a Soil card, you can place a Berry card on top of it to grow a Berry Bush card. You get Berry cards by placing a Villager card on top of a Berry Bush card, so once you have one Berry card and one Soil card, you can keep producing Berry cards indefinitely.

Build a House – Stack two Wood cards and one Stone card, then put a Villager card on top.

Get a Second Villager – Villager cards can occasionally be found in the Humble Beginnings or the Logic and Reason booster pack, but they’re super rare.

Create Offspring – Once you have a House card and two Villager cards (see the previous two quests), you can stack the two Villager cards on top of the House card. Give them enough time and they’ll produce a Baby card.

The Grand Scheme

Unlock all Packs – You unlock booster packs based on how many of the quests you complete. To unlock all booster packs, you’re going to have to complete 32 of the other quests.

Get 3 Villagers – Once you complete the “Complete Offspring” quest, that child will take a little bit of time to mature to adulthood. If you can keep all three villagers alive long enough to see that child become an adult, you will complete this quest. Or, you could simply get lucky and draw a third Villager card.

Find the Catacombs – You can find various explorable cards in the Explorers booster pack (such as Forest, Mountain, Plains, and Village), and exploring one of those cards has a small chance of digging up a Catacombs card.

Find a mysterious artifact – One you find a Catacombs card, you’ll want to explore it. You will have a chance to unearth a mysterious artifact (it’s the Goblet).

Build a Temple – This part requires some work. You’ll need to stack five Plank cards, five Brick cards, and three Iron Bar cards, then put three Villagers on top. Once you start the process, this one takes a really long time. Plus, you’re going to want to have more than just the three villagers, because… well, reasons.

Bring the Goblet to the Temple – If you’ve gotten this far, this step should be self-explanatory. Stack the Goblet card on the Temple card. Do not do this unless you’re ready for a very brutal battle, though. You can see more information about this by reading the details for “Find a mysterious artifact” and “Build a Temple.”

Kill the Demon – When you complete the previous quest, you’ll spawn a demon. This thing has like 100 HP, so you’re going to need an army to take it down. I recommend about eight Swordsmen. Good luck!

Build a Rowboat – Once you defeat the demon (see the “Kill the Demon” quest), you will be rewarded with a brand new booster pack. This booster pack should contain an idea that lets you build the rowboat.

The Rowboat can be built with an Iron Bar and a Plank. Once you build a Rowboat, you can put a Villager in it and send them off to the island. You must have enough food to feed your whole village, because sending them to the island will end the day.

Build a Cathedral on the Mainland – This quest is going to require you to go to the island and back. The Cathedral requires:

• 5 Gold Bar
• 5 Glass
• 5 Brick
• 5 Plank
• 5 Villager

You’re going to need to gather the Gold Bars and Glass on the island, then use a ship to bring them back to the mainland. The rest of the materials can be farmed on the mainland or on the island, but it’s generally easier to do that part on the mainland.

Bring the Island Relic to the Cathedral – This is a fairly long, multi-step process. To learn how to find the Island Relic, see the “Mystery of the Island” section of this guide. Once you do that, bring the Island Relic back to the mainland and put it on the Cathedral. Note that this will trigger the Demon Lord boss fight, so be ready for it.

Kill the Demon Lord – Once you place the Island Relic on top the Cathedral, you will summon the Demon Lord, who has 666 HP. This is a really tough fight, so be ready for it!

Marooned (Island Update)

Get 2 Bananas – Once you’re on the island, you might find a Banana Tree card. This will produce Bananas for you if you put your Villager card on top of the Banana Tree card. Once you have two Bananas, this quest will be complete.

Punch Some Driftwood – Place your Villager card on top of a Driftwood card. Easy peasy.

Have 3 Shells – Shells are the currency of the Island expansion. All you have to do is sell three Shells worth of items, and you’ll complete this quest.

Catch a Fish – For this quest, you’ll need a Fishing Spot card. Placing your Villager card on top of it will cause them to attempt to catch a fish. Once you catch one, this quest will be complete.

Make Rope – You can make Rope by stacking a Villager card on top of two Cotton cards. Cotton can be harvested from Cotton Plant cards.

Make a Fish Trap – You can make a Fish Trap by stacking one Stone (or Sandstone) and one Rope on top of a Fishing Spot.

Make a Sail – You can make a Sail by stacking one Fabric, one Rope, and one Villager. Rope and Fabric are both made from putting a Villager on top of Cotton (Rope takes two Cotton and one Villager, while Fabric takes four Cotton and one Villager).

Build a Sloop – Once you complete the previous quest (“Make a Sail”), you can stack the Sail on two Planks, then place a Villager on top to make a Sloop card.

Mystery of the Island (Island Update)

Unlock All Island Packs – This one is unlocked the same way as the “Unlock All Packs” quest — simply complete other quests in the Island Update to unlock booster packs.

Find a Treasure Map – You can find a Treasure Map by searching a Jungle. Jungle cards can sometimes be found in the Enclave Explorers booster pack. Also, the Treasure Map is super rare, so it might take you a really long time to eventually find one.

Update: I’m being told the Treasure Map is found in Caves and not Jungles. I could’ve sworn I found mine in a Jungle, but it’s possible I had a Jungle next to a Cave and the card popped out of the Cave and ended up close to the Jungle. If the Jungle isn’t working out for you, try searching a Cave.

Find Treasure – Once you find a Treasure Map (see the previous quest), you can place a Villager on top of it. Once the timer expires, you’ll find a Sacred Chest and complete this quest.

Forge Sacred Key – Simply make a Sacred Key by putting 3 Gold Bars and 3 Glass into a Smelter.

Open the Sacred Chest – Once you’ve completed the previous two quests, simply place the Sacred Key on top of the Sacred Chest. This will give you the Island Relic, but it will also summon the Kraken.

Kill the Kraken – When you first open the Sacred Chest, five tentacles will spawn. Each one has 50 HP, so they’re hard to kill. I recommend having at least 7 Villagers for this (and they should all have weapons). It’s not always possible to do so, but you should isolate tentacles whenever you can to fight them one at a time instead of all at once.

After you’ve killed all five tentacles, the Kraken will appear, with 150 HP. This is a tough fight, but once you kill the Kraken, you’ll complete the quest (and you can bring the Island Relic back to the mainland to complete the Island Update storyline).

Island Grub (Island Update)

Make Sushi – Stack a Raw Fish card and a Seaweed card to make a Sushi card.

Cook Crab Meat – Simply toss a piece of Raw Crab Meat on the fire. Crabs will occasionally pop out of booster packs, and quite a bit of the time, you’ll find Raw Crab Meat without having to kill the crab at all.

Make Ceviche – Stack one Lime card and one Raw Fish card to make a Ceviche card.

Make a Seafood Stew – Stack Raw Crab Meat, Raw Fish, and Chili Pepper on a Campfire.

Make a Bottle of Rum – Stack a Bottle of Water card and a Cane Sugar card on top of a Distillery card to make a Bottle of Rum. You can make an Empty Bottle by stacking two Glass cards on a Campfire card, then you can fill it with water by placing it on a Spring card.

Island Ambitions (Island Update)

Have 10 Shells – Shells are the currency of the island. To complete this quest, all you have to do is sell cards worth a total of 10 Shells.

Get a Villager Drunk – For this quest, you want to make a Villager drink Rum. There are two ways you could do that:

• Only have enough food at the end of the day that the Villager is forced to drink the Rum.
• Put the Rum inside a Mess Hall. Thankfully, building a Mess Hall is part of a later quest…

Make Sandstone – Stack two Sand cards, then place your Villager card on top to make Sandstone.

Build a Mess Hall – Stack one Plank card, one Iron Bar card, and one Campfire card to make a Mess Hall.

Build a Greenhouse – Stack two Iron Bar cards, two Glass cards, and one Soil card, then place a Villager card on top.

Have a Poisoned Villager – The best way to do this is to fight a snake and have it bite you. Snakes will occasionally be found in the later booster packs on the island. Note that you might not get poisoned the first time you fight a snake, so depending on how lucky (or unlucky, I suppose) you are, this one could take a while.

Cure a Poisoned Villager – After you get poisoned (see the previous quest), you have to cure it to complete this quest. To cure a Villager with the Poison status, give them Charcoal, which can be created by putting Wood on a Campfire.

Build a Composter – Stack two Poop cards, one Plank card, and one Brick card, then place a Villager card on top.

Bribe a Pirate Boat – Give three Coins to a Pirate Boat. Keep in mind, this needs to be Coins and not Shells.

Befriend a Pirate – This one took me kind of a long time to figure out. First up, you need to wait for a Pirate Boat to appear, which can take quite a while. Then, you need to wait for the Pirates to leave the ship so you can bribe them.

So how do you bribe them, exactly? My first thought was to give them Shells, and my second thought was to give them Rum. As it turns out, you need to give them a Parrot in order for the bribe to work.

Make a Gold Bar – You can make a Gold Bar by placing one Gold Ore and one Wood into a Smelter (basically, the same process by which you make Iron Bars, only with Gold instead of Iron).

Make Glass – You can make Glass by placing one Sand card and one Wood card into a Smelter.

The Dark Forest (Dark Forest Update)

Find the Dark Forest – Occasionally, a Strange Portal appears on the playing field. When this happens, you can place your Villager cards on top of it to send them to the Dark Forest.

Complete the first wave – When you go through the portal, you will encounter some Dark Elves. You will need to defeat them, otherwise they will kill you.

Build a Stable Portal – You can make a Stable Portal by stacking two Brick cards, and two Magic Dust cards, then place a Villager card on top of the stack. Now you can go to the Dark Forest whenever you want.

Get to wave 6 – Keep returning to the Dark Forest and fighting waves of enemies. After the sixth one, you’ll complete this quest.

Fight the Wicked Witch – The final boss of the Dark Forest is the Wicked Witch. She has 300 HP and she’ll have a lot of additional help, so be ready for a big fight.

Power & Skill

Train Militia – First, you’ll have to create a Spear card by stacking one Wood card and two Stick cards. Once you do that, you can stack a Villager card and a Spear card to make a Militia card.

Kill a Rat – Occasionally, a Strange Portal card will appear. Generally, the first time this happens, it will spawn a Rat card and a Goblin card. When a Villager gets close to one of them, a battle will start automatically. Killing the Rat is easier than the Goblin, and it helps if you’ve made a Militia card before attempting the battle.

Kill a Skeleton – Late in the game (after Moon 20 or so), a Strange Portal might show up that spawns more than just a Rat and a Goblin. Sometimes, you’ll get Skeletons to spawn this way. You can also try exploring the Graveyard. You can make a Graveyard by combining two Corpse cards, then placing a Villager card on top of it. Once a Skeleton spawns in your world, place as many villagers near it as possible (preferably upgraded to militia, and they will engage it in battle automatically.

Strengthen Up (Dark Forest Update)

Train an Archer – Place a Bow card on top of a Villager card.

Make a Villager wear a Rabbit Hat – Killing a rabbit will occasionally cause a Rabbit Hat to drop. Put the hat on a Villager to complete this objective.

Build a Smithy – Stack two Brick cards and two Iron Bar cards and then place a Villager card on top.

Break a Bottle – Combine a Glass Bottle card with a Rock card.

Make a Villager wear Crab Scale Armor – You’ll need to go to the island for this. Kill crabs until the Momma Crab spawns, then kill her to get the Crab Scale Armor. Put on the armor to complete this quest.

Train a Wizard – Place a Magic Wand card on top of a Village card.

Craft the Amulet of the Forest – Place two Gold Bar cards, one Magic Dust card, and one Wood card on top of a Smithy card.

Equip an Archer with a Quiver – Place a Quiver card on top of an Archer card.

Have a Villager with Combat Level 20 – Place a Spear card and a Shield card on a Villager; this should get you to Combat Level 20.

Train a Ninja – Place a Throwing Stars card on a Villager card.

Potluck

Start a Campfire – To make a Campfire, stack one Stick card and one Flint card. Flint is sometimes made when you stack a Villager on a Rock card. You can make a Stick card by stacking a Villager card on a Wood card.

Cook Raw Meat – Stack a Raw Meat card on top of a Campfire card. You can sometimes get Raw Meat from the Reap & Sow or the Curious Cuisine booster packs. Also, you can sometimes get it by killing an animal.

Cook an Omelette – Stack two Egg cards on top of a Campfire card. Egg cards can sometimes be found in the Curious Cuisine booster pack. A Chicken card will automatically produce Egg cards from time to time.

Cook a Frittata – Stack an Egg card and a Potato card on top of a Campfire card. Egg cards and Potato cards can sometimes be found in the Curious Cuisine booster pack.

Discovery

Explore a Forest – The Forest card can sometimes be found in the Explorers booster pack (which costs 20 coins). Place a Villager card on top of a Forest card to explore it.

Explore a Mountain – The Mountain card can sometimes be found in the Explorers booster pack (which costs 20 coins). Place a Villager card on top of a Mountain card to explore it.

Open a Treasure Chest – You can find various explorable cards in the Explorers booster pack (such as Forest, Mountain, Plains, and Village), and exploring one of those cards has a small chance of digging up a Treasure Chest card. You will also need a Key card to open it, which you can sometimes get from the Humble Beginnings booster pack, or by killing monsters.

Find a Graveyard – When a villager dies, they’ll leave behind a Corpse card. If you have two Corpse cards, you can stack them to make a Graveyard card.

Get a Dog – While you’re exploring, you might find a Wolf card. Instead of attacking it, give it a Bone card to tame it. You can get Bone cards by defeating enemies or by exploring the Graveyard (see the “Find a Graveyard” quest for more details).

Train an Explorer – If you successfully open a Treasure Chest (see the quest “Open a Treasure Chest” for more information), you could find a Treasure Map card. If you stack a Villager on top of the Treasure Map card, it will train that villager to become an Explorer.

Buy something from a Traveling Cart – Occasionally, a card called a Traveling Cart will appear on your game board. When it does, drag five Coin cards on top of it to purchase whatever it happens to be selling that day.

Ways and Means

Have 5 Ideas – To complete this quest, you need to have five Idea cards. Unlike similar quests on this list, these don’t have to all be in play at the same time. Idea cards are almost always found in the Seeking Wisdom booster pack, but they can occasionally be found in other booster packs as well.

Have 10 Ideas – This is the same as the previous quest, only twice as much.

Have 10 Wood – You need to have ten Wood cards in play at the same time. You can get Wood from the Humble Beginnings booster pack, or by placing a Villager card on top of a Tree card.

Have 10 Stone – You need to have ten Stone cards in play at the same time. You can get Stone from the Humble Beginnings booster pack, or by placing a Villager card on top of a Rock card.

Get an Iron Bar – First, you’ll need to make a Smelter card by stacking two Flint cards, two Brick cards, and one Plank card, then putting a Villager card on top. The most reliable way of getting Iron Ore cards is by building a Mine card, which you’ll do by stacking two Flint cards, one Stone card, and one Wood card, then placing a Villager card on top. To make the Iron Bar, you’ll need to stack one Iron Ore card and one Wood card on top of the Smelter card.

Have 5 Food – You just need Food cards with a total of 5 to complete this quest. The easiest way to do this early in the game is to acquire five Berry cards, but later on you’ll get food that’s worth more points, making this a lot easier (Cooked Meat, for example, is worth 3 points).

Have 10 Food – You need to have Food cards that add up to a total of at least 10 to complete this quest (see the previous quest for details).

Have 20 Food – You need to have Food cards that add up to a total of at least 20 to complete this quest (see the “Have 5 Food” quest for details).

Have 50 Food – You need to have Food cards that add up to a total of at least 50 to complete this quest (see the “Have 5 Food” quest for details).

Have 10 Coins – You will need to have 10 Coin cards in play at the same time. To get Coin cards, you can sell other cards (see the “Sell a Card” quest for more details).

Have 30 Coins – You will need to have 30 Coin cards in play at the same time. To get Coin cards, you can sell other cards (see the “Sell a Card” quest for more details).

Have 50 Coins – You will need to have 50 Coin cards in play at the same time. To get Coin cards, you can sell other cards (see the “Sell a Card” quest for more details).

Construction

Have 3 Houses – You’ll need to have three House cards in play at the same time (see the “Build a House” quest for more details).

Build a Shed – Stack one Stone, one Wood, and one Stick, then place a Villager card on top.

Build a Quarry – Stack three Stone Cards and one Wood card, then put a Villager card on top.

Build a Lumber Camp – Stack three Wood cards and one Stone card, then put a Villager card on top.

Build a Farm – Stack one Soil card, two Brick cards, and two Plank cards, then put a Villager card on top. You can make a Plank card by stacking three Wood cards then putting a Villager card on top. You can make a Brick card by stacking three Stone cards and putting a Villager card on top.

Build a Brickyard – Stack one Brick card, one Iron Bar card, and one Wood card, then place a villager on top. To make a Brick card, stack three Stone cards, then put a Villager card on top. For instructions on making the Iron Bar, check out the quest “Get an Iron Bar.”

Sell a Card at a Market – You can build a Market by stacking one Brick card, one Plank card, and three Coin cards, then stacking a Villager card on top. You can make a Plank card by stacking three Wood cards then putting a Villager card on top. You can make a Brick card by stacking three Stone cards and putting a Villager card on top. Once you’ve built the market simply drag a card you want to sell on top of it.

Longevity

Reach Moon 6 – To complete this quest, you’ll need to survive for six in-game days in a single run.

Reach Moon 12 – To complete this quest, you’ll need to survive for 12 in-game days in a single run.

Reach Moon 24 – To complete this quest, you’ll need to survive for 24 in-game days in a single run.

Reach Moon 36 – To complete this quest, you’ll need to survive for 36 in-game days in a single run.