TruthScape.com - Vinesweeper Requirements, Recommendations and Minigame Safety

One of the nicest aspects of Vinesweeper is how accessible the minigame is. It has very few requirements of any sort, so nearly all players can participate, regardless of where they are in their RuneScape “careers”. This is also nice for me, because it means that I can keep this topic nice and short! J

Perhaps surprisingly, there are no skill requirements whatsoever to play Vinesweeper! You can literally start at any time, even with a Farming level of 1. Of course, you won’t get nearly as many points at such a low level as you will at higher levels…

Note that when the game was first released, a minimum Farming level of 10 was required to access Winkin’s Farm. This was removed in the update of February 25, 2008, but you may still see some out-of-date references to it. (This includes the original announcement of February 19, which has not been changed.)

There are no true quest requirements for Vinesweeper, by which I mean that you can play regardless of how many quests you have completed.

The only “pseudo requirement” refers to one of the minigame’s rewards: the compost potion. This item is introduced to a RuneScape character in the Garden of Tranquility quest, and so you must have completed that quest in order to trade Vinesweeper points it as a reward.

The only piece of gear required is a spade, which you will use to dig holes in Winkin’s Farm. If you forget to bring yours, Jagex conveniently arranged for Mrs. Winkin to have a supply of extras on hand; she’ll happily sell you one for the measly sum of 5 gold pieces.

You will also need some money (even if you remember your spade). The first time you play, you are given 10 flags free, which you use to mark seeds you’ve identified in the field. As you play, though, you will eventually lose some of these flags, either by making mistakes in where you plant them, or due to pesky rabbits eating them up. Replacements cost 500 gp a piece, so it’s a good idea to have some coins on you. I also suggest buying a supply of ogleroots to start out with; these cost only 10 gp each, and you get that money refunded for any extras you have leftover at the end of a session.

Overall, I recommend bringing about 10k of coins with you to the farm—assuming you’re a good player, that will be enough to let you stay for a long time. Note that you can also exchange 50 Vinesweeper points for each flag, which means you won’t need as much money. Of course, doing this means you can’t use those points for Farming XP or seed rewards. Is 50 Farming XP worth 500 coins? You’ll have to decide. J

Vinesweeper is a totally safe minigame. It involves no combat, and there’s nothing that can damage you on the farm in any way. The only conceivable way I could see someone dying here is if he or she teleported in already heavily damaged and poisoned. And hey, you can die anywhere under those conditions!

Note that this area is not a random-free zone. You won’t get them often—mainly because you don’t stay in one place for long—but I have gotten a Sandwich Lady and Drunken Dwarf once each. The dwarf can deal damage, so it would appear that random events are another potential way you could get killed in Vinesweeper (if you weren’t paying attention for a long time, that is).

This is a non-combat minigame and involves some degree of moving around. The combination of these two facts means that you should not bother bringing armor or a weapon, which will only weigh you down and consume run energy.

Many players wear typical weight-reducing “running around” gear, like boots of lightness, a spottier cape and penance gloves. This isn’t a bad idea—I do it myself—especially since this is the equipment I wear for doing runs to herb patches (Figure 285). At the same time, I should point out that while you will run from spot to spot a fair bit, the running isn’t continuous like it is for, say, Runecrafting or training Agility. You should try to keep weight low to save run energy, but reducing it to the absolute minimum isn’t necessary, and you’ll do just fine even if you don’t have a spotted cape or penance gloves.

**Figure 285: My Farming/Vinesweeper Gear**
I keep things simple when I do Farming runs: secateurs for increased crop yield; boots/cape/gloves to keep weight down; and jewelry for getting around. An amulet of nature is also advisable, though sometimes I am lazy and forget to bring it. J

Vinesweeper’s Role in the Farming Skill

TruthScape Minigame Secrets - Vinesweeper - How to Play the Game

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Last Update: May 28, 2008

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