Palia Maji Market Lunar New Year event impressions

It has been about two months since Palia launched on Nintendo Switch (and six months since its PC release). Now that new players have had some time to get the lay of Kilima Valley and Bahari Bay, the Fairgrounds tucked in the southeast corner of Kilima is open for another limited-time event. Yet, this time it’s the first event for both PC and Nintendo Switch players. So gather ‘round and experience the fun that the Maji Market has to offer!

First rolled out in late August 2023, the Maji Market is a night market that’s home to a variety of pop-up shops, a minigame, an exclusive event questline, and more. Thankfully, for its return, it has been retooled and expanded upon. The theme has also changed, as the first event of 2024 is centered around the Lunar New Year (2023’s version was capturing the vibe of night markets in the summer, but not celebrating a specific holiday). And even better, the event will be active until Tuesday, February 27^th, 2024. (Wednesday, February 28th, 2024 Edit: Due to a patch delay, the event has been extended! There’s no exact end date specified, but Singularity 6 staff have mentioned it would be, at minimum, a week. Thursday, February 29th, 2024 Edit: So much for next week! The patch is being deployed on Friday, March 1st, 2024 at 7 a.m. PT.)

 

 

As someone who only played about three nights worth of the Maji Market last year and was left disappointed due to the payout of the event’s exclusive currency (Chapaa Chase Tickets), my hopes for this rendition of Maji Market were simple. Make Chapaa Chase an easier group playing experience with better ticket payouts since the minigame only happened around 12 a.m. (in-game time, which is once per hour in real life). Trying to earn tickets wasn’t a pleasant experience last year and it clashed with the cozy vibes that Palia has branded itself. For 2024, I just want chill vibes and a fun time with limited events – especially if there are event-exclusive collectibles.

Thankfully, Singularity 6 has done that and more for the Lunar New Year event. Chapaa Chase is back and improved, market stalls return with new items and recipes, there’s a new event exclusive questline, and the stamp card returns (with a variety of tasks to complete). That’s not all though, as the NPC lineup has changed for the event, which means there’s a new stall run by Zeki and a prize wheel to spin. There’s also a Wish Tree where players can wish for luck, prosperity, or longevity (each related to an in-game item – Lucky Envelopes, Gold, or Renown). Six Treasure Chests are scattered around the Fairgrounds for players to find. And, lastly, there’s a brand new minigame to play inspired by mahjong and themed after hotpot.

 

The Wish Tree

 

 

Upon entering the Maji Market, you’ll notice past the festival arch there is a massive, decorated tree. This is the Wish Tree and Chayne will be maintaining this part of the festival. Once per day (in real life time) players will be sent one undyed Wish Ribbon through the mail. With one in hand, you’ll be able to interact with the Wish Tree. You’ll first need to dye your ribbon at the dye station (off to the right of the Wish Tree) and pick one of three colors. Each color is tied to a specific wish and in-game item. Want to wish for luck? Dye your ribbon blue and get the Gift of Luck, which rewards you with 200 Lucky Envelopes (the event’s currency). Orange is Prosperity and rewards players with 200 Gold. Lastly, there’s pink which is Longevity and that doles out 5 Renown. There is an interactive cutscene when hanging your wish on the Wish Tree and another when you can claim the gift (typically you’re notified in-game the next in-game day, so an hour later, and you’ll go to the little station to the left of the Wish Tree). Overall, this set piece of the event is lovely. Yes, getting in-game items is a neat bonus, but for players who have a soft spot (or two) for some of Palia’s NPCs, you’ll want to check out each decorated tree (including the massive Wish Tree). Some of Kilima’s residents have made wishes and those ribbons can be read.

 

Chapaa Chase

 

 

Across from the Wish Tree is Chapaa Chase, the minigame where you and other players on the same server are chasing around Chapaas (wearing tiny little hats), capturing them, and returning them to their designated pen. The minigame still happens nightly around 12 a.m. (in-game time), so once every hour of “in real life” time, and lasts for about four minutes. Partaking in the minigame rewards players with Lucky Envelopes and it’s easier and faster to earn this event-exclusive currency compared to the 2023 event (a single Chapaa Chase match can payout over 200 Lucky Envelopes). The payout is based on the total amount of Chapaas caught by everyone and how many Chapaas you solely caught. (This wasn’t the case for 2023’s event.)

 

 

Unfortunately, there is one bug with Chapaa Chase I’ve experienced on Switch. I was unable to exit out of the results menu in about half of my matches, thus having to close out Palia entirely and relaunch it. This bug has yet to be fixed, but there is a workaround. If you happen to have a keyboard with a USB-C connection, you can plug it into the Switch dock and input the proper key command (ESC) to exit out of the menu. It’s not ideal, but it works. I hope it’s fixed during this event, and if not, the next time that Maji Market opens. Overall, Chapaa Chase is a much more enjoyable minigame thanks to the changes it received, yet this wasn’t the minigame that stole my heart. That award belongs to…

 

Hotpot

 

Oh, Hotpot. How I’m thoroughly enthralled by Hotpot! The design of the minigame, that it’s inspired by mahjong, and it can be played repeatedly when the Maji Market is open. I’m not the only Palian to be smitten by this hot pot-themed tile game, and I’m afraid that if it isn’t made a permanent addition to the world of Palia the fanbase will flood the game’s official Discord with daily requests for it to be. (If that hasn’t happened already in the dedicated Hotpot channel.) I’m getting ahead of myself though – what is Hotpot?

 

 

Hotpot is a four-player matching tile game inspired by mahjong and the game table is a massive hotpot split into four sections. Everyone starts with eight tiles and the goal is to make three matching sets based on the ingredient or category (you get the ninth tile when drawing from the deck or discard piles when it’s your turn). The tiles feature various cooking ingredients you might throw into a hot pot and are separated into various color-coded categories: mushrooms (purple), greens (green), spices (orange), meat (red), noodles (beige), fish/shellfish (blue), vegetables (yellow), and carbs (gray). Each category has three different designs (i.e.: the vegetable category consists of corn, potato, and carrot). Matches of three can be based on a specific item (i.e.: corn) or category/color (i.e.: yellow). If you’re matching by category, there can be no repeats (i.e.: your hand must be corn, potato, and carrot – not potato, potato, and carrot). The goal is to get three matching sets of three first. Of course, you get more points when matching specific ingredients, but sometimes waiting for one more draw can end in defeat. Matches can end in three rounds or go on for more than 20. It all depends on how everyone (fellow Palians or an “NPC” that fills in an empty slot or two or three) plays the game. On top of it being a blast to play, its Lucky Envelope payout can be amazing.

Even if you don’t win the game, everyone will receive Lucky Envelopes. Payout is based on how many points everyone has by the end of the match plus a bonus for the winner. Most of my Hotpot matches ended with a 540 Lucky Envelopes payout or higher and I’ve had winning hands that have nabbed me over a thousand Lucky Envelopes. If you want to have fun earning stacks of Lucky Envelopes, playing Hotpot is the way to go (plus you can play at least three matches when Maji Market is open, from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. in-game time).

 

More Lucky Envelope opportunities and where to spend them

 

There are other ways to earn Lucky Envelopes – in Palia and outside of the game. First, there are six Treasure Chests “hidden” in the Fairgrounds, and finding each one will reward you with Lucky Envelopes (along with keeping the Treasure Chest and using it to decorate your home plot). Second, there is an event stamp card that players can fill out. Essentially an achievement system, some tasks will pay out Lucky Envelopes (there are also other rewards like fireworks, event furniture, event food, and more). If you spend 2,000 Lucky Envelopes, you’ll be automatically gifted a Prize Wheel Coin that can only be redeemed at Zeki’s booth. Spin the wheel and if you’re lucky, you’ll get some more Lucky Envelopes there (if not you’ll get Gold, a Lucky Coin for Zeki’s shop, another Prize Wheel Coin, or fireworks). Lastly, if you want to take a break from the festivities, you can partake in some Twitch Drops. Each week during this event there have been week-long Twitch Drop campaigns and they’ve all included Lucky Envelopes as rewards (depending on your watch time of participating Palia streams). Just make sure to connect your Palia account to your Twitch account before tuning in!

Now with all those Lucky Envelopes, there are a few places to exchange them. There are five booths where envelopes can be spent to get exclusive items – everything from cooked dishes to new cooking recipes to home décor (furniture, wallpapers, etc.) to fireworks. They are in no particular order:

 

 

• Reth’s Street Specialties: Cooked dishes (with the chance to obtain a star-quality version), cooking ingredients, and cooking recipes.
• Delaila’s Sweet Treats: Cooked dishes (with the chance to obtain a star-quality version), a piece of Maji Market-themed décor, and crop seeds
• Maji Market Fireworks: Fireworks and lantern décor.
• Zeki’s Lucky Catch: Cooked dishes (star-quality version is currently impossible to obtain due to a bug) and wallpaper.
• Chapaa Chase Prizes: Chapaa-themed items that were featured in the Summer 2023 event and Lunar New Year furniture.

 

Some items you can skip purchasing, like the new foragables (Wild Green Onion and Ginger) or crops as those items can be obtained by other means. Personally, I sunk all of my Lucky Envelopes into all the new cooking recipes that Reth was selling. After that, it was picking out some of the décor items and hoping to get some star-quality dishes (save for Zeki’s taiyaki, sadly).

 

 

Odds and ends

 

While the main draw of the event is to partake in the minigames, earn Lucky Envelopes, spend them, make some wishes, and fill out your stamp card, a few other things debuting with this event. There’s a four-part event quest that involves Chayne, Zeki, and the rest of the NPCs attending the event. For anyone who enjoys the wise-cracking Grimalkin, you’ll want to complete this quest to get a glimpse at the softer side of Zeki. Then for players who like to show up to events all dressed up, you can spend some Palia Coins (the game’s premium currency bought with your local currency) on a new outfit (or two). Three new outfits were added as part of this update, but two of them are themed around the Lunar New Year. Those are the Dragon Dancer and New Year’s Dancer outfits.

 

From left to right: New Year’s Dancer outfit, Hi-Tech Conjuror outfit, and Dragon Dancer outfit.

 

There are three different versions of each outfit and each version has three different color versions. The outfits can be bought individually or together at a discount. If you purchase one and decide later to get another outfit or complete the set, then no worries. You’ll still get the discounted rate. In addition to these cosmetics, there is also a Dragon Dancer Glider (1,275 Palia Coins) that includes a special sound and visual effect when you’re gliding. Personally, I picked up the Dragon Dancer bundle (2,400 Palia Coins, which is roughly US$21.72 based on the largest Palia Coin bundle for sale) and have been swapping the different designs and colors throughout the event. Even when the Lunar New Year event ends, I can still see my avatar wearing parts of the outfit in Kilima. (Let’s be honest, the little dragon hat will be stuck to my digital head for a few months.)

 

Conclusion

 

Overall, the Lunar New Year event is a big upgrade from the first Night Market event from last year. While, yes, you’ll technically be grinding for the event’s currency, it’s much easier compared to last time (and incredibly fun thanks to Hotpot, the “MVP” of this event). Given the event duration and the multiple ways to earn Lucky Envelopes, you can earn a decent stack quickly and can purchase quite a few of the event-exclusive recipes and house décor items. (If you want duplicates and all of star-quality food to display, that all depends on how much time you have to sink into the game and your luck.) Unfortunately, the event has two bugs that have yet to be patched out – the Chapaa Chase exit menu error for Nintendo Switch players and the fact that it’s impossible to randomly get any star-quality taiyaki dishes from Zeki’s booth. (Thursday, February 22nd, 2024 Edit: And unfortunately that taiyaki bug won’t be fixed in time according to a post in the official Palia Discord. To make up for the error, there will be a login gift campaign from Thursday, February 22nd to Tuesday, February 27th, 2024. Players will get 1 New Year Lucky Wish Tree, 1 Chapaa Hut Neena Plush, and 4 Lucky Coins. There have been instances of players getting multiple sets of these rewards.) Despite those issues, I still find myself coming back to the Fairgrounds when I have a moment to spare. Hotpot will be sorely missed if it becomes an event exclusive, but I’m hoping that’s not the case. Please.

 

 

There’s still time to partake in Palia’s Lunar New Year event on Nintendo Switch and PC. And if you have any Lucky Envelopes left over, don’t fret. Given how Chapaa Chase Tickets from the summer Maji Market are rolling over to its 2024 version, there’s a chance that the same will happen for next year’s Lunar New Year event.

 

Palia is a free-to-play MMO game and is available for Nintendo Switch (via the Nintendo eShop) and PC (via Palia and Epic Games). (Wednesday, February 21st, 2024 Edit: And will be available on Steam next month on Monday, March 25th, 2024 at 11 a.m. PT. and is currently available to wishlist.)  A Nintendo Switch Online subscription is not required to play, yet you will need to make a game account via Palia.com. Paid transactions are available, but only in the form of cosmetics (which include outfits, pets, and glider designs for your avatar).

 

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