Prehistoric Farm Beginner Guide: First Dig to First Ride

What is the core loop in Prehistoric Farm?

Every system in Prehistoric Farm — a fossil-to-dinosaur farming sim by Project Mirvy, launched October 2, 2026 — feeds one loop. The official description sells it as “Dig up the past and bring it back to life”:

1. Sail from your home island to a fossil island (the first one is under a minute away; the starter boat is free).
2. Dig — hold your shovel on a dig site and release when the meter is in the green for a better find.
3. Complete a fossil set for one species (the Cambrian set is 6 fossils; a tracker shows “3/6” then “Ready to extract DNA”).
4. Trade the set to Dr. Ivy at the DNA Lab on your home island — she grows an egg from it.
5. Incubate the egg and collect the hatchling from the hatchery.
6. Feed and raise it — the belly must stay above half full or growth stalls.
7. Ride it across the islands once fully grown.

Everything else — boats, fishing, diving, the Sunken Grotto, the Mosasaurus boss — is layered on top of that spine. Our digging guide covers step 2 in depth and the DNA guide covers the Dr. Ivy trade.

What should you do in your first 30 minutes?

Follow this order and you will hatch your first dinosaur before the half-hour mark:

1. Redeem the codes first. The active batch (see the codes page) hands out 50,000+ coins total — enough to skip the early grind. Join the Project Mirvy group before redeeming.
2. Buy the Bronze Shovel (2,500 coins) from the shovel seller at spawn. It unlocks the Devonian Island dig areas — the real progression gate, not a luxury. Full tier list in the shovel guide.
3. Dig a full Cambrian set on the starter fossil island. Perfect green-zone releases give better finds — the digging guide explains the timing.
4. Trade the set to Dr. Ivy, incubate the egg (observed timers: about 2:30-5:00 minutes), and place the hatchling on your ranch.
5. Keep it fed. Buy food with coins; a hatchling below half belly stops growing. Growth stages are explained in the riding guide.

How do fossil sets and the DNA Lab work?

Each geological period’s island yields fossils for specific prehistoric species. The in-game fossil menu tracks set completion per species — when a set hits “Ready to extract DNA”, bring it to Dr. Ivy (her intro line: “I’m Dr. Ivy. I bring fossils back to life. Got any samples for me?”). Her “Trade fossils for an egg” prompt plays a short animation and produces a species egg.

There is no separate timed extraction step and no confirmed trade fee — the conversion is instant at the lab. You cannot convert fossils at dig sites; the lab is on the home island. Full walkthrough in the DNA restoration guide.

What mistakes should new players avoid?

• Selling fossils you still need. Spare duplicates only sell for a few coins (about 5-10 per playthrough footage) — never sell a fossil that would complete a set.
• Ignoring the belly meter. An under-fed dinosaur stops growing and cannot be ridden; the community’s most common “why won’t it grow” answer.
• Buying boat upgrades before the Bronze shovel. The shovel gates dig areas; boats gate distance. Shovel first, boat second (4,000 coins).
• Redeeming codes without joining the group. Redemption fails silently — join Project Mirvy first.
• Skipping fishing during incubation waits. Fishing pays weakly per playthrough footage but fills incubator downtime for free.

What comes after your first dinosaur?

Once your first dinosaur reaches full growth you can ride it (see the riding guide), open harder islands (the islands guide maps the unlock chain from Cambrian to Cretaceous), and start hunting the roster in our dinosaur list. Update 1, per update video coverage, added mythic dinosaurs, the Raptor X content and flying dinosaurs via the Sky Spires quest — the update log tracks what changed and when.