Factory challenge
Factory challenges are a gameplay mechanic in the first Viva Piñata, as well as Trouble in Paradise and Pocket Paradise. Factory challenges require always require a player to send at least one piñata to Piñata Central, which in turn sends that piñata to a party before returning it to the player. In exchange for their services, Piñata Central rewards the player with candy, and the value of a piñata is increased for every party it attends.
Overview
Classic
Challenges are periodically issued by Langston via Alerts. Challenges usually ask for one or two of a specific piñata species, generally selected from one of the species currently in the garden. Challenges may also ask for any species of piñata. If the player chooses to accept a challenge, they are provided with a crate from Piñata Central, which can be packed and sent as normal, with the caveat that only piñatas eligible for the challenge can be selected for packing.
Pocket Paradise
Challenges work in much the same way as the original game, being issued periodically by Langston with randomized requirements. Challenges will now always reward the player with romance sweets upon the submitted piñata(s)' return. Because romance sweets are not buyable in Pocket Paradise and can satisfy romance requirements even if the species has not yet been romanced, challenges are very lucrative for a player looking to achieve 100% completion.
Trouble in Paradise
Challenges have been completely overhauled in this game, due to Piñata Central's revamped role. Challenges are no longer randomized and instead come from Langston's shop in the Village menu. Langston provides up to three challenges at a time, with each challenge corresponding to a specific location in the world and requiring a piñata meeting specific criteria (e.g. species, variant, accessories). Challenges in this game also include a short blurb contextualizing each given challenge and its location. Rather than placing a Piñata Central crate in the garden for each challenge, the Piñata Central crate is always available outside the garden, so the player need only select and package a piñata that satisifies the given challenge.
A new requirement for Trouble in Paradise is that all piñatas must be at maximum Candiosity before being submitted for a challenge.
Trivia
- In the first game, Langston will always issue a challenge for any piñata 30 seconds after starting a new garden. This can be abused by repeatedly starting new gardens and mailing piñatas to them, and then sending them to parties, quickly increasing the piñata's value.